Welcome to Broxtowe Enews, brought to you by the Liberal Democrats and edited by David Watts, on behalf of the Lib-Dems in Broxtowe.

1. Boots Job Losses
The beginning of this week brought the disappointing news that Boots will be shedding 400 jobs from their site in Beeston. Of course not all of the people affected will be Broxtowe residents but many will be, and I hope that the new administration on the borough council will be getting involved from the outset to provide practical help and support to the people affected.

2. Hemlock Happening
I was pleased to get a message from the organisers of the Hemlock Happening to confirm that they will be running the event next year. The awful events that led to this year’s show closing early will be looked at and the organisers will see what lessons can be learned from that, but it has not put them off from running the Happening.

3. Shortwood Farm
The County Council have now given final approval for plans to create an open cast mine at Shortwood Farm between Cossall and Trowell. This is extremely bad news and will devastate a really important part of the borough. I have read some emails from Labour recently trying to blame this on Anna Soubry but whilst I am no fan of Anna’s I think that this is a really disingenuous lime to take. The decision to grant permission was taken by the Labour controlled County Council.

4. New County Council Boundaries
The Boundary Commission has now announced its proposals for changing the boundaries of the county council divisions. There are major changes proposed for Broxtowe, where the number of County Councillors is proposed to fall from ten to nine. The Commission are proposing that the boundaries in Broxtowe should be completely redrawn, with Bramcote in particular being split into two, partly with Beeston and the rest with Stapleford, Trowell and Awsworth. These proposals broadly follow the suggestions of the County Council, which they pushed through without any public consultation prior to the election. However the Boundary Commission now want your views. You can read their proposals at http://www.lgbce.org.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0018/25353/NottinghamshireDraftRecommendationsLongReport-FINAL.pdf.

5. Bittern Chicks
As readers may know I used to be a director of the Notts Wildlife Trust Trading Company which runs Attenborough Nature Reserve, so this next story is especially exciting for me. I’m delighted to report that a pair of Bitterns have not only nested but have bred. Two chicks have been seen. This is the first time that Bitterns have ever had chicks in Nottinghamshire and is a wonderful piece of news. I’m told that they can be seen from the Tower Hide. Many congratulations need to go to the team who developed the reed beds where the birds bred.

6. Big 50 Bioblitz Weekend
The nature reserve will also be holding their annual Big 50 bioblitz weekend on the weekend of 19th – 21st June 2015. Residents are invited to come along and help record 50 new species on this wonderful nature reserve. On Friday 19th June activities start at 6pm with a Spider Walk and Talk (a free event) from 6pm- 8pm and an Evening Birdsong Walk (also free) from 7pm – 9pm. There will be a Bat Walk and Talk (costing £5) from 8.30pm – 11pm and a Moth Trapping Event (free) from 9.30pm – 12 midnight. On Saturday 20th June there is a full day of walks and talks planned with a family event on Sunday 21st June from 10.30am – 15.30pm. Full details are on the reserves web site at http://www.attenboroughnaturecentre.co.uk/things-to-see-and-do/big-50-wildlife-weekend.

7. Lib Dem Branch Meetings
We have a number of Lib Dem branch meetings coming up over the next few days. Beeston branch will be meeting at 7.30pm tomorrow at the Commercial Inn, the Stapleford branch will be meeting on Thursday 25th June at Stapleford Fire Station on Pinfold Lane, and the Bramcote branch will be meeting on Monday 29th June at 8 Cranston Drive, Bramcote, starting at 7.30pm. All members and friends are welcome to attend.

8. Painting the Wild Flowers of Attenborough
The third event happening at the Attenborough Nature Reserve that I want to mention is a Painting the Wild Flowers session on Sunday 14th June 2015. Bring along your watercolours for a morning drawing and painting the native flora to be found in this very special habitat. This is suitable for beginners and runs from 10.00am – 1.00pm. The cost is £10 per person and pre-booking is essential. Contact Attenborough Nature Centre on 0115 972 1777 for bookings or more details.

