News roundup 25th July

Following last weeks Liberation day, the focus turns to the younger generation with the start of the Council Summer activities.  Hopefully the weather will dry up a bit to ensure that the events are well attended.  A reminder of them can be found on this link here.

In addition to that this coming Sunday 30th July sees a Music in the Park Event at Maurice Lea Park.  Aimed at families, and a free event, the event takes place between 2pm and 4pm.  Fingers crossed for good weather.

Before that, between 10 and 11am on Saturday 29th July, we will be holding our 1st monthly advice surgery at Gresley Old Hall.  For those unfamiliar this can be found off Gresleywood Road and George Street junction.  There is a large car park at the end of the drive.  Enter through the main doors of the community centre and you'll find us.  Please feel free to come and talk about any council issues you have.

A bit further in the future will be the next round of Area Forums.  This is an open forum to discuss issues with the local police neighbourhood team as well as SDDC officers with councilors in attendance.  Church Gresley is part of the Swadlincote Area Forum and this will take place at 6.30pm on Wednesday 13th September at Emanuel Church Rooms, Church Street, Swadlincote.  Further notice will be given nearer the time.

News round up 15th July

 Whilst our blog is still to achieve a mass following, we will now start to add articles more regularly, starting with a weekly update.

This week, we look forward to a few events happening in our ward as well as at the Council Chamber. We also reflect on some sad news as explained below. 

We've also created a brief newsletter introducing ourselves and particularly to announce the dates of our surgeries as shown in the image.  So far this has only been shared on local social media based groups.

Our first surgery is due to take place at Gresley Old Hall on Saturday 29th July at 10am-11am.  Thereafter we will alternating between the Old Hall and Methodist Church on York Road on the last Saturday of the month.  Anyone is welcome to come along and discuss any local issues, in confidence if required.  We're also looking into options for a surgery in the Castleton Park area.

The sharing of the newsletter also shares a link to the blog and also our new Twitter account @Gresley Labour.

There are a few events taking place over the next week in addition to the forthcoming Summer activities for children which can be found on a link here.

Within the link is an option to download the leaflet (pictured).  This week, the focus is on the elder generation with the annual Liberation Day to take place on Maurice Lea Park on Wednesday 19th July.  A free event for the over 60s, more information can be found by clicking on this link.

A more formal event taking place on Thursday at 6pm in the council chamber is a meeting of the Finance and Management Committee.

Our newsletter also mentions former District and County Councillor Roger Redfern who passed away recently after a long illness.  Roger was well known to a lot of people in Church Gresley, both as a councillor but also as the long-standing Landlord of the Miners Arms.  Our thoughts are with Roger's families and friends at this sad time.

Our thoughts are also with the family and friends of John Richardson, of the Drum & Monkey Pub.  John tragically passed away suddenly leaving a young family.  John worked hard during the transformation of the Drum and Monkey and his community spirit was much appreciated, notably when offering the community litterpick participants refreshments after a job well done.  Details of a fund set up for John's family can be found on the Drum & Monkey Facebook page.

Happy Retirement to Trevor Southerd

 After serving Church Gresley with distinction for 28 years, Cllr Trevor Southerd decided to step down from the role at the recent election as well as the role of Deputy Leader of South Derbyshire District Council.

As well as serving the ward of Church Gresley, Trevor also served as County Councillor for Swadlincote South and Woodville divisions, representing the area at Derbyshire County Council in Matlock.

Trevor has achieved a lot over the years with a lot of hard work combined with fine negotiating skills bringing valuable assets to the area including a new school.  He has worked tirelessly to ensure that residents receive value for money in their council services.  He has held a number of roles including Chair of Planning and also been active within the Fire Authority.

At the same time, Council Leader Kevin Richards, who has represented the Newhall ward over many years has taken the same decision.

Luckily Trevor and Kevin remain in close contact with us and we can draw on their precious experience and advice over the coming term of office.  We wish them all the very best in their retirement from council and hope they enjoy valuable time with Jen and Mary respectively.

Welcome to our Blog

Hello and welcome to our new blog.  Following our election to serve Church Gresley Ward on South Derbyshire District Council we are determined to ensure communication with residents is as easy as possible.  

Firstly we'd like to say thank you to all of those who supported us during the election and thank those who voted for us.

We'll still be leafleting occasionally and try to see as many people in person as possible and will be starting up our surgeries again.  A blog enables us to keep up to date with events and be able to explain our roles in more detail than a leaflet can.  The posts will be shared via other social media methods.

The blog will be divided up into posts and pages.  The posts will give regular updates and give advice of forthcoming events.  At the start, some sections may be under construction, but we'll post updates as new sections become live.

The pages will provide information about us, about our roles in the council and the council itself but also provide information about other community groups and organisations in the area that we hope will be of use.  We also would like to ensure that everyone is aware of the different levels of council in the area and about the Parliamentary constituency of South Derbyshire.

Communication is a 2-way thing so we'd be happy to receive feedback and comments on the blog providing they are not abusive!  For matters relating directly to council business, please contact us via the email and phone numbers listed within our contact details. 

We hope the blog is of help to you.

Gordon, Alan & Ben