Hello again
Another week has flown by and, as indicated last week, we have spent some time identifying alternative sources of funding to ensure the Forum has a secure footing going forward. A meeting of a Steering Group takes place next week to discuss current progress and agree next steps, so I’ll report more next week.
- Heritage Assessment work has started
- AECOM have been in touch to say they have started their assessment of heritage assets & ‘character’ in our Area. We have provided them with further information relating to possible non-Barracks assets and that is their current focus
- Clearly, the Barracks site is of particular interest to us all, and Barracks personnel have been in touch to clarify our requirement and ask for details of site attendees.
- Hopefully, the site visit will take place in the next few weeks. As you know, we were hoping to undertake the visit during May, but MoD bureaucracy is a little slow.
- HS2 events taking place in June
- Whilst the Barracks is important to us, we mustn’t forget that we have another significant development planned for Toton. HS2 Ltd have been in touch with a leaflet detailing their next set of ‘roadshow’ events. Here is a link to the leaflet
- The key dates for your diary are:
- Friday 22nd June (2pm-8pm): Trowell Parish Hall, Stapleford Road, Trowell NG9 3QA
- Weds 27th June (2pm-8pm): West Park Leisure Centre, Long Eaton NG10 4AA
- The leaflet also states: “If you are unable to attend either of these dates, new information on the evolving design will be available at hs2.org.uk from Monday 4th June”. We’ll check the site at the due time to make sure the information is there and re-post the link again.
- Toton Sidings ecology and landscaping review
- Earlier this week another branch of AECOM (this time, the HS2 team) got in touch with myself and Norman Lewis who, as well as being a member of the Forum’s Steering Group, is the Chairman of Friends of Toton Fields
- They have requested a meeting in the first week of June to discuss the ecology and landscape of the Sidings. Of course, we have readily agreed, and it is great to see HS2 being proactive in seeking out our (in truth, Norman’s) views when it comes to assessing the ecology of the site and how best to mitigate disruption to the wildlife in the area
- It is vitally important that we retain as much of the wildlife as we can in the Sidings, but we need to acknowledge that the Forum has no direct ‘control’ over what takes place there. Despite that, we will do all we can to protect of Toton Fields LNR and exert as much influence as possible protect the wider area of the Sidings.
- And finally…….
- We haven’t forgotten about GDPR. I know, I know – we are all sick to the back teeth with the avalanche of emails about this topic. But we need to be sure the Forum is compliant as well. For us it means ensuring we have a data protection & privacy policy published on our website and then making sure to give you a link to view it. More on this next week as well as our official GDPR notice to you.
- A HS2 Strategy Board meeting takes place next Tuesday. We had been hoping to see a subsidiary ‘Toton Delivery Board’ set up and running before now. However, there have been some wrangling behind the scenes between Nott’m City Council and Notts County Council on the exact shape/make-up of the Delivery Board. Tuesday’s meeting will be presented with a final proposal and hopefully a way forward will be agreed. It is high time the HS2 East Midlands Strategy paper (published last autumn) was taken forward to the next stage. We need to give detailed focus to how it can be implemented in the area surrounding the Hub Station. Watch this space – as they say – but don’t hold your breath!
Enough I think for this week. More next time.
Kind regards
Graham