In a meeting last night in the Winding Wheel - Chesterfield Council voted to refuse planning for an industrial incinerator to be built at a site in Newbold/Sheepbridge.

Protest organiser, Julie Harrington, released the following message this morning:

“We are very pleased with the outcome of the meeting. The unanimous vote to refuse planning application sends a strong message to Derbyshire County Council and Cyclamax that this is not the best solution to Derbyshire’s landfill problem.

The planning committee were unconvinced as to why Cyclamax chose this site, given the unsuitability of roads like Dunston Road for HGVs, and the detrimental effect the development would have on the local economy, from existing businesses moving away and the difficulties of attracting future investment.

They took on board the community’s real fears about the alarming health effects of waste incinerators, and that the technology behind this proposal, to burn hazardous commercial waste, is unproven, and should not be tested so close to a densely populated area.

They also acknowledged that the applicant has relied heavily on the draft Preferred Options report, produced by Derbyshire County Council, which has now been withdrawn and considered unsound.

In terms of next steps… we will continue to raise awareness of the planning application, as there are still many residents and businesses in Chesterfield and other affected areas, like Dronfield and Unstone, that aren’t aware of the plans and their implications. The group has employed a Planning Solicitor, a Highways Consultant and an Environmental Consultant. These experts are in the process of scrutinising the applicant’s Environmental Impact Study with a view to carrying out their own surveys and studies to challenge the inaccuracies and weaknesses they uncover. Our highways consultant has already given us a long list of issues which need addressing.

We appreciate that the County needs alternatives to landfill, but we aim to prove to Derbyshire County Council that this is not the only solution, and it is certainly not the best solution. There are cleaner and safer alternatives, and Dunston Road is not an appropriate location for a development of this scale, or nature. More information about the campaign can be found on our website: www.againstincineration.org.uk“

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As more details emerge about the proposed waste incinerator/recycling plant to be sited on the old Cammac coal site at Dunston, we are interested in people’s opinions on this.

Are you for it or against it?

Why?

Links:
Chesterfield Against Incineration
Derbyshire Times
iChesterfield

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What on earth… ?

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Police were called today when a woman walked into the Army Careers Office on West Bars with a hand grenade.

Part of the area was cordoned off while bomb disposal experts were called.

Story here

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News on the BBC website today that Chesterfield Football Club’s plans for a new stadium have been passed by the council.

Besides the football ground, the plans include a supermarket and business premises which will occupy a 22-acre site on the old Dema site on Whittington Moor.

Full story here.

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In a post on ChesterfieldForum, Aaron Brown announces a “bedding-in” party night at Detune’s new home, Elements on June 28th.

Detune was one of the many gigs left temporarily homeless with closure of the Green Room but seems to have found a new home at Elements, formerly Xanadu night club.

Read the forum post here - visit the Detune Appreciation Society’s Facebook page here

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On the letters page this week on the DT website, three seperate residents have a go at Graham Baxter, Leader of the NE Derbyshire Council, for his comments on criticism that he was wasting council tax payer’s money.

The whole fiasco blew up in Baxter’s face when it was announced that employees of the council were to be given an extra weeks holiday and a party to celebrate the fact that they had done their jobs OK. Most critics arguing that that was what they paid for anyway…

His rather lame statement in last weeks news was that the council was rewarding people for “the commitment, passion and sheer hard work of our staff over the past four years” - something that most people expect from well-paid, well-trained staff as a matter of course.

The first reader criticised Baxter for “rubbing our noses in it” by “rewarding people for simply doing their jobs”.

The second of Baxter’s critics, Trevor Sandell, takes him to task for saying “that the decision to give all staff an extra week’s leave per year will be at no extra cost and will have no detrimental effect on service levels or service quality.” Mr Sandell points out that “it follows that the council was using significantly more staff resources than it needed to get the job done in the first place.”

The third letter from Islwyn Pryce, Lib-Dem district, county and town councillor, accuses Baxter of expecting the taxpayers to “suspend belief in normal logic and mathematics.”

