Heather Wheeler's Blog

Love Parks week 2008

noreply@blogger.com (Heather Wheeler) — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 09:31:00 +0000

To celebrate Love Parks Week 2008, on the 17th of June I joined children from Eureka Primary School and Rosalind Allen of Groundwork Derby & Derbyshire to discover the treasures in Eureka Park.
Love Parks Week is an annual campaign promoting parks in Britain. This year it is highlighting parks as places for children to exercise.
As well as helping the youngsters from Eureka Park develop a love of nature, Groundwork Derby & Derbyshire is working with our Council to develop plans for the park.
Everyone loves parks. They are green oases in our towns where you can escape from the hustle and bustle of daily life and lower your stress levels. Parks are places where children can let their imagination take over and spend time with nature and exercise for free in the fresh air.
At Eureka Park Rosalind Allen was involving youngsters in mini-beast hunts, showing them how to identify trees and organising an orienteering exercise to get them to explore the park. The children from Eureka School were fascinated with everything Rosalind explained to them. They were particularly good at leaf rubbing and made some great pictures. It was lovely to be with them.

Visit to Westminster to attend the All Party Parliamentary Local Government Group

noreply@blogger.com (Heather Wheeler) — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 09:43:00 +0000

I received an invitation to attend the All Party Parliamentary Local Government Group in Committee Room 12 in Westminster. It was chaired by Clive Betts MP and had two main speakers Minister of State Michael Wills MP and Professor John Stewart from Birmingham University.

The main speech was about new legislation the Government are planning on putting before Parliament. A Bill of Rights and Responsibilities. We are a Nation that actually does not have a Bill of Rights, we rely on Common Law and the Magna Carter.

Warning to illegally parked drivers

noreply@blogger.com (Heather Wheeler) — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 09:40:00 +0000

From the autumn there will be council traffic wardens in South Derbyshire to stop selfish motorists parking where it's not allowed.

There will be a seamless change from police wardens on the street to wardens working for your local authority. The traffic wardens will have the same powers to stop people parking on double yellow lines and in no waiting areas. They will stop those reckless people who park on the zigzags outside schools which are there to protect our children. They will also fine those people who take over disabled drivers' bays and deny the spaces to those who need them.

This new service is being provided across Derbyshire by the County Council and District Councils working together for their local residents. A specialist contractor will be policing the whole county.

I have had so many complaints about people who park in disabled driver’s bays without a blue badge. There's a reason for parking restrictions but some people think that the laws don’t apply to them. They might decide to change their anti-social behaviour when they are faced with an on-the-spot fine.

Our Wardens are already cracking down on people who park in disabled driver’s bays without a blue badge. We’re giving them warning notices to encourage them to have a conscience and to think of other people. Come the autumn if they don’t feel it in their hearts, they will feel it in their wallets.

Goseley Estate MUGA

noreply@blogger.com (Heather Wheeler) — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 09:37:00 +0000

I am so pleased our Council is creating something for children to do over the long summer holidays and in the coming years. We promised to provide four new youth facilities for young people. Two are opening later this month and the final two are now being built.
Work began last week on multi-use games areas at Salisbury Drive recreation area in Midway and at Mount Street recreation area on the Goseley Estate in Hartshorne. The work will cost £152,000 and has been funded by Sport England, though its Community Investment Fund, the Safer South Derbyshire Partnership and Hartshorne Parish Council.
Having built two multi use games areas at Overseal and Woodville, work at Midway and on the Goseley Estate has started. We opened the new play area at Salisbury Drive last month and promised an area for older children.
These multi use games areas, known as MUGAs, provide a hard surfaced, all-weather playing area with goal ends and markings for a variety of ball games, such as five-a-side, tag rugby, netball, basketball and kwik cricket. During the summer holidays there will be coached sessions from the Council’s Sport and Youth Development team.

The MUGAs are being built so that young people have more healthy and active things to do.

Newhall Centre 5* Certificate

noreply@blogger.com (Heather Wheeler) — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 09:23:00 +0000

On Tuesday 10 June I presented Cheral Eidukas, Manager of the Newhall Centre and also members of the Centre with Council's Five Star Certificate to mark National Food Safety Week. This Certificate shows star ratings for organisations which provide food including cafes, shops, schools and clubs.

