Blog Update 26th November

View from behind the stage as lights go on

 We've had a busy couple of weeks since our last update.  Last night we all enjoyed the Christmas Lights switch on in Swadlincote.  It's always a great event and good to see the town centre busy, particularly when people seem to be having a good time.  The entertainment was very good throughout the event. It has been nice to see some really positive posts on social media with highlights and images from the night.  Our thanks go to all those who attended and the council staff who worked hard to make it a success.

Part of the entertainment team!

On a personal note it was lovely to see our friend and colleague Sean Bambrick turn on the lights in his role as council chairman accompanied by High Sherriff of Derbyshire, Theresa Peltier and Swadlincote Town Cryer, Karen Bailey.

The lights switch on is just one part of a number of different events taking place around Swadlincote over the next few weeks.  A Rudolph Trail map is currently available from the Visitor Information Centre on the Delph for children to find Rudolph in different places throughout the town and have the map book stamped.  This runs until Saturday 9th December.

Also on 9th December is a Festive Fun Day taking place throughout the town between 10am and 2pm.  Further details of this free event can be found here.

Other things of note on the SDDC website currently are the following:

• Information regarding Flood Recovery Relief if affected by storm Babet.
• News of Levelling up funding for Swadlincote.
• Consultation on plans to improve Oversetts Road Recreation ground.

Closer to home Alan and I attended a meeting with residents recently relating to the previously mentioned pre-application communication from St Modwens for 105 homes near Station Street which had been postponed.  We hope that the residents found the meeting useful and thank those who attended for their time as well as their patience, passion for the area and questions.  Thanks to Tom and Sophie at the Drum and Monkey for allowing us to have the meeting there and we wish you all the best as landlord and landlady of the pub.

We've also had a busy meeting schedule of late with Housing and Community Services and Finance and Management committees taking place during the last couple of weeks as well as a training session on Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG).  

We also held our monthly surgery at Gresley Old Hall on Saturday morning and are grateful for those who attended.

Our next surgery is due to take place at York Road Methodist Church on 30th December.  This may be subject to change with it being in-between Christmas and New Year.  We will update with further information.

Recent Events (12/11/23)

Today has been a special day in Church Gresley with the Remembrance service held at the War Memorial on Market Street.  Despite the wet and cold weather the event was very well attended as always.  The formal laying of the wreaths was followed by a procession lead by Guides and Scouts to the bandstand where Rev Mike Firbank gave a short service.

It was great to see so many people attend to pay respects to those who have been killed in battle and particularly to see that the younger generation are so involved.

We had several conversations before and after the service with fellow attendees representing different organisations as well as familiar local residents.

This included a chat with SDDC cemeteries officer Joanne who informed us of some recent work at Church Gresley cemetery with planting of wildflowers involving the local infants school and also some other facts about the cemetery which were of interest.

This brought about the end of a busy week within the ward and the surroundings.  Last Sunday I attended the opening event of a new community hub based at the old Paramount Cinema in West Street, Swadlincote.  The aim of the organisation is to create safe places for young people, families and commnity living in Swadlincote.  This is done through volunteers and along with partner organisations. There are different types of sessions including youth clubs, drama groups and board game cafes as examples.  The hub aims to be fully inclusive and has activities for children with Special Educational Needs and also sessions for parents and carers as well as providing support for the LGBT+ community across Derbyshire.  There is more information on Facebook (search Collect Hub Swadlincote) or via www.crderbyshire.co.uk.

I had a chat with Mikey and Chris from the organisation at the event and they spoke passionately about the aims of the hub.  We which them all the best with the project.

Closer to Gresley, many residents received a letter from St Modwens relating to plans for a 105 house development to the rear of Station Street, Castle Gresley and an event relating to this to be held at Gresley Rovers Moat Street ground on Thursday 16th.  This had been preceded by some speculation on social media.  We had a lot of contact with residents through different communication channels through the week as well as several discussions with fellow councillors.  We had been set to encourage residents to give feedback to the developer on the proposals and to attend the event and also a meeting at the Drum and Monkey pub on 14th November at 6.30pm for residents to air their concerns.

However, a week is a long time in politics and St Modwens have since told us that they are postponing the event and will be sending out mailed communication w/c 13th November.  This is likely to be relating to issues with proposed access.  Whilst the event has been postponed, the meeting on Tuesday 14th will still be held for any further questions from residents.

We delivered a leaflet to residents of Station Street on Saturday, manually amended due to the late change post printing, and caught up with a few residents to explain the situation.  We were grateful for the feedback from residents we spoke to.  We will keep residents informed of any future developments on this.

Further up the hill, some work was undertaken on a watercourse that had been causing an issue with back gardens flooding over a period of time. We're grateful for residents feedback on such matters and also for council officers for finding a resolution and hopefully the issue will be eradicated.

In the Council Chamber there was a meeting of the Environment and Development Services committee (EDS).  Several matters were discussed including changes to Fixed Penalty Notice charges, use of CCTV in taxis, Biodiversity Duty preparation and a review of the council plan relating to EDS objectives.

Next week the Housing & Community Services committee meets.

Swadlincote Lights switch on is on Saturday 25th November starting at 4pm.  More details can be found on this link.