Weekly digest: Nov 10

Hello everyone

It’s been another hectic week (I’m beginning to sound like a stuck record, aren’t I) and there is a fair bit to report. So, down to business…

  1. HS2 Consultation: Greenwood Centre Nov 24th from 1pm
    • No apologies for leading with again. HS2 is a critical topic for lots of residents in Toton and beyond. And this latest round of consultation provides us with a much clearer idea of what is being proposed.
    • We met representatives from HS2 on Friday to ask them to support our session at the Greenwood Centre. They are unable to attend in person – they are tied to one official session per ‘area’, which is at West Park, Long Eaton on Dec 7th. However, they will provide us with the latest documentation, so we can show you the latest maps and plans.
    • We have identified a top 10 list (which may stretch to 11 or 12) of key issues relating to the station both during construction and afterwards when it is commissioned.
    • Because we believe this is so important, we intend to leaflet all houses to the west of Stapleford Lane/High Road and we will distribute posters elsewhere in our area.
    • Please put the date in your diary and come along and let us know your views. And please spread the word to friends and neighbours.
  2. A ‘Clean & Green’ event on Toton Fields next Sunday 18th
    • To emphasise the importance of the nature reserve, the Friends of Toton Fields are partnering with the Council & the Practical Conservation Volunteers to take part in an initiative to ‘clean and green’ local green spaces in the Borough
    • [I need to declare an interest: I’m a ‘friend’ of Toton Fields, and Norman Lewis is both a member of our Steering Group as well as founder-member and long-time chairman of the Friends group.]
    • Next Sunday, at the Greenwood Centre at 10.45am, we will be carrying out wildflower planting and seed sowing as well as running a litter picking session.
    • Here is a link to more details of the event and please come along a support the Friends if you are interested in practical conservation work on the reserve
  3. Garden Communities Bid submitted
    • Pleased to report that the Council have submitted our Garden Communities bid application to the government. The bid, you’ll recall, is to ask for government support to help us develop Chetwynd Barracks in a way that works for all of us – to make it something we can all be proud of.
    • I say ‘our’ bid, but of course this is a council owned initiative, although we have been delighted to provide a lot of the input to the text. We need to thank both Richard (our chair) and Ian (SG member) for spending considerable time on this input. We’d also like to thank Steffan, Amanda and the council’s team for putting it all together so quickly.
    • Finally we also want to thank Anna Soubry, our MP, who sent a strongly supportive letter to James Brokenshire, the Minister of Housing. Here is a link to the letter and it makes clear her approval of this ‘community led bid’.
    • The application was made late on Friday – there are always last-minute additions/ tweaks to be made, so we haven’t seen the final version yet. We hope to get a copy early next week and I’ll aim to publish it here next time, so you can have a look.
  4. Further technical support reports commissioned
    • Building on the Heritage and Character report we are close to publishing, we have commissioned 2 further reports over the last 10 days:
      1. Design inc Design Codes. This piece of work will provide us with detailed guidance for Chetwynd Barracks. It will prescribe the design of homes that respect existing assets, that development schemes encourage walking and cycling and reduce the impact of traffic. And make sure the Barracks becomes an attractive and interesting place.
        More information on design codes here on a government website
      2. Policy Development and Evidence Base. This report will review our draft policies and supporting evidence and advise how we can improve the credibility and robustness of our evidence. It will also advise where we need to re-draft policies to meet a standard acceptable at examination and in the real world.
    • Both these reports will be produced in the spring and will be invaluable in ensuring our Plan is correctly worded with policies that are enforceable and which reflect our aspirations. Watch out for further updates on the progress of these strands in future editions.
  5. And finally…..
    • An update on the Neighbourhood Plan. I think I may have previously mentioned (!) how busy we’ve been writing the Plan recently, so you are due more of an update. I’m pleased to say we have finished the 1st section (out of 3) of the Plan and are working to have the 2nd section finished by the end of this month. The final section – the important one, full of policies – will be completed, hopefully, by the middle of January (after taking a little time off for Christmas).
    • AGM planning. We had a Steering Group meeting last Thursday and a key item on the agenda was planning our next AGM. We’ve settled on a date – Sunday February 10th – and we hope to go back to The Village, but we still need make the booking with the hotel so treat the location as tentative for now. More details to come in future editions but please pencil the date in your diary now. We will have a lot to show you!
    • Lotto Update. We’ve had a further bulletin from the Broxtowe Lotto scheme. We are very pleased to report that we have been given (by you, our wonderful supporters) a terrific donation of £79 for the month of October. This amount covers the costs of hiring our meeting rooms along with regular office supplies. Many, many thanks for your support – it is very much appreciated.

And I think that’s more than enough for this week. See you next time

Kind regards
Graham

Broxtowe Lotto: tickets available from our CTTC Forum page where you’ll also find details of the scheme.

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