Weekly digest: June 30th

Hi everyone

Another busy week for the Forum this week with most of this edition taken up with the HS2 roadshow. But there is other news as well, so without further ado…..

  1. HS2 Roadshow: West Park, Long Eaton
    • The latest HS2 event took place last Weds. There is further development to their thinking for the Sidings although the HS2 team emphasised the Hub Station area is still ‘work in progress’.
    • A number of us from the Steering Group attended and the main changes noted from the previous can be summarised as:
      • Station Hub footprint has increased in size due the car park and has extended down the track toward Long Eaton.
      • All platforms are now above ground level to accommodate the drop from the viaduct through Long Eaton. This includes ‘classic’ Network Rail train platforms. Projected height of platforms is circa 10m above ground level with top canopies roughly 15m above ground level
      • The north/south position of the platforms roughly align with the length of Lonsdale Drive. So, it’s difficult to see how the escarpment at Banks Rd will mask the car park and station light pollution and noise – unless substantial ground works are undertaken.
      • An underground car park is being contemplated but they are awaiting final projections for car park capacity before deciding if they need to dig down and/or build up (i.e. multi-storey).
      • Access to the main station concourse allows for footpaths/cycle ways from Banks Rd direction. The concourse/plaza shopping area is at ground level and passes under the station towards Long Eaton – although routes on Erewash side of station are still unclear. New ‘public rights of way’ will be created to facilitate the above.
      • NET Tram connection has not yet been included!
    • We took a couple of photos of the latest artist impressions they had on display – as always with these illustrations, they are designed to look ‘attractive’. Here’s the links:
    • The next key event on the HS2 timeline is the publication of the Environmental Impact Assessment – due Sept/Oct time. This document will start to ‘harden’ thoughts and turn them into actual proposals.
    • We have arranged to meet with the HS2 lead engineer of the Hub Station in the next few weeks to provide our thoughts and ideas for the station, including better flood mitigation solutions to their current thoughts. As always, we’ll keep you posted
  1. Chilwell Shell Factory explosion events
    • I know I’ve been going on about these events over the last couple of weeks, but they have provided great insight into our local history at the time when Toton wasn’t much more than farmland and Chilwell hardly more than a village.
    • A number of us went to the talk last Thursday on Chilwell Barracks to hear about the factory during WW1 and the incredible efforts to get the factory up and running in barely 6 months.
      • Jim (from our Barracks group) has provided a link to a film: ‘A day in the life of a munition worker’ held on the Imperial War Museum website. It’s a fascinating film that shows the work involved, and it’s of surprisingly good quality considering it was made over 100 years ago.
    • And, of course, we heard about the terrible explosion that took place exactly 100 years ago to the day (if you’re reading this on Sun 1st).
    • We had a look at the memorial since it was cleaned and it’s fair to say that we were underwhelmed. Basically, the Defence Infrastructure Organisation ‘wuz robbed’ if they think they obtained value for money for the clean. Of course, we didn’t see the specification so we’ve no idea what the contractors were asked to do. Nevertheless, apart from the main ‘face’, the rest of it is pretty substandard work. More on this in due course.
    • On our way back to the car park we met someone with a strong interest in the Barracks and he forwarded a couple of WW2 aerial photos of the Barracks. Very interesting to see the area prior to all the development in the last 70+ years. So, I thought I’d share these as well:
  1. Office Outreach in Chilwell…
    • As reported previously, our grant from Locality provides us with the chance to run some regular drop-in sessions. To that end we met with Cllr Graham Harvey up at the Library / Community Centre on Inham Road.
    • Initially we went thinking there might be suitable space for the Forum to use as our office. Unfortunately, it didn’t prove suitable primarily due to security concerns since the room isn’t lockable.
    • However, we realised it would make an ideal space to run regular drop-in sessions for residents in the Inham Nook area. So, we will discuss at a future SG meeting how to set up the space as a semi-permanent display area showcasing maps/ideas for the area. Hopefully we can get something up and running by the end of July.
  2. And finally……
    • Some more dates for your diary…
      • Toton and Chilwell Meadows CAT meeting is taking place next Thursday 5th July at 7.30pm at Toton Methodist Church on Stapleford Lane.
      • Eskdale Summer Fayre on Friday 6th July between 5-7pm at Eskdale Junior School, Chilwell. The Forum is attending with maps & we’ll be happy to explain current ideas.
      • Tesco Toton Fete on Saturday 21st July on Manor Park, Toton. The Forum will have a stall to showcase our latest maps – including latest HS2 maps/pictures.
    • Local Plan Part 2 – publication delayed. Some of you may be wondering why I haven’t mentioned the Plan, which was due to be published this week. The council’s committee meeting has been postponed until Mon July 16th We understand the councillors on the committee requested more time to absorb the contents before discussing it. Considering the importance of the document, I’m not surprised – there is a lot to take in.
    • Beeston North Neighbourhood Forum. We may soon be joined by another Neighbourhood Forum in our neck of the woods. Beeston North ward (either side of the A52 between Bramcote ward and the city boundary) is looking to set up their own Neighbourhood Forum, to shape planning in their part of the Borough. I’ve already extend the offer of help as it is good to see local communities coming together to help shape local planning matters

And I’ve fast run out of space, so I’ll quickly say ‘bye’ and see you next week!

Kind regards
Graham

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