The South Derbyshire way is to make life better for everyone. The Council are giving ratings to all organisations which provide food ranging from five stars to no stars. If they don’t make the top rating, the Council’s Environmental Health Officers will provide help and advice so they can be amongst the best.

Everyone benefits. The organisations have staff who look after food correctly. The people of South Derbyshire have more top standard places to eat. One of our aims is to make the District healthier and this is one way of us achieving this together.

Derbyshire County Council’s Newhall Centre is helping people in the community. Its five star café based in its garden centre not only provides refreshment for local people, it also offers training for adults with learning disabilities.

Blooming Marvels is a garden centre with a café which is available for the whole of our community. Blooming Marvels is run and financially managed by adults who have learning disabilities who are developing skills to become ready for work. People are getting skilled not only through work experience, but also by attending courses such as food hygiene, computer and customer service skills.
picture shows me with Cllr John Lemmon presenting Cheral Eidukas, Manager of the Newhall Centre and also members of the Centre with the Council's Five Star Certificate

Castle Gresley and the Designated Public Place order

noreply@blogger.com (Heather Wheeler) — Sun, 08 Jun 2008 15:52:00 +0000

A momentous, historic day. I went to Castle Gresley to meet with local Parish Councillors and concerned residents to talk about the first ever DPPO placed in South Derbyshire.
This has caused great interest in the media with Radio Derby, ITV Central News and the Derby Telegraph running pieces on it.

For years the locals have had to put up with Adults Behaving Badly so after consultation our Council passed the first ever DPPO. In this specific geographic area around Arthur Street play ground, part of Linton Road by the parade of shops and part of Bass’s Crescent that backs onto these places any Adult misbehaving with Alcohol can now be apprehended by the PCSO’s and Police. £50 Fixed Penalty Notices can be given, the alcohol removed and if the bad behaviour carries on they can be arrested by the Police, removed, charged and face increased fines of up to £500, with stringent Bail conditions whilst they await trial.

The locals have been calling on the Council to do this for years. The legislation that we have used came into force in 2001. Yet again it has taken our new Conservative Administration to actually take action.

Speaking to residents and shopkeepers the relief that they had finally been listened too and action taken was palpable.

I thank the police and the council staff for getting the paperwork in order and particularly PCSO Dave and local PC Debbie for their future action.
South Derbyshire is a safe place to live but we will not hesitate to use every piece of legislation to crack down on the few mindless people who ruin it for others.

Sustainable Communities

noreply@blogger.com (Heather Wheeler) — Thu, 05 Jun 2008 15:51:00 +0000

I went down to London (by train) for a Conference to listen to the experts about Sustainable Communities. It was a packed day. Iain Wright MP Parliamentary Under Secretary of State, Communities and Local Government kicked us off followed by an interesting talk by Shaun McCarthy about the Olympics. He is the Chair of the Commission for a Sustainable London 2012. I was able to tell him about the 19 special ‘green’ elements to the new Leisure Centre being built in South Derbyshire, helped along by a grant of over £400,000 from Sport England for badminton – making us ready in 2010 to train for the 2012 Olympics. He was impressed that we had opted for the green option in SD. Sustainable Olympics is us.

In the afternoon a couple of sessions stood out. One an excellent speech from Anders Franzen the Head of Planning and Development form Vaxjo – the ‘greenest’ city in Europe. They were particularly successful because they had introduced waste into heat exchangers and used hydro-electric power. Practically nothing went to landfill so no landfill tax to pay and between the two sources over 80% of their electricity was generated locally with minimal CO2 emissions. His story was truly inspirational. The Council is of course run by the Conservatives and has a high proportion of women Councillors!

The other session was about the demise of Regional Assemblies and changes to Regional Development Agencies and how this would affect us here in South Derbyshire. An array of Civil Servants were lined up to explain how they were implementing government policies. As so often happens what others might think is a good idea on paper, particularly for Unitary and the City Councils just turns into a complete muddle for us Shire Districts. I am keeping a very watchful eye on this. Expansion of the economy in SD is a priority for us and anything that knocks us off course or makes things more difficult will not be welcomed. The Civil Servants certainly left with my thoughts ringing in their ears. I wait and see how this unfolds.

