CTTC Forum

Hello everyone

A short edition this week. There isn’t much Forum related news so if this was a normal week, I’d probably skip publishing an update. But these are not normal times: these are distinctly strange times. And given we are still in ‘lockdown’, I think it useful to continue to provide signposts to appropriate contacts/websites that connect to relevant support groups and information.  So…

Some regular (albeit re-ordered) COVID-19 links….

• Neighbourhood contacts/sites:
  • Toton Churches offer support to self-isolating people in Toton.
    Get in touch via: e-mail contact@totonchurches.org or phone 0115 946 2357.
  • Beeston Chilwell Area Mutual Aid Group
  • Toton Support Group
  • Stapleford Helping Hand and Surrounding Areas.  
  • Businesses that deliver to local addresses
• National & local authority information sites:
  • Government COVID-19
  • NHS COVID-19
  • Broxtowe Borough Council COVID-19
  • Broxtowe Council’s Open for Business  (including restaurants offering takeaways)
  • Nottinghamshire County Council COVID-19
  • Notts CC Helpful Links in Difficult Times spreadsheet  
• Transport links:
  • Nott’m City Transport 36 service
  • Trent Barton Indigo
  • NET Tram information

There’ll be more Forum news next week, when we expect to hear from the Council with their views on the Plan. Meanwhile we’re very close to finishing the last report – the Plan Modifications – we need before we have the full set of documentation ready for submission.

Kind regards
Graham

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

Hello again,

We’re starting off this next century of digests with news about the Forum. This is mainly because I’ve not picked up any useful new links relating to COVID-19. You’ll find the regular links further down this missive with one additional link. However, I want to pick up on a couple of almost throwaway remarks I made at the tail end of last week’s edition.

1. Consultation Statement is done!

• The Plan is done! The Basic Conditions Statement is done! And now, the Consultation Statement is done as well! (And that’s more than enough exclamatory statements for one edition!)
• We are still awaiting feedback from the Council following their informal review of the Plan. We expect to hear their suggestions in the next couple of weeks and, following an interim conversation with the planners, it’s looking pretty positive.
• There is one final document we are working on. This is the Plan Modifications report which details the amendments made to the Plan following all the feedback from last summer. We had thought this was more of a ‘should do’ document added as an appendix to the Consultation Statement, but it turns out to be a ‘must do’ report that needs to be submitted along with all the rest. We have the information, it’s just a question of collating it all together into a standard format. 
• And then we will be ready to submit the Plan to the Council for the next stage in the process! (Okay, one last “!”)

