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. Water Bus
The Canals and River Trust are looking at the possibility of establishing a water bus to run between Attenborough Nature Reserve and Holme Pierpoint. They have carried out a feasibility study and are now looking for an operator to run the service. With the number of locks that would need to be negotiated this will not be a fast service but may well be attractive to those wanting a slower pace of travel.

2. Bramcote Neighbourhood Forum
Bramcote Neighbourhood Forum is the mechanism for Bramcote’s residents to form our plan for how we want Bramcote to develop over the next ten or so years. The organisers are holding two “design charrettes” in October to gather the evidence to feed into the neighbourhood plan for Bramcote. A Design Charrette is a short intensive session where residents collaborate to develop a set of objectives and policies that will help achieve this vision. It provides a forum for ideas and offers the unique advantage of giving immediate feedback to participants and the Forum’s steering group. More importantly, it allows everyone who participates to be a co-author of the plan… and it is fun! Please only book to attend one as demand for places is expected to be high. Numbers are limited so only those who have booked places in advance will be able to attend; entry on the day without a previous booking will not be possible. You can register at:
Saturday 8 October at 1430-1700 (2.30pm to 5pm) (Grangewood Methodist Church). Secure your place here: http://tinyurl.com/hvrouph
Saturday 15 October at 1430-1700 (2.30pm to 5pm) (St Michael’s & All Angels Church Centre). Secure your place here: http://tinyurl.com/gpvbqty

3. Bramcote Park Café
The closing date for bids for building a café and toilets in Bramcote Park was Friday. The community interest company set up by local residents submitted our bid on Wednesday. At this point we were the only bidders but the council did say that they were expecting a second bid to be submitted. This will presumably be a commercial company. The bids will now be assessed by the council and they will make a decision about which company they will appoint to build the café in November.

4. Run For Josh
I mentioned last week that there had been a tragedy in Stapleford on Saturday when a young teenage boy, Josh Boothman, died. A number of his friends will be staging a “Run For Josh” tomorrow at Bramcote Park starting at 11.30am. As well as the run there will be a bouncy castle, a penalty shoot out competition run by Stapleford Town Football Club and refreshments available. It would be good to have a great turn out for this event.

5. Broxtowe Neighbourhood Wardens
Broxtowe borough council’s Neighbourhood Wardens have been awarded bronze in the Community Animal Welfare Footprints and RSPCA Innovator awards for their stray dog service for the second year running. I’ve been trying to find some more information about what is involved in this but the press release seems to have vanished from the councils web site, which is strange.

6. Leave a Legacy at Bramcote Hills Park
Whether it’s to honour a loved one, to celebrate a special occasion, as a gift or just because you love the Park, visitors to the much loved Bramcote Hills Park can now leave a lasting legacy by sponsoring one of ten new trees which will be planted on the site. The new trees will be planted around the main entrance of the park to celebrate its tenth consecutive year of being a prestigious Green Flag award winning park. The trees will be chosen for their splendid autumn colour and will be planted during National Tree Week which takes place between 26thNovember and 4th December 2016. Each tree costs £100 to sponsor which includes full care and maintenance for the first year of establishment as well as a certificate and information pack about the tree. All sponsors will be acknowledged with a special notice in the park’s noticeboard. For more details contact the council on 0115 917 7777.

7. Tram Expansion
A senior member of Nottingham City Council has suggested that NET should be expanded to include eight tram lines. I’m keen to see the tram expanded (provided the lessons are learned from the problems with the Beeston line extension) but I very much doubt that we will get to this level during my lifetime. Still it will be interesting to see the plans.

8. Broxtowe Borough Council labelled a top employer
Broxtowe Borough Council has been recognised as an Inside Housing Innovation Index Top Employer for 2016. The Top Employers list includes those housing organisations that outperform the UK norm – an average score from hundreds of UK organisations across all sectors. This year 45 organisations were recognised on the list. The Council was placed at number 38 and was the only Council to appear in the index. The scheme highlights housing organisations with a caring, creative and can-do culture that supports innovation in the workplace. Results are based on staff responses to an in-depth survey carried out by Inside Housing magazine’s research partner Dolphin Index.

9. Micro-Pub
Broxtowe Borough Council have granted planning permission for the old Sweets and Treats store on Chilwell Road in Beeston to be converted into a micro-pub. The applicants, the micro-brewery Totally Brewed, say that they hope to establish a small pub which will hold no more than 30 people. I wish them every success.

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.