. April 2019 - Page 3 of 3 - Wilcop Media

April 2019

Nottingham News

Following a successful consultation period, Ashfield District Council’s cabinet has approved a new spatial masterplan for Sutton Town Centre.
The Spatial Masterplan will be a valuable document to underpin future investment into Sutton. This includes a multi-million pound bid to the Government’s Future High Street Fund to help make Sutton a 21st Century Town Centre. Town Centres up and down the country are undergoing fundamental change and it is important that the Council, together with its partners leads Sutton into a more prosperous future.

The public consultation, held over four weeks, received overwhelmingly positive feedback from residents and businesses. Representatives from Discover Ashfield, Idlewells Shopping Centre and Sutton Community Academy students all responded to the draft Masterplan that was published in January.

Councillor Jason Zadrozny, Leader of the Council, said: “The regeneration of Sutton Town Centre is a top priority for our Council. We are ambitious for Sutton’s future and need to build on the current success of the indoor market. Working with Discover Ashfield and other partners, we are determined to improve both the daytime and night time economy in the town centre.” Ashfield’s Cabinet agreed to adopt the Masterplan document as a basis for future action in Sutton, they were joined by students from Sutton Community Academy who illustrated their ambitions and aspirations for the future of the town centre.

One student said: “I would like to see improved leisure activities, we come out of school and there is nothing to do. I would like to see something like a cinema near Portland Square that we could go to, and activities that families from the local area will come into town to do.” At the meeting, Cabinet agreed to adopt the masterplan and approved recommendations to submit an Expression of Interest for the Government’s multi-million pound Future High Streets Fund. The Future High Streets Fund is a £675 million national fund which will support local area plans to make their high streets and town centres fit for the future and more resilient to change.

As well as this, the government have announced £1.6 billion for a Stronger Towns Fund to boost towns in England. This will be available to places that have not shared in the proceeds of growth in the same way as more prosperous parts of the country. Councillor Helen-Ann Smith, Councillor for Stanton Hill and Teversal said: “This is a fantastic opportunity for the Council to get support on its mission to regenerate Sutton.

We are extremely ambitious for our future and will do everything to deliver better funding for our Town Centres. It’s the very least our local residents deserve!” The Council is still looking for residents’ feedback and would love to hear from you. As part of the Council’s bid for funding, we want to hear your opinions on Sutton and how it can be improved. Please ‘back the bid’ by emailing place@ashfield.gov.uk.

Nottingham News

A third CCTV car could soon be patrolling the roads outside Nottinghamshire’s schools looking for parents who are parking illegally.
The county council already operates two camera enforcement cars and will be stepping up their efforts to keep children safe at drop off and pick up times as parents continue to ignore ‘School Keep Clear’ road markings.
The CCTV cars record illegal parking so they have the evidence to hand out £70 fines to drivers.

Last year more than 600 drivers were caught out and handed Penalty Charge Notices. Councillor Philip Owen, chairman of the Children and Young People’s committee, said he was delighted that a third CCTV car would now be considered for approval at the council’s Policy committee in April.

Councillor Owen said: “Pupil numbers have increased over the past five years, and changes in pupil placement policies have resulted in some pupils travelling greater distances to schools usually by car. “Illegal and bad parking outside schools is an issue that head teachers, school governors and local residents regularly express concerns about.
“Parking outside schools is a perceived danger rather than it actually resulting in child casualties. It is important, however, that parents and pupils crossing outside schools have a clear safe space to do so (School Keep Clear road markings) and this designated area is kept clear of parking through effective traffic management.”

The county council’s first camera enforcement car was introduced in March 2016, and the second in May 2018. During 2018 more than 600 Penalty Charge Notices were issued by the council to cars parked on ‘School Keep Clear’ markings. The £70 penalty is reduced to £35 if paid within 14 days.
The council already uses other road safety measures such as advance school warning signs for motorists, 20mph speed limits outside school entrances, and school crossing patrol services.

The CCTV cars run at a slight loss but are cross-subsidised by income from other parking enforcement areas. Schools can request the car to be outside the premises, and they are given information about the scheme to include in school newsletters.

Nottingham News

The report, Investing in Nottinghamshire, outlines how the County Council intends to use its £1 billion office and land estate to drive economic growth and regeneration across the county, improve accessibility and transform service provision for local people. County Councillors will be asked to support plans to develop a new office building on existing County Council owned land at Top Wighay Farm, near Hucknall, to encourage additional private sector development including new housing and a new business park on the site.

The new office would become a single base for the County Council’s Customer Service Centre, Adult Access Team and Multi Agency Safeguarding Hub (MASH) for children’s and adult social care cases which are currently based at the Annesley Business Park in rented office accommodation. Police and Health partners who work alongside the County Council in these services, will also be based in the same building – improving access to frontline services for local residents and greater efficiency by shared processes and systems.

The report sets out proposals for an iconic new building to be constructed on the County Hall campus in West Bridgford to accommodate the Council and its arms-length companies. Consideration will also be given to providing conference facilities to develop a modern, flexible, multi-use venue for use by the Council and others. This will allow the Council to vacate Trent Bridge House to further reduce costs and realign its office estate.