2. Recap of the Neighbourhood Plan process.

• After last week’s review of the last 18 months, I thought it useful to have a quick recap on the overall process so you can see where we are on the overall ‘roadmap’. There are five main stages in getting a Plan produced and adopted:
  • Stage 1: Getting Established (Sept ’16 – Mar ’17). This covers the period between our first start-up meeting back in 2016 and becoming formally designated as a Forum with an agreed Neighbourhood Area. Designation gave the Forum the statutory authority to produce a Neighbourhood Plan.
  • Stage 2: Forming the Vision and Core Objectives (Apr ’17 – Mar ’18). This period focused on consulting you and gathering your thoughts on what was good and bad about our area as well as your ambitions and concerns for the future. This period included, during the autumn of 2017, working with University architecture graduates to build illustrative visions. It concluded with the series of 4 community consultation sessions held in the spring of 2018.
  • Stage 3: Producing the Plan (Apr ’18 – Sept ’19). This 18-month period was longer than anticipated mainly because we commissioned three reports from consultants (AECOM) to provide much-needed background character information and the evidence needed to justify policies. The Plan was finally published in July 2019 which was immediately followed by the 10-week formal consultation period to get your feedback along with those of key businesses and landowners.
  • Stage 4:  Revising the Plan (Oct ’19 – Apr ’20). The Steering Group has spent the last 6 months or so analysing the exceptional level of feedback from the consultation and using the comments and suggestions to strengthen the Plan. Associated documents have also been produced to:
    • assure conformity to the National Planning Policy Framework as well as the policies in Broxtowe Council’s Part 2 Local Plan; and
    • assure the level of consultation we have undertaken with you to prove this is a Plan that genuinely reflects the desires and ambitions of the community.
  • Stage 5: Formal Adoption (May ’20 to…..) This period is managed by the Council, once they receive our submission, and comprises three main components:
    • Formal consultation. The Council has to undertake its own consultation exercise on the Plan. This is so that everyone has the opportunity to review the final version.
    • Independent Examination. The Council then commissions an independent examiner to scrutinise the Plan to ensure it conforms to statutory legislation. This examination gives the Plan legal force when it is adopted and so mandates developers to adhere to it.
    • Referendum. The final component is the referendum of all residents in our Area. This is arranged by the Council and ensures the community has the ultimate say on whether the Plan should be formally adopted.
• We originally anticipated this final phase would take approximately 6 months. However, we learned last week that due to the current pandemic all elections and referendums have been delayed until next May 2021. This is down to the delay to the Mayoral & local authority elections that were scheduled for next month. The delay is incorporated into the emergency legislation passed by the government last month. If you are interested, here is a link to the government guidance relating to neighbourhood planning.
• This is a blow as we really wanted our Plan to be adopted and come into force this year. There is, however, one redeeming feature contained in the guidance. Councils are advised that where a plan is ready to be sent to referendum, “that plan can be given significant weight in decision-making” where relevant. It’s something I suppose but, even so, it remains hugely frustrating that we are a year away before formal adoption.

3. Regular links….

• Facebook sites:
  • Beeston Chilwell Area Mutual Aid Group
  • Toton Support Group
  • Stapleford Helping Hand and Surrounding Areas.  
• National & local authority information sites:
  • Government COVID-19 site
  • NHS COVID-19 site
  • Broxtowe Borough Council COVID-19 page
  • Nottinghamshire County Council COVID-19 page
• Other useful links:
  • Nott’m City Transport 36 timetable
  • Trent Barton Indigo timetable.
  • NET Tram virus information including timetable info.
  • Notts CC Helpful Links in Difficult Times spreadsheet  The tabs at the top of the spreadsheet provide access to further links.
  • Broxtowe Council’s Open for Business page, including restaurants offering takeaways.
  • Businesses that deliver to your door (if you live in Bramcote). However, we reckon they will be willing to deliver to our neck of the woods.

This is another lengthy edition, so I’ll close even more quickly than las….

Kind regards
Graham

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

Hello everyone and…

Happy Easter!

This week is doubly special as we have reached another milestone for the Weekly Digest.  100 up! and still going strong. Yes, we have now reached a century of digest editions. These updates started in July 2017 and we passed the half century mark in September 2018. It’s called a ‘Weekly Digest’ but, as long-standing readers know, it’s not turned out to be quite that often. I’ve done a quick calculation and this 100^th edition is published exactly 141 weeks after the first one. Which means 2 digests are published every 3 weeks – which ain’t too bad is it? And this milestone has been reached just as we are ready (almost) to submit our Neighbourhood Plan.

Anyway, let’s continue our format from the last couple of weeks and start off with COVID-19 related links.

1. New messages and links….

• Message from Toton Churches: “Toton Churches have teamed up with Notts County Council Volunteer Hub to offer support to people in Toton who are self-isolating. If you or someone you know needs support, contact 0115 946 2357 or email:  contact@totonchurches.org  We can offer shopping, prescription collection or a listening ear through phone befriending.”
• Message from Cllr Lee Fletcher: “Broxtowe Borough Council has launched a Council Tax hardship scheme. Those eligible for Council Tax Support could receive up to £300 extra support in 2020/21. They do not need to apply for this additional support, the Council will automatically provide it to those who are eligible.
  • A further £200,000 is available to assist those receiving Council Tax Support if they are struggling to pay their Council Tax. A form is available for people to complete if they wish to make a claim. To apply click through to this Council page: COVID-19 Financial support for individuals”
• Businesses that deliver to your door. Here’s a link to a list of local businesses that will deliver to your door. The list was compiled by St Michael’s Church Bramcote (so credit to them) and is aimed at Bramcote residents. But I expect the businesses will be willing to deliver in our Area as well.
• BBC Coronavirus Latest Here’s a link to the BBC’s Coronavirus newsletter If you’re interested in receiving this newsletter on a regular basis, you can sign up at the bottom.