As the economy goes down the pan and the threat of price rises/redundancy etc is currenty worrying many, many, people and small businesses, Councillor Baxter has managed to do the wrong thing at the wrong time for the wrong reasons - quite a hat-trick of insensitive, smug, bad judgement that seems to be endemic in local government.

I wonder why no one has rushed to his defence…

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The DT website is carrying the story of a young woman being attacked and sexually assaulted whilst walking in Holmebrooke Valley Park last Sunday.

Apparently the victim fought off the attacker who was described as being ” 6ft tall, aged 20, of muscular-build, with black shaven hair, a goatee beard, a scar on his chin, blackened teeth, a local accent and was wearing a black  tracksuit.”

Police are warning women to take precautions including carrying rape alarms.

Full story here.

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News on the DCC website that the long awaited Junction 29A will officially open on June 20th.

The new junction is part of a massive £65 million Markham Vale regeneration scheme and cost £8 million and the whole project is set to create 5,000 jobs (2,000 new) to the area.

Full story here 

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Just been reading on the Chesterfield Forum site a post by Aaron Brown about Detune’s 5th Birthday.

The event is to be held at Elements (ex Xanadu) on Saturday 31st of May.

Not really my thing (too old to climb the stairs let alone dance) but as an ex-muso I’m impressed anyone can keep a music gig of any kind going for five years!

To read the post and see what Aaron has lined up for you - click here.

Oh, BTW - GO TO THE GIG - SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL HEROES!!!

You know you want to

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Today on propertyweek.com we read that Urbo Regeneration, a partnership between AGD Regeneration, Bolsterstone Group and Arnold Laver Group, is joining with Chesterfield Borough Council to develop Chesterfield Waterside.

The plans include:

• 1,200 homes
• Retail space
• Business space.
• Restoration of the local canal network
• A new public square
• Waterside bars and restaurants

This to be constructed next to the A61 in the River Rother corridor.

Full story here 

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The Derbyshire Times reports today that the Mayor of Chesterfield and her husband were arrested  in the early hours of Friday morning in an incident involving an axe and a baseball bat.

Apparently the incident, involving a 30 year old woman, took place in Poolsbrook - and all three were arrested and later released on police bail until next month.

Full story here

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A Chesterfield jewellery shop assistant was kidnapped and forced to hand over keys to two men, writes Jennifer Ivers on the DT website today.

The failed attempt was carried out last Thursday and shop owner Jonathan Haag is quoted as saying, “I’m offering a substantial cash reward in the hope that the men who did this will be brought to justice. It was an awful crime, and we don’t want them to target other people or businesses.”

Said Det Insp Dick Severns, “We are determined to find the offenders who did this.”

Read the full story here 

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York’s biggest employer, CPP, is to open a contact centre in Chesterfield creating 300 new jobs. In an article on the ThisIsYork.co.uk website we learn that the centre will open in July with 200 new jobs and another 100 jobs will be created before the end of the year.

CPP are a rapidly expanding group are providing outsourced marketing services on behalf of its business partners and turned over £225.2 million last year.

Stephen Kennedy, CPP UK managing director, said: “We are very excited about the business expansion, as our York and Tamworth offices have experienced incredible success and growth over the past few years, and we expect the same in Chesterfield.”

Read the full story here 

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News on the BBC website that police have a man in custody as a suspect in the case of a Chesterfield man found hanging from a tree.

The victim has been named as Derek Byfleet, 76, of Ringwood Avenue, Chesterfield. He leaves a wife, two daughters and a son.

Detective Chief Inspector Christine Kelk appealed for anyone with information about Mr Byfleet’s movements on Sunday evening to come forward.

Full story here

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In a move more remeniscient of old Labour, the major power companies have been told by the government to use some of their massive profits to help the poor and old people of this country - this report from the Observer.

