Weekly digest: April 28th

Hello again

It’s only been a couple of weeks since the last edition, but quite a lot has happened, so without further ado….

  1. WWI Shell Filling Factory explosion memorial – Part 1
    • You will recall that we are concerned about the state of the memorial located on Chetwynd Barracks and that we sent a strongly worded letter to the DIO (Defence Infrastructure Organisation) requesting details of planned activities
    • Well, unfortunately, the DIO didn’t respond to our email so we issued a press release late last week to local media outlets – including regional TV stations & the Nottingham Post.
    • The Post published an article last Weds (25th April) – and here is a link. The Post asked for a comment from the DIO, but they repeated their intention was to undertake “sensitive cleaning of the stone bearing the names…”
    • We don’t believe that cleaning the memorial is sufficient and as our Chairman, Richard, noted: ‘…maybe it’s time the community took over the responsibility of the site in perpetuity’
    • What are your thoughts? Please leave a comment on our website or feel free to email me.
  2. WWI Shell Filling Factory explosion memorial – Part 2
    • As well as issuing the press release to local media we also briefed our MP, Anna Soubry, and asked for her support
    • Anna agreed with us that the MoD must quickly take action. She raised a question about the condition of the memorial in Parliament last Monday (23rd April), here is a link to her question. Anna has also written a letter to the Secretary of State for Defence (Gavin Williamson) requesting assurances that the memorial will be restored in time for the commemoration events starting in late June
    • We’d like to thank Anna for responding so quickly to our request for help. Hopefully her intervention will make the DIO rethink their plans to clean the memorial and ensure it is properly restored. As always, we’ll keep you updated…
  3. Application submitted for a further grant from Locality
    • Denise, our Treasurer, as submitted our follow-up application to Locality for a £9,000 grant to help us cover the costs of producing our Neighbourhood Plan.
    • We also requested free consultancy covering two key areas for us: a) gathering evidence and developing policies and b) producing bespoke urban design guides and codes (particularly relating to the Barracks)
    • Locality previously agreed to provide a consultant to undertake a Heritage Character Assessment for our area and that work should be starting in the next few weeks
    • Whilst it’s a little early to expect our application to be approved, the signs are looking good as they have asked for more details about the consultancy work we have requested. We will be speaking to them next week.
  4. Plan strands taking off…
    • Our Housing strand/group met for the first time a couple of weeks ago and its lead, Mark, sent out an update to you via MailChimp last week and letting you know we will be asking for your input/critique in due course
    • Most of our groups are now getting stuck in to the task to gather evidence to help formulate policies for the Neighbourhood Plan so expect more updates like this, either direct from group leads or else via me in these digests.
    • If you want more details about these groups, and especially if you would like to get involved, please let me know. We have had some people join us to help with this work, but more are always welcome.
  5. And finally…
    • We met with Peter (university student) who has refined his ideas on a masterplan for the Barracks area. It is now looking pretty close to what we think it could look like. There are still some minor tweaks that could be made (there always are) but it provides a great starting point of how the site could be taken forward.
    • The Comms group held a meeting last week and a key topic was the new data protection regulations (GDPR). We are working to ensure we are compliant which means producing and publishing a privacy policy – more on this in a future edition.
    • We met with Blueprint a couple of weeks ago (as reported last time) and are hoping to meet with Peveril this coming week to discuss their current plans for the land they own at Toton Lane. We are also meeting the DIO on Monday to discuss their ideas for the development of the Barracks. Again, more on all these meetings next time

So, as I said at the beginning, a lot is happening at the moment. But that’s enough I think for this week. Lots more next time!

Kind regards
Graham

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