2. Regular on-line links….

• Facebook sites – the 3 groups from last week:
  • Beeston Chilwell Area Mutual Aid Group
  • Toton Support Group
  • Stapleford Helping Hand and Surrounding Areas.  
• Latest national and local information and advice:
  • Government COVID-19 website
  • NHS Coronavirus page
  • Broxtowe Borough Council coronavirus page
  • Nottinghamshire County Council page
• Other useful information/links:
  • Nottingham City Transport 36 service to/from Chilwell. Latest timetable
  • Trent Barton’s Indigo latest timetable information.
  • NET Nottingham Tram. Here’s the link to their virus page  which includes latest timetable info.
  • Helpful Links in Difficult Times. County Council initiative. Here’s the link to the spreadsheet  Click on the tabs at the top of the spreadsheet to see more links.
  • Open for Business. Here is the link to businesses that are open. The Borough Council are maintaining this page and includes restaurants offering takeaways.

3. Reflections on the last 18 months

• In the 50^th edition, I summarised the highlights that had taken place since the start of the Forum.  So, I thought you might like another quick glance over the shoulder at the highlights from the 50th to now …
  • Sep ’18: signed up to Broxtowe Lotto scheme which has raised, as at the end of March 2020, a total of £1,368! [Many thanks, again, to our generous supporters for some very welcome funds.]
  • Oct ’18: DIO held 3 consultation sessions demonstrating their ideas for the Barracks.
  • Oct ’18 – Mar ’19: the Forum commissioned two reports and a masterplanning exercise from AECOM and Kefa Designs to provide background information, evidence and illustrations – all needed to strengthen the Plan.
  • Nov ’18: the Forum worked with the Council to develop and submit a Garden Communities bid (for the Barracks) to the government.
  • Nov ’18: we hosted our own unofficial HS2 consultation session at the Greenwood Centre. Around 280 turned up to see HS2’s latest plans for the Hub Station on the Sidings.
  • Dec ’18: members of the Steering Group attended 3 sessions of the Part 2 Local Plan external examination hearings organised by the Council.
  • Dec ‘18: an early draft of our Plan (sections A & B) published via Digest so members & friends could review and provide comments.
  • Feb ’19: our second AGM with almost 250 people attending to view some illustrative masterplans for the Barracks. Once we added the new members to our mailing list, we broke through the 1,000 barrier of people registered with the Forum. It currently stands at almost 1,100!
  • Apr – Jun ’19: draft Plan completed and refined by Steering Group.
  • Jul – Sep ’19: Plan finally published, followed by 10 weeks of formal consultation. Almost 120 people/organisations responded to the exercise with comments and suggestions.
  • Oct ’19 – Mar ’20: undertaking revisions to the Plan based on the overwhelming level of feedback received from the consultation.
  • Mar – Apr ’20: associated documents drafted and the Plan is ready to be formally submitted to the Council!
• And running all the way through these last 18 months or so has been meetings with key influencers and stakeholders:
  • Anna Soubry (Oct ’18) who has raised a number of questions in Parliament on our behalf;
  • Sir John Peace, Chairman of Midlands Engine (Jun ’19) who is leading the formation of a Development Corporation for the East Midlands;
  • Cllr Milan Radulovic MBE Leader of Broxtowe Council (Oct ’19);
  • and to top it all …. Robert Jenrick, Secretary of State for Housing (Jan ’20) – organised by our current MP, Darren Henry;
  • Landowner meetings with: DIO, HS2 Ltd, and Oxalis;
  • And regular quarterly meetings of the Strategic Planning Group to provide our input to initial Hub Station scoping work.
• Writing down the list brings home the scale of work undertaken over the last 18 months or so which has culminated in the Plan being ready for delivery to the Council – our whole raison d’etre over the last 3 years.