It is said the power firms have made three billion pounds profit whilst pensioners in the UK are expected to live on £85 a week - and if projections that power prices are set to average £1,100 by the end of the year, this means approximately one quarter of their total income is gone before they start to think about food, clothing etc. Even with a few extra benefits for the poorest pensioners (who are often too proud to claim after a working lifetime of paying Nation Insurance) this situation is a disgrace.

In a country as developed as the UK, the gulf between the rich and the poor is a national scandal - the same website also carries the story of Adam Applegarth, former boss at Northern Rock, he is to get a £750,000 pay-off - for running a company so badly that they had to be rescued by the taxpayer.

It’s not so long ago that pensioners here in Chesterfield were stretched beyond their financial limits as a result of the floods - and much discussion on this subject saw very little interest or sympathy for victims.

Full story here

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Sad, but predictably, as the council unveil a new sculpture on Saltergate the voices of complaint rise from the masses. Described variously as looking like “a lump of rubble, that has just fallen off the Twin Towers”, “meaningless”, “garbage” and (obviously) “a waste of taxpayers money”, the sculpture by Michael Dan Archer is a two piece work. The main bit is a piece of tiger skin granite and the second is a girder-like casting with the names of old collieries on its sides.

I am not against the council spending money on art, if left to the whingers our towns would be soulless places - but I’m afraid I also think it’s wrong - but for different reasons. Art that is as politically correct as this piece invariably has little depth - the artist justifying why the work is appropriate. It is also unsuitable for its site - with all the posts, ramps, canopies, doors, etc, the work is lost in a maze of lines until you are on top of it. It has no presence, it lacks any feeling of stature or importance - sorry, but it’s just boring and bland.

Also it is a little insensitive of the council to have it outside council offices just as the people of the town are facing another tax increase.

It seems a little ironic that this same town has let a piece as wonderful and captivating as Barbara Hepworth’s Rosewall slip through its fingers a few years ago.

It was installed at the original AGD back in the 1960s and I passed it most days on my way into town and felt so proud that we had such a wonderful thing in our town.

When the Royal Mail threatened to sell it a couple of years ago our MP and the council wittered on how this important piece is part of Chesterfield’s heritage, but nothing really happened. Both sides backed off and the last time I saw it, it was up at the Yorkshire Sculpture Park.

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Good News!

::NauticDive:: have announced their first gig at Rock Shots (Ex Marsdens/Erotica) - This from Robbo, on ChesterfieldForum, “Also Dj’s Connie, Ruffa & Roonski will b bringing the floorboard vibrating drum n bass (All from Chesterfield). Its all happening Good Friday (21st of March) and is free b4 10.30, 3 pounds after!! C u there.

Also - LeonM is moving Pride to Rock Shots - first gig on 5th April.

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OK not strictly news or comment on Chesterfield, but…

I came across this cartoon on the web and it struck a chord or two - enjoy.

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News on the ChesterfieldForum website that the Green Room, one of Chesterfield’s last remaining music pubs, has closed.

A favourite gig for many local musicians, the Green Room was loved by many and offered one of the very few places in Chesterfield that promoted live bands and dance nights.

Word is that some acts (LeonM, Max Hall of ::NauticDive:: and hopefully Aaron’s Detune) will move over to Marsdens on Marsden Street, which is currently being revamped as Rockshots.

Read the forum thread here

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Apparently Chesterfield experienced an earthquake in the early hours of Wednesday morning.

Discussion on Chesterfield Forum here

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The DT website is currently running a story of a vicious attack on two young teenage girls. Hayley James (14) and her friend were walking through Boythorpe last Friday evening when they were attacked from behind, beaten to the ground and kicked.

The gang, four girls and a boy, stole bags with hundreds of pounds worth of clothes, jewellery and make-up. Two attackers had blonde hair, wore Golddigga jackets, dark-coloured trousers and white trainers and one had a lazy eye.

It is thought that the boy videoed the attack on a mobile phone.

Read the whole story here 

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David Clarke and his dog Benson are to walk the 200 miles of the Trans Pennine Trail to raise funds for Chesterfield’s Ashgate Hospice.