New super-hospital

noreply@blogger.com (Heather Wheeler) — Mon, 02 Jun 2008 18:59:00 +0000

I was given a behind the scenes look at Derby's new super-hospital as the development enters its final 12 months of construction work.
As part of a special guided tour at Derby City General Hospital
As you can see from the photo I was shown the new amazing helipad.

I was also shown the hospital's state-of-the-art pharmacy, boiler house and main hospital plant room. Anyone who has had reason to use our hospitals probably doesn’t give a thought to how the place is kept warm or the electricity is kept running. It has been a fascinating opportunity for me to see behind the scenes how the place buzzes.

At every stage of the tour I was struck by the integrity and devotion of the staff involved with their bit of the enormous jigsaw that makes the hospital work.

The super-hospital development is on target to be completed next Spring and over the next 12 months, as building work finishes, services will begin to be moved over from the Derbyshire Royal Infirmary.

The final move will involve a middle-of-the-night operation to take the Accident and Emergency Department from its current location at the DRI to its new home at the City General.

Crewe and Nantwich By-election May 2008

noreply@blogger.com (Heather Wheeler) — Sun, 25 May 2008 17:28:00 +0000

I led a team of workers from South Derbyshire to assist in the vital Crewe and Nantwich By-election.

When we were out on the doorsteps it was heartening to hear people’s stories. Hardworking families and those living on fixed incomes and pensions wanted to send a clear message to Gordon Brown.
They were telling us Brown wrecked pensions as Chancellor, reminded us that he sold our gold at a knock down price and as both as Chancellor and Prime Minister continued to raise taxes…hurting those who have worked hard in the past and continue to work hard today to support their families. In Crewe the issues were clear:

Sort out crime
Sort out the economy
Stop punishing the motorist

The Conservatives secured a 17.6% swing from Labour in the Crewe and Nantwich by election – a similar swing would see the so far unselected Labour candidate for South Derbyshire defeated by 16,000 votes…overturning Labour’s current slim majority of 2,800. (Estimated result 2005 based upon the new parliamentary boundaries and 74% turnout)

I have no doubt that sooner or later the people of South Derbyshire will benefit from this stunning Conservative victory: Brown will either listen to us…or go.

Only the Conservatives understand how to improve the economy and our quality of life.

The photograph shows me at Conservative HQ with Shadow Health Minister Stephen O’Brien (MP for the constituency of Eddisbury , which borders Crewe) helping in the by election.

Ground-breaking ceremony for the new leisure centre and sports facility

noreply@blogger.com (Heather Wheeler) — Sat, 24 May 2008 14:03:00 +0000

On Monday 21 April, 2008 we held the ground-breaking ceremony at John Port School in Etwall to celebrate the start of work on the new £7 million multi-purpose leisure centre and sports facility.

A new leisure centre has been needed for the last two decades. The patience of people in the northern parishes has finally paid off. Now at last the long-held dream has been made a multi-million pound reality.
The financial contributors include not only South Derbyshire District Council but also Derbyshire County Council, John Port School, Sport England, the East Midlands Development Agency through the Derby and Derbyshire Economic Partnership, Toyota Manufacturing UK and not least the Etwall Leisure Centre Community Group.

The long-awaited leisure centre offers far more than was originally planned in the 1990s.
This replaces the existing leisure centre's swimming pool and spectators' room.
It will have a 25m six lane swimming pool, a six court sports hall to accommodate a wide range of sports, a regional badminton facility with Olympic training potential, a fitness suite, meeting rooms, a café with parking and landscaping. The leisure and sports facilities will be constructed to Sport England standards. The innovative design and construction include 19 special ‘green’ elements making it as eco friendly to build and run as possible.

The multi-million pound leisure centre and sports facility is being constructed by Tomlinsons who
plan to have all work completed by Summer 2009 so that local people can enjoy these state of the art facilities in good time for the Olympics in 2012.

The centre will be particularly used by people in the surrounding area and I was delighted to be joined at the event by Councillors Amy Plenderleith and Julie Patten shown here with me in the photo.