4. And finally…

• Manor Farm Recreation Ground works. If you’ve been down to the recreation ground in Toton recently, you will have seen construction works being set up. This work is on behalf of Western Power and the objective is to bore two cable ducting tunnels under both the river and the bypass channel between Toton and Long Eaton (specifically between the two Carrfield Avenues). I’m grateful to Norman Lewis, the chairman of Friends of Toton Fields (and a member of our Steering Group) for sending me a document that contains full details of the planned works. If you’re interested, here’s a link to the plans – scroll down to page 17 to see a picture of the works.
• Consultation Statement. The final document needed by the Forum to accompany our Plan to the Council has now been completed and is currently under review by the Steering Group. More on this next time.

This is a lengthy edition, so I’ve left out some ‘breaking news’ relating to our Neighbourhood Plan referendum. But that can be held over for next time, so I’ll quickly close this week.

Kind regards
Graham

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

Hello again,

A shorter edition this time, which is again focused on providing some links you may find useful during these strange times. Feedback from last week was again positive, hence sticking with the format.  This week’s layout is re-organised slightly so that new links are published first with standard links further down (although I’ve newly published a link to NCT 36 service timetable under standard links in section 2).

1. Some new on-line links….

• Local walks. A Digest reader got in touch during the week suggesting a couple of walks that may be of interest. These walks are pretty much on our doorstep and tick both the ‘local’ and ‘quiet’ boxes – which help to minimise driving as well as maintaining social distance. This first walk is a pdf document of the Erewash Valley Trail. This 2^nd link takes you a Sustrans site of the Nutbrook Trail which starts off on the Erewash Canal before branching off to Heanor via Shipley Park. The Nutbrook Trail may perhaps be more suited to cyclists but walkers will enjoy it as well. Many thanks, Stephen D for sending in these links. If anyone else has suggestions for local walks, please send them over and I’ll publish next week.
• Government advice to what you can/can’t do with regard to leaving the house
• Helpful Links in Difficult Times. A Notts County Council initiative has produced and maintains a spreadsheet containing lots of useful links in google docs. Here’s a link to the spreadsheet  Click on the tabs at the top of the spreadsheet to see more links.
• Govt letter to GCSE, AS and A level students. Here’s a link to the letter explaining how grades will be awarded to those who were due to sit exams this summer.
• A £1m COVID19 Community fund set up by Notts County Council to help organisations working with vulnerable groups. Here’s the link to full details
• Business Support site. The govt have set up a site where businesses can access support
• Supporting children and young people’s mental health and wellbeing.  Here’s a link to another govt maintained site

2. Some regular on-line links….

• Facebook sites, here are the 3 groups from last week:
  • Beeston Chilwell Area Mutual Aid Group now over 3,100 members.
  • Toton Support Group now almost 650 members. You need to join the group.
  • Stapleford Helping Hand and Surrounding Areas.   Now over 1,300 members. As above you need to join this group.
• Links to latest national and local information and advice:
  • Government document: New Rules on Staying at Home – as last week
  • NHS Coronavirus page – as last week
  • Broxtowe Borough Council coronavirus page – as last week.
  • Nottinghamshire County Council page – as last week.
• Other useful information/links.
  • Nott’m City Transport‘s latest timetable information for the 36 service to/from Chilwell
  • Trent Barton’s latest timetable information. Here’s the link to details.
  • NET Nottingham Tram. Here’s the link to their virus page  which includes latest timetable info.
  • Open for Business. Here is the link to businesses that are open. The Borough Council are maintaining this page and includes restaurants offering takeaways.

