East Midlands Liberal Democrats

News from Councillor Stan Heptinstall

This update from Stan Heptinstall includes thirteen items. Bramcote Hills Care Home / Car Park at Bramcote Hills Park / Car Park charges in Stapleford / Discounted microchips for dogs / Hickings Lane Skate Park / Highways Agency / Home Insulation for all / Policing in Stapleford / School Crossing Patrol / Tram updates / Summer swimming / Unwanted household items / Weight Restriction in Bramcote

Bramcote Hills Care Home An application to increase the number of rooms at the Bramcote Hills Care Home on Sandringham Drive is likely to receive the go-ahead in the very near future. The alterations are entirely internal and have received the backing of the Care Quality Commission, which oversees developments such as this. There has been some criticism of the quality of the information submitted by the applicants but I have met with the owners of the home and with the officer who is dealing with the application and I am convinced that the alterations will improve the care provision in the Bramcote area.

Car Park at Bramcote Hills Park The newly refurbished car park at the north end of Bramcote Hills Park on Ilkeston Road will be officially reopened by the Mayor of Broxtowe, Cllr Jackie Williams, at 10am on 28 February. She will plant a specimen tree to mark the formal reopening of the car park and the planting of 50,000 new trees in Broxtowe over the past 3 years. The tree chosen is a Liquidambar styraciflua (Sweet Gum Tree). It is a large tree with leaves turning brilliant orange, red and purple colours in the autumn. Over the last few months the car park has been refurbished to make better use of the space available with improvements to surfacing, pedestrian access, signage and interpretation worthy of the Green Flag status that the park enjoys.

Car Park charges in Stapleford As the Cabinet Member for the Environment at Broxtowe Borough Council I have considered a report from the Overview and Scrutiny Group at Broxtowe that looked at the strategy for charging at car parks in Stapleford, Eastwood and Kimberley. Currently the cross-Borough charges are 1 hour free, 2 hours £1, 3 hours £1.50, all day £3. The report contained a detailed analysis of current usage and income generated.

Following consideration of the report, regarding Stapleford, my recommendation to cabinet was that the charges at the Cliffe Hill car park should become 1 hour free, all day £1, and that the charges at Halls Road car park should become 1 hour free, 2 hours £1, and all day £1.50. My recommendations for the car parks in Eastwood and Kimberley are the same as that for the Cliffe Hill car park in Stapleford. Cabinet accepted these recommendations and the new charging regime will come into being on 2nd April after a statutory 21 day notification period and the necessary signing and machine changes. I believe that introducing lower charges in Stapleford, Eastwood and Kimberley will increase both usage and income generation.

Discounted microchips for dogs Dog owners looking to microchip their pets are being invited to attend a low-cost drop-in event in Stapleford this month where residents of Broxtowe Borough will be able to microchip their animals for just £5.00. Broxtowe Borough Council will host the Low Cost Microchip event on the Pavilion at Hickings Lane Recreation Ground, Stapleford on Saturday 11th February between 12.00pm and 2.00pm. Non-borough residents are also able to microchip their animals for £15.00.

Although owners are required by law to ensure their dog is wearing collar and identification tag, a microchip significantly increases owners' chances of being reunited with their animals should they become lost or stray. Broxtowe Borough Council's Neighbourhood Wardens collected 261 dogs in 2011. Just 16 were returned to their owners using their identification tag, whilst 112 were identified and reunited using their microchip. Dog owners do not need to make an appointment to microchip their animal and can simply turn up on the day. Dogs are required to wear a collar and lead. For more information and to report incidents of stray dogs, dog fouling and dangerous dogs in Broxtowe Borough, please contact Broxtowe Borough Council on 0115 917 3142, email env@broxtowe.gov.uk or visitwww.broxtowe.gov.uk/environment.

Hickings Lane Skate Park The complete refurbishment of the Skate Park on the Recreation Ground on Hickings Lane, Stapleford has now received the go-ahead. Your County Councillor Brian Wombwell was particularly active in getting the funding for this in place. The creation of this new facility is great news for our local youngsters.

Highways Agency I emailed the Highways Agency asking for quantitative data on the success of the improvements on the A52, Derby Road, that were designed to enhance traffic flow. They have responded to let me know that the data is being compiled and that they will get back to me.

Home Insulation for all Please don't forget that FREE home insulation is available this winter to all homeowners, private landlords and private tenants living in the borough, regardless of age or benefits. This could result in saving up to £300 on energy bills for a large number of people. The offer runs until March 31st 2012. Please tell everyone you know about the availability of this offer. Call 08455 390 390 to arrange a survey or get further information from http://www.broxtowewarmzone.com.

Policing in Stapleford Stapleford Police Station is to close. In the future officers will be based at Tesco, Chilwell. The police estate team is still negotiating with the Co-op in Stapleford over allowing the rest of the Stapleford neighbourhood team to occupy their premises.

School Crossing Patrol A new school crossing patrol has been recruited to help children cross the road at the junction of Brookhill Street and New Eatons Road in Stapleford.

Tram updates You can keep up-to-date with latest information on the Tram and the associated works that are in progress at the following web sites:www.broxtowe.gov.uk/tram andhttp://www.nottinghamcity.gov.uk/netphase2/index.aspx?articleid=7487.

Summer swimming Free swimming will be available to under 16 year-olds from 27th July to 9th September 2012 at Bramcote and other Leisure Centres in Broxtowe.

Unwanted household items Starting in April, Broxtowe Borough Council will be encouraging re-use of unwanted household items, particularly furniture, by working in association with various charities in the area who will collect these items. As the Cabinet Member for the Environment this is something that I have been trying to get in place for some time and I am delighted that we are now making good progress. More details on this later.

Weight Restriction in Bramcote The County Council is still waiting for a response from the Highways Agency on matters concerning the proposed weight restriction on Town Street, Bramcote.