LONG EATON FIRE

The fire which led to the death of Linda Parkes has been the subject of recent attention in the Derby Evening Telegraph. 

WELLINGTON ST BLAZE



The responses from both Jessica Lee M.P. and Cllr Chris Corbett were predictable. The M.P.'s response was we may need another Law. The Councillor's response was we may need another meeting. The Department for Communities and Local Government quickly responded that Local Authorities already had the powers to "take appropriate action" if homes are "found to contain serious hazards." Perhaps if Jessica Lee had contacted the DCLG directly she would have been able to speak with more authority on the subject. It's not new laws we need, it's money and the will to enforce the ones we've already got.

Cllr Corbett seems to have been waiting a long time for his urgent report and has prematurely come to the conclusion that a meeting was the answer to the problem of accumulated rubbish at a residential property.  However Erewash already have a Community Safety Partnership where matters such as this case could have been discussed. We don't need another set of meetings, we just need the present set up to work more effectively.

In the Linda Parkes case some facts have emerged. A complaint about accumulated rubbish around the front door was made to Erewash on the 20th August 2010 by a Police Officer. A Council official called at the premises and talked to the occupier. No action resulted and so a formal notice was served to secure the removal of the rubbish. This also had no effect. The question that may come to mind is, should it have taken as long as six months for a Council to take action on a complaint about rubbish blocking a front door? In fact it seems that in this case Erewash took no effective action at all!