David, furniture manager at Chesterfield Co-op said he and work colleagues were trying to raise £10,000 for the hospice through his walk and other events.

To get fit for the walk David and his dog have been walking 12 miles a day - even walking to work in Chesterfield from his home in Pilsley.

If you wish to help, contact David at Chesterfield Co-op on 01246 220200.

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The DT website reports that Chesterfield Magistrates have imposed a custodial sentence on a Duckmanton youth for a vicious attack on a couple’s three pet sheep. Darryl Broadhurst, 19, of North Crescent, Duckmanton was sentenced to four months for his part in the evil events.

The sheep were discovered by owners Susan Smith and her husband suffering from horrendous injuries including one sheep with its eyes missing, covered in blood and with one leg shattered. The second sheep had a broken back and the third had its head split open. It was said that Broadhurst and his friend laughed whilst videoing the scene on a mobile phone.

Read the full, sickening story here

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I’ve just got word that this year’s FreeFest in Queens Park is on. Rich Alsop emailed iChesterfield the following:

CONFIRMED LINEUP FOR FREEFEST 08 - CHESTERFIELD
DIGITAL CORRUPTIONS PRESENTS “FREEFEST 08″
SATURDAY 9TH AUGUST - QUEENS PARK, CHESTERFIELD

WHAT A BEAUTY!

CONFIRMED LINEUP FOR THE HALF MOON OUTDOOR STAGE.

UNFORTUNATELY/FORTUNATELY THIS YEAR THE BANDSTAND WILL NOT BE USED AS A STAGE DUE TO THE PROGRESSION OF THE FESTIVAL, THIS YEAR THE BANDSTAND WILL BE USED AS A FIRES HOW & PERFORMANCE CIRCLE.

ZION TRAIN - 22.30 - 0.00 (CONFIRMED)
SOOTHSAYERS - 21.15 - 22.15 (CONFIRMED)
HIJAK OSCAR - 20.15 - 21.00 (CONFIRMED)
TARANTISM - 19.15 - 20.00 (CONFIRMED)
ALVAREZ KINGS - 18.15 - 19.00 (CONFIRMED)
VEGAS CHILD - 17.15 - 18.00 (CONFIRMED)
CENSORED - 16.15 - 17.00 (CONFIRMED)
SMILING IVY - 15.15 - 16.00 (CONFIRMED)
GYPPOS - 14.30 - 15.00 (CONFIRMED)
RUBERLARIS - 13.30 - 14.00 (CONFIRMED)
LEFT HAND DRIVE - 12.45 - 13.15 (CONFIRMED)
POPULATION LOST - 12.00 - 12.30 (CONFIRMED)

FULL LINEUP FOR THE 2ND STAGE WILL BE ANNOUNCED VERY SOON.

KEEP AN EYE OUT FOR THIS YEARS POSTERS & FLIERS WHICH WILL BE HITTING THE STREETS VERY SOON.
ALSO KEEP AN EYE OUT FOR THIS YEARS PROGRAMMES WHICH WILL BE ON SALE IN A FEW MONTHS TIME £3.00.

Flyers here 

Pictures from FreeFest 07 here

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I just read this piece by Matthew Parris on the TimesOnline website and thought I would share.

“Chesterfield was hit very hard by Eighties Thatcherism. A few miles down the railway from Sheffield, the Derbyshire town depended directly and indirectly on a regional economy rooted in steel and coal. When such jobs disappeared, many youths without much academic qualification joined the Army. Today the deaths in Afghanistan of soldiers from Chesterfield and nearby towns such as Mansfield and Ilkeston appear regularly on the front pages of local papers.

Here’s a snapshot from last Sunday, outside Chesterfield station. It is early afternoon. In the driving, freezing January rain stands a young serviceman, in full, neatly pressed, new-looking desert kit, taking a drag on a cigarette. He is standing in the rain because station and platforms have become, by law, smoke-free. He is waiting for the Virgin Cross-Country train.