The report also identifies options to vacate other costly leasehold office buildings and to sell older buildings which require major repairs and are expensive to run. The County Council proposes to exit and dispose of Sir John Robinson House in Arnold which requires significant ongoing maintenance to operate as office accommodation but has attracted potential interest for conversion to residential use. Local service provision for the Gedling District and areas surrounding the north of the City of Nottingham will be retained.

Three further offices at Retford (Chancery Lane), Ollerton (Bevercotes House, Sherwood Energy Village) and Beeston (Prospect House) would also be vacated to help to reduce the running costs of the County Council’s offices. Appropriate local service provision will be retained; using existing Council buildings where possible.

The programme of work set out within the report includes other ways in which the Council is modernising how it works. This includes employees working more flexibly and reducing travel and down time. Councillor Kay Cutts MBE, Leader of the County Council said: “We’re ambitious for Nottinghamshire and we intend to use our assets to regenerate the local economy by opening up land we already own to new and exciting development opportunities.

“Our approach will make sure we spend taxpayers’ money wisely on the services people expect delivered from modern, efficient buildings local to where people live. “Our plans mean that we will vacate buildings we rent and move into fit for purpose buildings that we own, reducing our overheads and annual running costs by using the latest green technology. “Building new office accommodation at Top Wighay Farm and at County Hall means that we can use our own land assets to unlock new opportunities for jobs, growth and regeneration as part of our commitment to invest in Nottinghamshire.”

Subject to approval by County Councillors, further work will be undertaken by the Arc Partnership, a joint venture company between the County Council and Scape Group based in Nottingham, to evaluate the options agreed by Members.

Lancashire News, Lancs Leisure, Lancs Sport, Lancs What's On

Barrow BID has teamed up with The Super Soapbox Challenge Company Ltd, a professional event organiser, to host a major soapbox race in Barrow-in-Furness town centre later this year. The event takes place on Barrow’s high street on Saturday 29th June and will become an annual event, attracting crowds that have topped 20,000 people in other locations.
The races will take place throughout the day, with the wild and whacky soapbox carts hurtling down a huge ramp to launch themselves down the course. Eddie ‘The Eagle’ Edwards will be starting the event and launching himself down the ramp to set the first time of the day. Prizes will be for the fastest times of the day, but there will also be a number of other prizes including; ‘most innovative cart design’, ‘best turned-out soapbox crew’ and ‘joker of the day’.

Given Barrow’s engineering heritage, it is hoped that the event will attract plenty of well-built carts although entries so far have come from as far away as Manchester. There are two prices for team entry, the first is £400 inc VAT for businesses and companies who will gain significant promotion as part of the event. The second price is £200 inc VAT for; individuals, charities, not-for-profit organisations, emergency services and armed forces, which is an affordable price to provide access to this prestige event. As well as the racing itself, culminating in the cork-popping, prize-giving ceremony, there will be a large funfair, live music and lots of food and drink concessions.

If you would like to enter a team in the event visit: www.supersoapboxchallenge.co.uk/barrow Follow this event and other events in Barrow on Facebook at: www.facebook.com/visitbarrow

Lancashire News

Pendle’s plans to expand Lomeshaye Industrial Estate have got the go ahead from the Government’s Planning Inspector. Pendle Council can now buy land adjoining the existing 40 hectare employment site through a Compulsory Purchase Order to create a new phase of development.
Lomeshaye Industrial estate alongside the M65 near junction 12 is one of East Lancashire’s largest employment sites and part of a new strategic corridor for economic growth.

There are around 100 businesses on the site employing approximately 4,000 people. Councillor Paul White, Leader of Pendle Council, said: “This is huge news for Pendle. “We shouldn’t underestimate how transformational this could be for our borough. “Lomeshaye has been operating at virtually full capacity and this land is key to bringing inward investment which will lead to more jobs in our area.

“We made a commitment to ensure that we open up additional employment land and this will do exactly that. “It could mean up to 500 more jobs in our local area”. “With this extension, we will be able to create the space to allow Pendle businesses to expand and to attract new businesses to our Borough, both of which will mean extra jobs for local people.”

Pendle Council has been working for a number of years to extend the successful business park and create jobs, support businesses and encourage growth. Jobs for around 500 people will be safeguarded or created thanks to the Phase 1 extension and work will start in summer 2019.

Dean Langton, Pendle Council’s Chief Executive said: “By working in partnership, we have secured £1.5 m of funding from Lancashire County Council to support the delivery of the proposed Phase 1 Extension to the existing Lomeshaye Industrial Estate. “And their funding will be matched with £1.5m of investment from Pendle Council.”

Lancashire News, Lancs Health & Care

Volunteers from across Blackburn with Darwen who put the ‘community’ into community centres have been thanked for their efforts at a special event. More than 70 people from volunteer-run community centres across the borough were invited to attend the celebration at the Town Hall.
They were welcomed by Mayor of Blackburn with Darwen, Cllr Pat McFall who presented them with certificates to acknowledge their hard work and efforts.

