Welcome to Broxtowe Enews, brought to you by the Liberal Democrats and edited by David Watts, on behalf of the Lib-Dems in Broxtowe. May I give a special welcome to the new readers that we have this week.

1. St Michaels Church, Bramcote
On Saturday St Michael and All Angels Church Bramcote received a ‘National Fairtrade Campaign Award’ at the National Fairtrade Supporters’ Conference in London. This was for their Fairtrade Campaign work over the past 12 months leading up to Fairtrade Fortnight 2015. A large part of the campaign took place in Fairtrade Fortnight this year but an even larger part at the Hemlock Happening. The church would like to express their thanks to the local community of Bramcote and of course the parishioners of St Michael’s for their ongoing support. If anyone would like a speaker, or a school an education package they can contact the church through the Church office on 0115 943 0137. I’d like to give my personal congratulations to Toni and the team for this.

2. Fracking
The government have now granted a licence to explore the possibility of fracking covering the south Broxtowe area. Details can be seen at http://drillordrop.com/licence-sk53/. I and my colleagues in the Lib Dems are completely opposed to this and I am appalled that the Governments change in policy has seen the British green energy industry decimated whilst at the same time they are pushing fracking on areas that do not want it. May I remind people that there will be a public meeting at John Clifford School in Beeston this coming Friday, 23rd October, starting at 7.30pm.

3. Oxylane Sports Village
The Conservative administration in Broxtowe decided at the cabinet on Tuesday night to turn their back on the proposed Oxylane Sports Village by Junction 26 of the M1. This would have created 250 new jobs, given the north of the borough a new sports centre and funded traffic improvements around Nuthall Island which are badly needed. This decision is deeply regrettable.

4. New Air Ambulance
Lincs and Notts air ambulance have announced that they will be talking delivery of a new helicopter next summer. The charity say that the new AgustaWestland AW169 model is a major improvement on their current model and the increased cabin space will enable them to carry an extra person such as a doctor or relative of the patient they are transporting.

5. Mobility Scooter Training Sessions
A mobility scooter training session is being held at the Hassocks Fire Station in Beeston on 18th November. The fire brigade are putting these on in response to public concerns, and there will be sessions in the morning and the afternoon. Further details are available from the Disabilities Living Centre on 0115 985 5780.

6. Midland Mainline Electrification
On Wednesday of this week MP’s on the Public Accounts Committee will be looking at the government’s decision to delay the electrification of the Midland Mainline until 2023. Lots of local residents have signed our petition calling on the Government to proceed with the scheme to the original timetable and I hope that the PAC will support that position when it publishes its report.

7. Funeral Costs
I was staggered to read this week that the average funeral costs in the East Midlands have risen by 41 times the rate of inflation over the past year. The average funeral now costs £3,668 with an additional £1,759 going on extras such as flowers.

8. Charity Fashion Show
There will be a charity Fashion Show and Sale on Thursday 12th November at Eastwood Town Football Club to raise money for the Mayor of Broxtowe’s charities, Nottingham Children’s Hospital and Forces in the Community. The event will start at 7.00pm and will include items from Next, River Island, Monsoon, Wallis and Topshop at discount prices. Tickets for the Fashion show are £5 each, to include a free gift courtesy of Coutaulds Brands Limited and Look Magazine. Further details are available at http://www.broxtowe.gov.uk/index.aspx?articleid=14911.

9. Celebrate Harvest At Dig In
On 24th October 2015 between 11am and 3pm there will be a family fun day to celebrate harvest with activities including apple pancakes, apple pressing, smoothie bikes with Pulp Friction, pumpkin carving, chutneys and preserves, seasonal produce grown on the allotment, tombola and more! The event is free to attend and will be at Albany Allotments site, Pasture Rd, Stapleford, NG9 8HZ.

10. Kimberley School
Kimberley School has joined the East Midlands Education trust, an alliance of four schools from across the region. The schools in the trust will share experience and best practice, and hopefully Kimberley School will be able to improve on the “requiring improvement” rating that they were given by Ofsted in their last inspection.

11. 3G Football Pitches in Kimberley
A £1,500 grant was awarded to Broxtowe Borough Council for Kimberley Leisure Centre, thanks to the Premier League & The FA Facilities Fund, which provides grants towards developing new or refurbished grassroots football facilities. The grant and additional £4,000 provided by Kimberley School has enabled Kimberley Leisure Centre to replace all of their mini-soccer goals on the full size 3G football pitch. The goals are used for recreational and competitive games for 5-a-side and 7-a-side and will directly benefit the leisure centre’s partner club, Priory Celtic FC who use the facilities for playing matches in the Young Elizabethan League. Priory Celtic, who won The FA Charter Standard Community Club of the Year Award for 2015, currently has almost 30 teams training each week at the leisure centre. Kimberley School are also based on the site and their 1,200+ pupils will also be able to take advantage of the new equipment, as they use the facilities daily as part of their PE curriculum and for school football matches too.

12. National Adoption Week
A team from Derbyshire County Council will be answering questions about adoption at the Scout Hut on Middle Street in Beeston as part of National Adoption Week next Saturday, 24th October, between 1.30pm and 3.30pm. Anyone interested in adopting is welcome to attend.

13. New Training Opportunities
One hundred work placements will be offered in Broxtowe this academic year thanks to a new partnership between Broxtowe Borough Council and its construction partner, United Living and Central College Nottingham. Around three construction students a week from the college will be offered practical experience and an opportunity to gain valuable skills in a range of trades including plumbing, joinery, painting, plastering and electrical work. The students’ efforts will support local communities in residential areas that are administered by Broxtowe Council’s Housing Modernisations Contract – a seven year agreement to upgrade managed homes across West Nottinghamshire. They will be working mostly on projects which involve the replacement of kitchens and bathrooms, as well as upgrades to electrical installations.

As ever thank you for your support for this newsletter. In next week’s edition I hope to be able to give a first report on a really exciting new project that I am involved in at the moment and which we hope to officially launch early next year. 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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