Thatcher, Major, Blair, Brown. Pit closures, private rail companies, foreign wars, and a ban on smoking. People tell you politics make no difference, but - for good or ill - every element in this snapshot was placed there by politicians. Boy in uniform smoking in the rain. Chesterfield, 15.30, 20/01/08. I wish I’d had a camera. ”

Parris full article here.

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Good news for youngsters in the Stand Road area, Friends of Stand Road Park have secured funds to build a skateboard park. The following is the official news release. Nice to see something positive happening for the young people of Chesterfield. Well done Friends!

News Release

Friends of Stand Road Park have been successful in raising the money needed to install a new skateboard park on Stand Road Park. The new skateboard facility will be installed as Stage 2 of a major regeneration scheme for Stand Road Park developed by the Friends group with the help of their landscape architect, James Jackson..

The £45,000 of funding needed for the project has been awarded by Biffaward and Viridor Credits - Derbyshire under the Landfill Communities Fund. Under this fund 10% of the award must come from a third party and Chesterfield Community Safety Partnership have provided this vital contribution.

Graham King, the Group’s Chairperson, said, “ This is great news. We are currently putting together the project plan for installing the skate ramps and we have appointed James Jackson, landscape architect from WSP Environmental, to oversee the work. We expect it to be completed in spring or early summer. This is a great example of the community doing things for themselves”.

The Group’s Secretary, Ian Sutherland, said, “I am delighted that we now have the money to put in the skateboard ramps. Last year we installed the new Muti Use Games Area and park entrance gates, and are now working with artist Graeme Mitchison and children from Cavendish and Gilbert Heathcote Schools on the design of a major artwork for the park . And, looking to the future, we are consulting the community to find out what park users want to see as the next stage of improvement to the park. Anyone wishing to give their views can download the consultation questionnaire from our website at www.fosrp.org.uk and send the completed questionnaire to us by e-mail or post”.

For more information contact:

Graham King, Chairperson on 0114 291 2353 or Ian Sutherland, Secretary, on 0114 2597116

Continues

Notes For Editors

Friends of Stand Road Park is a group of community volunteers who have come together with the aim of making the park safe and enjoyable for everyone and something that the community can be proud of. Membership is free and open to all users of the park. The Group was formed in 2002 and has prepared a regeneration scheme for the park in consultation with the community. The scheme will be implemented in stages over the next few years as the funds are raised.

Friends of Stand Road Park have raised the funding needed for the stage 2 development project from the following sources. We are grateful for their support.

• Biffaward.
• Viridor Credits-Derbyshire.
• Chesterfield Community Safety Partnership.

Under the Landfill Communities Fund, registered landfill site operators can donate a percentage of their landfill tax liability in return for a tax credit. This credit is available to environmental bodies to fund mainly environmental, community and restoration projects. Landfill operators are currently permitted to donate up to 6.7% of their landfill tax liability.

Together, Biffaward and Viridor Credits have granted more than £150 million to environmental and community projects as part of the Landfill Communities Fund.

ENDS

Friends of Stand Park website here

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A 46 year old Dronfield woman has been rescued two days after her car careered down an embankment by Longstone Edge in the Peak District on Sunday afternoon..

The car was spotted Tuesday afternoon by Roger Cox, a farmer, who was out looking for his animals. “She didn’t appear to have any visible injuries but she said she had come over the edge and knocked her head but she had clearly come a long way down,” said Mr Cox.

The victim, Helen Sykes, had to be cut from the vehicle by the emergency services and was air-lifted to Nottingham’s Queen’s Medical Centre with non-life threatening injuries.

Full story on the BBC website here

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The DT website today reports that a woman was robbed of her purse on Saturday evening whilst walking along Chatsworth Road.

Apparently the male offender asked for change, grabbed the purse and ran off.

DT story here

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The Derbyshire Police website announces the first surgery for residents in the Walton and West area of chesterfield.

PC David Randell will meet concerned residents on February 1st.

Full details here

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