Leader of Blackburn with Darwen Council, Councillor Mohammed Khan, joined Councillor Damian Talbot, Executive Member for Leisure and Culture, and the Council’s Chief Executive, Harry Catherall, as guest speakers. Cllr Khan said: In Blackburn with Darwen we are extremely proud of the success of our Your Call initiative – a drive to equip residents with the skills and resources they need to help make a real difference where they live.

The volunteers at this event are the very epitome of that success and they’re a fine example of Your Call working at its very best. They stepped in when the future of the community centres were uncertain and they’ve worked tirelessly to ensure they remain a key part of the community – providing the base for valued groups, events and functions.

From the bottom of my heart, I’d like to say a big thank-you to all of the volunteers on behalf of the Council and the residents of Blackburn with Darwen for their continued dedication and hard work. They really are amazing.

Volunteers at the event all give-up their own time, in some cases up to 40 hours a week, to help out with everything from the running of the community centres to organising fellow volunteers, facilitating groups, overseeing the finances and cleaning.

They manage the community centres at Accrington Road, Little Harwood, Darwen Valley, Greenfields, Ivy Street and Mill Hill.

Cllr Damian Talbot added:
These volunteers go above and beyond very single day to run the community centres and we can’t thank them enough. We’ve enjoyed opening the doors to the Town Hall for this special event to show our appreciation for what they’ve done and their ongoing commitment to the future of the centres. This is a really good example of partnership working and we’re looking forward to continuing to work closely with the groups to offer continued support and advice they need to continue to build on their success.

To find out more about how you can become a volunteer in Blackburn with Darwen and the different opportunities available, visit: www.lancsvp.org.uk

Lancashire News, Lancs Leisure

Chorley’s iconic Astley Hall will undergo a major transformation to secure the future of the historic building. ​Chorley Council, which owns the Grade I listed building, is investing £1.7million as part of the coming year’s budget to carry out urgent repairs to safeguard the historic hall for future generations.

The investment will also see major improvements to the visitor experience, as well as the creation of a museum shop, which will help to make the site more sustainable. A spokesperson for Chorley Council said: “We see Astley Hall and Coach House as a major part of the borough’s history but also a vital part of the future for the visitor economy and that’s why we are committing major investment to preserve and improve it for years to come.

“Buildings like this need major work every 60/70 years and we are at that time in the Hall’s life that it needs a major overhaul to set it up for the next generation. “Some of the work will be quite dramatic as we need to repair the front of the building and some will help us to make the site sustainable by ensuring it provides an offer for visitors that is fit for the modern age.” The council has submitted two bids to the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF), which were knocked back, so the authority is going to fund the work itself to ensure the building has a long term future. The bids were supported by huge amounts of feedback from residents and visitors and all that information is being used to direct the improvements planned for the site, which sits in the beautiful grounds of Astley Park.

“One of the main reasons the HLF didn’t back our bid was the uncertainty around what condition the brick is in behind the render on the front of the Hall,” explained the spokesperson. “We know how important the Hall is to the people of Chorley so we’re going to fund the work and once the render has been removed and we know what lies beneath we hope the HLF will consider another bid as this is a building of historical significance.

“We’d also like to thank the thousands of people who took part in the consultation and gave us their thoughts on the future of the Hall and Coach House complex. “This won’t go to waste because it demonstrates how much people value the site and it will influence our plans going forward.”

The investment by the council will cover improvements to the Hall as well as work to bring Ackhurst Lodge back into use and look at the creation of an adventure golf course in the park. To learn more about Astley Hall and Park visit astleypark.co.uk.

Lancashire News, Lancs Health & Care

April is bowel cancer awareness month and this year the focus is on improving care and saving lives, by early detection and screening.

Bowel cancer is the fourth most common cancer in England. Almost 42,000 people are diagnosed with bowel cancer every year in the UK. Bowel cancer can be difficult to diagnose. The bowel cancer screening kit can detect bowel cancer early on, before the symptoms begin to show. So the best way to catch it and treat it sooner is to complete the screening kit.

Dr Neil Smith GP lead for cancer commissioning for Blackburn with Darwen and East Lancashire Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs) has won multiple awards for his cancer work. His team has recently launched a “Let’s talk cancer” campaign encouraging people to make “cancer” part of everyday conversations. A project which Dr Smith has organised is being used where G.P.s can encourage more patients to take up screening. As a result of this there has been an increase in patients completing the kits and more cancers being detected earlier.

Dr Smith said:

“Bowel cancer screening saves lives which is why I urge anyone between the ages of 60 and 74 to take advantage of the free tests which are sent out every two years. At the moment, only 58% of those in the UK who receive a screening kit actually use it.

“Thousands of people are missing out on detecting bowel cancer at an early stage when it is easier to treat and the chance of survival dramatically increases. Don’t ignore it, take the test”

Leading a healthy lifestyle can help reduce your risk of bowel cancer. A number of ways to do this include: stopping smoking, keeping active by doing regular exercise, eating a balanced diet, and reducing the amount of alcohol you drink. 

For further information, visit the NHS website: https://www.nhs.uk/