9. Council Meetings
There are two council meetings coming up this week. On Tuesday the HS2/Toton working group will meet and it will be interesting to see how the new administration set out their vision for supporting the HS2 and what they intend to do about plans to develop in Toton. Following this on Wednesday the Development Control Committee will meet to consider a number of applications from Beeston, Bramcote, Watnall, Chilwell and Eastwood. Everyone is welcome to attend either meeting, They start at 7pm at the Town Hall, Foster Avenue in Beeston.

10. Great Notts Bike Ride
The 2015 Great Notts Bike Ride will take place on 21st June. There are 25km, 50km and 100km routes and although bookings are up 15% on last year there are still spaces left. Full details can be found at http://www.cyclelivenottingham.co.uk/sunday/.

11. Beeston Square Consultation
This is a quick reminder that there is only a week left to have your say on the future of Beeston Square. With a new tram system just around the corner and development on The Square well underway, it’s an exciting time for Beeston. The Council wants to hear the views of residents, businesses, shoppers and stakeholders on how they would like to see the Square continue to be redeveloped for the future. A “Beeston Square Phase 2 Plan: The Future” guidance document has been produced in conjunction with the Council’s Beeston Town Centre Advisory Committee to help encourage development and investment into the town. Full details are available at http://www.broxtowe.gov.uk/index.aspx?articleid=10320;

12. Green Infrastructure Consultation
Over the past few months the council has been working with Groundwork Greater Nottingham to produce a Green Infrastructure Strategy. The strategy is intended to ensure that the council values our green assets and has a strategic approach to conserving and enhancing them. This is a process that was started under the old administration and is being carried on by the Conservatives. Green Infrastructure can be defined as a network of living multi-functional natural and semi natural features, green spaces, rivers and lakes that link and connect villages, towns and cities. It provides a holistic and sustainable approach to viewing the natural environment and landscape and provides multiple benefits for people, wildlife and local communities. To have your say about this and to read all the documentation please visit http://www.broxtowe.gov.uk/index.aspx?articleid=9911.

13. Armed Forces Week Flag Raising
On Monday 22nd June at 11am Ashley Carlin from Eastwood and Stan Blanche from Chilwell will join the Mayor of the Borough of Broxtowe to raise the flag for Armed Forces Week. The Mayor will be joined by representatives from the Royal British Legion, Uniformed Organisations, Forces in the Community and members of the local community in Beeston Square to recognise the contributions of all those who serve or have served in Her Majesty’s Armed Forces. This is part of the build up to this year’s Armed Forces Day which will take place on Saturday 27th June. This is an annual opportunity for the nation to show its support for the men and women who make up the Armed Forces community.

14. Notts TV
Over the past year Notts TV has been available on Freeview and proving itself a popular local channel. However for some reason many of us in Broxtowe have been unable to receive it (myself included). The good news is that from July it will be appearing on Sky TV and so available to many more people.

15. Tram Patronage
Figures released this week show that there has been a significant increase in the number of people travelling on Line 1 of the tram system in Nottingham. In the last year 8.1 million people used the system, up 2.9% on last year. Hopefully the Beeston line will open shortly so that these numbers can be significantly higher next year. I have always been pro-tram and can’t wait for the system to open, although I have not been pro-construction for the dreadful way that the work seems to have been managed.

16. Ofsted Reports
Ofsted have published their latest report into Albany School this week and I’m afraid that it doesn’t make very happy reading. Pupil achievement school leadership and the quality of teaching were all deemed to be needing improvement. On a much happier note inspectors also visited George Spencer School and was judged to be outstanding. Congratulations to everyone who was involved in achieving that target.

17. School Meals
Pupils in Nottinghamshire have given their school dinners a five star rating. Nearly 90% said that they were satisfied with the quality and presentation of school food, giving it a higher rating than KFC, Greggs or Starbucks. The county council has also been awarded the Soil Associations top award for the quality of its school meals. One of the legacies of the Liberal Democrats in Government was the introduction of free school meals for infant children, and as a result 47,000 children in the county now receive a free high quality meal each day.

As ever thank you for your support for this newsletter. Any feedback is gratefully received.

Best wishes

David
www.davidwatts.org.uk
www.broxtoweliberaldemocrats.org.uk
Follow me on Twitter @davidwatts12.

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