Weekly digest: Apr 11

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