3. And finally…

• Forum news: we’re still working on the Consultation Statement – it is now 75% completed so not much longer to go. I was going to say we’re working on the Statement with ‘quiet intensity’ but I appreciate that, outside the Steering Group, it may just appear that we are being ‘intensely quiet’! Never mind – by now I’m sure you know that I tend to be over optimistic regarding our capacity to produce documents on time. I deliberately set challenging timeframes, so we have clear deadlines to work to. But I know that means they are sometimes (usually?) missed but, still, I’m a firm believer that targets help provide focus.

That’s all folks!  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

Hello again,

Well, what a difference a couple of weeks make! In the last edition we advised that we had postponed the AGM – primarily because we couldn’t sort out a suitable location, but also because we thought the virus may have developed into becoming a risk to mass meetings. Of course, we had no idea (along with almost everyone else) how quickly the situation would deteriorate. But as the old saying goes…. we are where we are.

So, this edition is a little different. We thought it useful (and hope you do, too) to publicise/signpost details of support available locally to those who need help as a result of self-isolation.  A number of on-line community groups have quickly sprung up offering help with shopping etc. In addition, local organisations are putting in place their own support plans. We asked one of the Forum’s strongest supporters, Toton Churches, to let us know their response to the current situation – see their reply below.  So, if you happen to be in one of the groups who need to self-isolate and are finding it difficult to get supplies etc., please make use of the help available – it really isn’t far away.

1. Links to some on-line support….

• Social media groups (Facebook and WhatsApp especially) have quickly been set-up and are full of people offering to help with shopping, fetching prescriptions etc. If you use Facebook:
  • Beeston Chilwell Area Mutual Aid Group already have over 2,500 members.
  • Toton Support Group only established last Monday and already have almost 500 members. You will need to join this group to see/share information.
  • Stapleford & Surrounding Areas Mutual Aid Group have over 700 members.
• Virus update sites. To find the latest national and local information and advice try one/more of these:
  • NHS Coronavirus page
  • Broxtowe Borough Council Coronavirus page. If you’d like to receive regular updates from the Council here’s a link to their latest newsletter – you can click on the link at the bottom to sign up to the service
  • Nottinghamshire County Council page
  • Darren Henry MP site – Coronavirus page
• Commercial information:
  • Tesco Extra (Swiney Way) is setting aside 1 hour between 9 and 10am each Mon, Weds and Friday reserved for elderly/vulnerable groups. Here’s a link to the text of an email I received from Tesco that explains what they are doing.
  • Trent Barton have revised their timetables including Indigo and Skylink. Here’s a link to the full details

2. Toton Churches – Doing Church Differently

• With the cancellation of all church services and events, Toton Churches is playing its part in supporting the Toton Community: serving others where we can, offering opportunities to worship at home and praying for all affected by the pandemic.
• Our members will be joining others in offering support to neighbours, especially the elderly, the vulnerable and those households in isolation.
• We know that some may wish to take part in worship, even if they do not usually attend church. Toton Churches’ website and Facebook page will offer materials to help people worship at home together with links to on-line and broadcast opportunities. Search for ‘Toton Churches’ on Facebook or visit www.totonchurches.org
• We also know some people may feel the need for prayer, whether or not they would normally. Toton Churches is undertaking to pray for any people or situation brought to their attention. If you might find this helpful, e-mail  prayer.request@totonchurches.org

3. And finally, some other news….

• The Neighbourhood Plan is done. The finishing touches have been made and we will submit it to the Council early next week. This will be a ‘soft’ submission to give them a chance to spot and warn us of any showstoppers that will slow down progress over the next stages. We now expect to formally submit the Plan at the end of April. I know, I know.. this is a month’s delay to my anticipated end-of-March ‘deadline’ but it all helps to strengthen the final product.
• The Basic Conditions Statement is drafted and is now out for review by the Steering Group. This should be signed-off by the end of next week.
• The Consultation Statement is the other document we need to produce – we will start drafting this early next week and hope to complete in a couple of weeks.
• Broxtowe Lotto. A quick update from last time. I’m very pleased to report that 3 of our supporters were winners last week! Mr. N won a £250 cash prize whilst both Mrs. P and Mr. S won 3 extra tickets. Congratulations to all 3. As the old saying goes “you’ve gotta be in it to win it!”