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Broadband Blues

noreply@blogger.com (Heather Wheeler) — Fri, 23 May 2008 14:07:00 +0000

Broadband Blues

In South Derbyshire it is noticeable how variable the quality of Broadband connectivity is. In different locations people have complained to me saying that their complaints have fallen on deaf ears with BT.

Because of these concerns the Scrutiny Committee at our Council started an investigation, calling Tom Hamilton, Regional Manager for the East Midlands from BT to answer questions about broadband access.

At the February meeting Tom Hamilton told the Scrutiny Committee that only 90 specific properties in South Derbyshire were unable to get a broadband internet connection. We were concerned about variability in quality as well as lack of service. These issues all seemed to be a surprise to Mr Hamilton.

We have asked people to contact us to put together a dossier of Case Studies to present to BT. If they know the facts they can then get on with fixing the problem.

If you live in South Derbyshire and are having problems with broadband access, please contact the District Council by the end of May. Please outline the specific details of any problems you are experiencing and the broadband provider you use and either email broadband@south-derbys.gov.uk, or write to Broadband, Customer Services, South Derbyshire District Council, Civic Offices, Civic Way, Swadlincote Derbyshire DE11 0AH or by phone Customer Services on 01283 595795.

It is interesting that this is not just a problem in South Derbyshire as Simon Hart of the Countryside Alliance writes …..

Rural broadband revolution? “Reports that 59% of rural people are now connected to broadband in comparison with 57% of their urban counterparts confirmed the rural digital revolution, but fails to examine the full story.
While broadband use within the British countryside has recently soared, the figure quoted fails to take connection speed into account. Most consumer broadband providers offer 2mbps or 8mbps, with those who cannot receive these connections required to pay the same price. Large parts of rural Britain are unable to receive faster connection speeds and as such, are stuck paying higher prices for lower service. BT's own research confirms that people who are living just three of four miles away from the local exchange will probably receive actual thoroughput speeds in kilobites that than megabites per second, while still paying exactly the same price as those who receive the same services but much faster.
There was also comment on the variety of services used over the internet, with rural people mostly making use of banking, shopping and entertainment sites. This comes as no surprise to those of us who have been campaigning long and hard to protect rural bank branches, the post office network and championing local food providers. What other options do those in rural communities have when banking services may be several miles away and only open during the working day? The closure of local services within rural communities have made the internet more vital than ever, and means that slow connectivity is even more of a problem than within some urban areas.
The digital revolution is readily welcomed in rural communities, and is a great step forwards for rural enterprise, but such unfairness in connection speeds must be addressed by broadband providers. Rural people deserve the same service provided in urban areas, and should not have to suffer simply because of their location. “
Simon Hart

How I agree with that.

Eco Town Rejected

noreply@blogger.com (Heather Wheeler) — Thu, 03 Apr 2008 08:44:00 +0000

I am pleased to let you know that the proposed eco-town of Grovewood has been rejected by the Government. Grovewood will not now be one of the first new towns to be built in England in 40 years.

We knew all along that this was a bad idea, wasting excellent farm land, demolishing swathes of The National Forest. It was announced following zero consultation with local people.

I have been able to meet so many residents fighting this proposal. They all felt that they were being ignored and their wishes over-ridden by developers from the North East. We have lobbied extremely hard in Westminster against this proposal and I am delighted for everyone involved. I believe it proves that, when South Derbyshire folk come together and put forward a good argument, we can fight to save what is special about where we live."

Speed Watch

noreply@blogger.com (Heather Wheeler) — Mon, 03 Mar 2008 09:58:00 +0000

The speed at which drivers are travelling through two South Derbyshire villages are being monitored over the next three months by volunteers from the villages concerned.

And those found to be breaking the speed limit will receive a warning letter from Derbyshire Constabulary telling them what has happened and advising them further action could be taken.

The speed monitors are being used in Coton-in-the-Elms and Linton, chosen for the scheme following a number of requests at the Safer South Derbyshire Partnership’s Safer Neighbourhoods meetings in the area.

The police have organised and provided training for volunteers in the villages and identified locations in which the equipment can be safely operated.

Fourteen residents have been trained in how to use the hand held speed devices, health and safety issues, minor dispute resolution and safe operating practices.

