EREWASH CORPORATE PLAN

Erewash have quietly slipped on to their web-site a questionnaire about the review of the Corporate Plan. If you live, work or play in Erewash your views should count. Now is your chance to have your say in what the Council does over the next few years.

Basically the plan should describe three things. 

• Where we are.
• Where do we want to go?
•  How are we going to get there?

I believe the Council should work much harder on behalf of the Public and to that end I want to encourage people to make their views known. Individuals, employees. organisations, businesses and campaign groups should put their points of view. Don't be constrained by the draft proposals or the previous plan. What should Erewash really be doing for you and your community?

This is your chance to make the Council work for you by helping shape the Corporate Plan. Don't miss this golden opportunity to have your say.

UNDER-DEVELOPED ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT.

With thousands of Erewash people out of work the local Council has failed to fill the vacant post of The Economic Development Officer.  When I say "The", I mean exactly that. Erewash has only one post dedicated to Economic Development, which has been left vacant. At a recent meeting with senior Officers of the Authority I pressed home the case for beefing up the Council's role in creating jobs. In the past they have been reactive, rather than proactive, about boosting the local economy. My recent inquiries have shown how little knowledge they possess of even a major project like the Ilkeston Railway Station.

How can the Council expect one Officer to deal with.....  

•  redeveloping Albion Centre area at Ilkeston, 
• redeveloping the Beaconsfield Street car park area at Long Eaton,
•  encourage, advise and help businesses relocating to Erewash,
• and keep up to speed on major projects like Ilkeston  Station?

ILKESTON JUNCTION FROM COSSALL TIP

Leaving the post vacant is purely dotty and not strengthening the function considerably would be setting someone up to fail. Erewash need to start being effective on economic development issues for all our sakes. Action is needed right speedily. I say to Erewash Tories stop playing Politics and start creating jobs in Erewash. Start putting people first.

ILKESTON STATION

WOT NO ILKESTON STATION?

Last night at the Full Council meeting I proposed a Motion to Erewash Borough Council that they confirm their support for a new Ilkeston Station and asking them to commit "sufficient" funds to the project. As expected the Tories couldn't swallow the idea of allocating funds so they deleted the funding bit of the Motion. But they at least continue to pay lip service to the idea of a new Station at Ilkeston. Despite it being a component of their Economic Development Plan and their Corporate Plan not one pound is in the Budget for the Station. To top it all the Tories seemed to be utterly ignorant of the details of the Station. Cllr Smith under whose "Portfolio" the project comes stated that the Station would cost £7 million. In a recent report to Derbyshire County Council their Officers estimated £4.5 to £5 million.

This is such a key component of the regeneration of Ilkeston that it is essential that progress is made now. Erewash are sleep walking regarding the Station they haven't a clue on either the costs, design or even the site. I believe much more pressure needs to be put on both Derbyshire and Erewash Council's to get tangible proposals in place.

The Erewash Tories will have to do more than issue Press Releases supporting the Station. Eventually public pressure will force them into a U-turn on funding. They can either come to that conclusion sooner or later, but they'll get there in the end.

IN A RIGHT PICKLE

Before the Tory Party Conference Eric Pickles announced a £250,000,000 gift to Council's that want to provide or retain a weekly residual waste collection. Whilst many Council's have striven to encourage the reduction in waste sent to landfill, this move goes in the opposite direction. What Council's really need is help with reducing waste, reducing landfill and developing markets for recycled materials. Locally we need investment in the development and running of processing facilities to recycle things, for instance,  kitchen waste, which can make up as much 5% of residual waste. More local processing facilities could save travel times for refuse vehicles making collection more efficient. Refuse lorries use Diesel at the rate of between 3 to 5 MPG. 

What I want is more recycled waste, not recycled Tory policies. Give us the money by all means, but let us use it to cut waste not dump it.