The Facebook links posted above are quickly growing their memberships, but they are not the only community groups in place. Several street-centred WhatsApp groups have also been set up so there is almost certainly one near you organised by neighbours. If any organiser of these groups wants to send me details of anything in our neighbourhood, I’ll be glad to signpost people to them next week.

These are indeed the most unusual times – I was going to say ‘unprecedented’, but I’m tired of hearing that word at the moment.  However, it is wonderful to see the care demonstrated by our neighbours in quickly rallying around to offer help to the elderly, vulnerable and less fortunate. It’s something to applaud and build on once we get back to something close to normal life.

In the meantime, keep safe!

Kind regards
Graham

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

Hello again

Another short edition as there’s not been a lot of news. But after last week’s missive I shall be a little more circumspect when using images – especially emojis! When I added the ‘winking face’ icon last week, it appeared to be of a modest size when viewed on the website. However, I don’t know what it was like in your email version, but what appeared in mine was a grossly outsized face with a grin that just seemed to mock me and my puny attempt to become a ‘graphic artist’. So, I’ll take more care next time!

1 Plan’s Progress – a further update

• We continue to hold weekly workshops to get all the revisions incorporated into the Plan and we’ve made good progress. Changes have been made to Sections A and B and in the policies section (what was Section C) we have completed Housing, Urban Design, Leisure/Heritage/Communities, and Employment. Just Environment and Infrastructure need polishing off and we intend to get those finished in the next 2 weeks
• The trickiest bit of work is producing a revamped Section D. Most of this section has been rewritten and given a new, clearer focus to:
  • Act as a ‘bridge’ from the vision and objectives as outlined in Section B to the policies in Section D
  • This ‘bridge’ comprises a set of guiding principles for masterplanning purposes across the Area
  • Besides these principles, the new section will also document our aspirations, such as our desire to see George Spencer Academy relocated to a new purpose-built school across Toton Lane, somewhere near the tram terminus. A criticism we had from some stakeholders was that the Plan didn’t clearly differentiate between aspirations (which we’d like to see implemented) and policies (which must be implemented).
• We’ve produced a first draft of this section – which will become the new ‘Section C’ – but some more work is needed. This should be completed in the next couple of weeks.
• We’re still looking to get the final version completed by the end of February, but it probably won’t be submitted to the council until the end of March, to allow time for a couple of associated documents to be produced.

2. Living with Beauty

• I don’t know if you have heard about the ‘Living with Beauty’ report by the Building Better, Building Beautiful (BBBB) commission which has just been published. I’ve only skimmed it so far, but it clearly contains a lot of good stuff that we want to see adopted in our Area.
• The report was picked up in last week’s Sunday Times and they highlight that the report urges the government to:
  • Engage communities early and widely in planning
  • Local ideas for beauty to be prescribed in new neighbourhood design codes
  •  “Regreen” towns […] with two million street trees.
  • Rewrite the National Planning Policy Framework to explicitly ‘ask for beauty’.
• Robert Jenrick (SoS for Housing) is quoted as saying the report is, “…one of the most important we’ve seen for many years”.
• This is all positive news for us as it reinforces our ambitions and aspirations to build something special here in Toton and Chilwell.
• Here is a link to the report if you are interested in reading it. Let us know your views.

3. And finally…. (I did warn this was a ‘slow news’ week)

• The Council is still consulting on its Leisure Centres. I posted about this a couple of weeks ago and asked for your help in pushing for a new Leisure Centre to be built in our area. So please take part in the online survey – here is the link to the website. Many thanks.
• Last time to take part in the Stapleford Town Deal consultation (scroll down to the Survey Monkey link). The survey closes next Weds 12^th February so if you are interested in adding your thoughts on what improvements you’d like to see in Stapleford, now is the time to act.
• Phone boxes consultation. The council have also approached the Forum for views on the viability of a couple of phone boxes in our Area. BT are looking to remove the phone boxes at:
  • Woodstock Road, Toton – located next to the bus stop near the convenience store. This box has been used only 4 times in the last 12 months
  • Blenheim Drive, Chilwell – located outside Sainsbury’s Local. This box has been used 35 times over the last 12 months
• Do you have strong views about retaining either of these boxes? If so, please get in touch. Clearly it is going to be difficult to justify keeping the one on Woodstock Road given it is only used once every 3 months. The one on Blenheim Drive is used more often however, at less than once a week, it is still going to be a battle to retain it. We need to respond back to the council within 21 days so please let me have any views you have. Alternatively, you can respond directly to the council if you wish – I’ll be happy to provide details.