Having completed the training volunteers have taken to the streets with the equipment for the first time this week and already have details of dozens of vehicles to pass on to the police.

Keith McLaren, one of the volunteers, said: "The scheme is needed in this area. It is a visible deterrent and we hope that it makes a difference."

Being the Chair of the Safer South Derbyshire Partnership, I went along to Coton-in-the-Elms to watch the volunteers in action at 8.15 this morning. (Monday March 3).

The Partnership is pleased to have helped respond to requests from residents in these villages and we hope that the scheme will raise awareness of the dangers of driving too fast.

Your Air Ambulance visits Pingle School Swadlincote to say thank you

noreply@blogger.com (Heather Wheeler) — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 16:05:00 +0000

What a wonderful event. The Air Ambulance came to visit Pingle School in Swadlincote to say thank you to Danial who has done so much to keep it flying in Derbyshire.

With the District Chairman Cllr Mick Bale I had the pleasure of meeting the Headteacher Mrs Tabberer and the children. Everyone congratulated Danial and he even go to go for a flight with them.

Check out this website for wonderful photos click here

A day he will remember for the rest of his life.

MILTON VILLAGE KRAV MAGA CLUB

noreply@blogger.com (Heather Wheeler) — Tue, 12 Feb 2008 20:00:00 +0000

I joined the Krav Maga club in Milton Village Hall to celebrate their successful grant bid from the Safer South Derbyshire Partnership.

The grant has allowed the Club to purchase training equipment such as gym mats, punching pads, strike shields, batons, plastic knives, orange painted plastic guns, arm, shin, head and leg protection guards etc

Krav Maga provides training to assist members (both male and female) in the ability to protect oneself against Knife attacks, Gun threats, Stick and Bat attacks, Chokes and Strangles, Releases and Restraints, Personal Safety, Real life Scenarios, Street awareness, Ground Survival skills etc.

The club meets weekly and training is given to students which will hopefully provide them with the ability and confidence to defend themselves against such attacks noted above in today’s society.

Training will provide particpants with ability, confidence and street awareness to assist them to protect themselves and others when appropriate.
This confidence in their ability to protect themselves where possible will reduce their fear of crime within the community.

Existing students range in age from 16 to 65 years old. By encouraging younger people to attend this club it is hoped that the disciplines and etiquette involved will promote greater self esteem and pride in ownership of the local community.

Increasing reports of violence and criminal assaults in the media has prompted the club to set up a training course for local people to assist them to gain confidence in their ability to protect themselves where possible and reduce the fear of crime within the community,

A key aim is that members will gain confidence very quickly, which should improve as they train, obtaining and improving different techniques and skills each week.

I have been hugely impressed with the dedication of Trainer Duncan Hogg, Secretary Gary Steel and Treasurer Steve Bales in putting this scheme together.
For more information on the scheme Please phone Duncan on 07973 663601 or Gary on 07740 257410

Post Office Closures - replacement service

noreply@blogger.com (Heather Wheeler) — Sat, 19 Jan 2008 16:00:00 +0000

I have blogged before about the closures of post offices in South Derbyshire. Now the day has arrived and we are seeing the closure of Church Gresley, Egginton and Newton Solney.
I do not need to go over again how ridiculous this whole process has been. So many people have said to me that is clear they had no intention of listening to the public.
So what to do now?
I have had detailed discussions with a Community Group the 50+ Forum. They have offered to receive calls from people who would be interested in a weekly bus service running from outside the old post office in Church Gresley direct to Swad post office, waiting for the customers and droping them back off again outside the old post office. The offer is to run this service on a Wednesday morning.
If anyone is interested in taking up this offer they should call the Chairman of the 50+ Forum Gill Farrington direct on 01283 219996. Gill would also like to hear from people in Egginton and Newton Solney to run a similar weekly service for the elderly and vulnerable to their local post office, also on a Wednesday.
This is not the only plan I am working on for a replacement service but this is an immediate offer to people so badly affected now. Please call Gill at the 50+ Forum to discuss this offer on 01283 219996.

First New Blog

noreply@blogger.com (Heather Wheeler) — Tue, 01 Jan 2008 20:06:00 +0000

Hello All,

I have just moved over to blogger for my new website. So this is my first blog on this system