And that’s all folks. Apart from the continuing work on the Plan, and planning for the AGM, we have little else on our radar screens, so it will likely be a couple of weeks before you receive the next update.

Kind regards
Graham

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

Hello

After last week’s pretty lengthy report, I thought I’d make this edition shorter by providing an update on some statistics. It also gives me a chance to practise adding images to the digest!

1. People registered with the Forum

• Overall, the total number of people registered with Forum – 1,096 – has remained pretty stable over the last 12 months or so. Remember…
  • ‘Members’ are those who live/work within our Area
  • ‘Friends’ live/work elsewhere but are interested in our activities
• Around 925 people have provided email addresses although there are about 130 who share addresses with spouses/partners
• The remaining 170 or so either don’t have an email address or have chosen to opt out (almost 50) from receiving these updates. Of course, some of the opt outs will be those who have moved completely away from our Area, so may no longer have an interest in our work. On the other hand, we have recently added as a ‘friend’ someone who used to live in Toton many years ago but who now lives in New York!
• In addition to those registered, there are almost 200 people who ‘like’ our Facebook page. There may be some overlap between these ‘likes’ and those registered but even so I’d hazard a guess that our total ‘supporters’ must be around 1,250 – which is a fantastic total!

2. Some digest statistics

• The digest is sent to just under 800 unique email addresses. We started sending it out automatically, from our website, back in April 2018 and records have been kept since then on a couple of key measures
• The two graphs below illustrate:
  • the first time an edition is opened by an email address – ‘Unique Opens’. As can be expected, a considerable number are opened several times which suggests those who share addresses do get to read it for themselves
  • the % the edition is opened (the first time) compared to total recipients of the edition – ‘Open Rate’.

• As you can see in the top graph, the number of ‘unique opens’ has grown over the last 12 months – no doubt due to the Plan being produced and published. So whilst the overall average of ‘opens’ is 365, it is clear that the number is now closer to 400’ish….
• ….. which is reflected in 2nd graph which shows the average % open rate which, at around 50%, is simply staggering.
• And some further numbers:
  • 63% of subscribers ‘often’ open/click the emails
  • 8% ‘sometimes’ open/click emails
  • 28% ‘rarely’ open/click emails.
    And to these 28% can I just say: “Why only ‘rarely’? Look at what you’re missing!” 😉
  • [I don’t know how ‘often’, ‘sometimes’, and ‘rarely’ are defined but even so, 71% regular/sometimes openers is, by any standard, pretty impressive.]
• I find it difficult to believe there can be another Neighbourhood Forum community that has such a strong level of engagement with its community.

3. And finally….

• These stats clearly demonstrate the breadth and depth of support we have for our work in the Forum. We sort of knew we had strong support having received a good number of positive comments during our consultation with you last summer.
• Nevertheless, it is great to see those comments backed up with further hard evidence. Many thanks, again, to all of you for taking a keen interest in our work. If you know of any family, friends or neighbours who would like to receive these updates, please ask them to get in touch, I’ll be glad to add them in.
• In the meantime, these stats will come in very handy when we produce our Consultation Statement that needs to be submitted to the Council alongside the final version of the Plan

That’s enough, I think, for this week’s shorter edition. Let me know if you like to see these sorts of graphs or images in general and I’ll try to add more in. Although I don’t think we’d want to change the format too much from the usual short, snappy, text-based updates. Or would we….?

Kind regards
Graham

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