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NEWS, NOTICES AND
CURRENT ISSUES
Committee Meetings
Any resident of Chellaston can attend if they want to add to our
discussion, but it should be noted that this is not a public forum
meeting. As such, it would help considerably if those wishing to
attend contact the
Secretary in advance with details of their area of interest.
The next scheduled meeting is: TBA (Sept)
Committee Meeting Minutes
Meeting minutes can be accessed by clicking on the dates below:
8th January 2007
26th February
2007
14th May
2007
3rd September 2007
12th November 2007
7th January 2008
3rd March 2008
12th May 2008
2nd June 2008
7th July 2008
30th July 2008
1st September 2008
10th November 2008
5th January 2009
2nd March 2009
18th May
2009
AGM
This year's AGM was held on Wednesday 24th March
2010
The AGM was followed by a public forum.
Details to follow.
The
Chairman's Report for the year can be viewed
here
Archive:
Chairman's Report for 08/09
Chairman's Report for 07/08
Chairman's Report for
06/07
Minutes of the 2009 AGM
Minutes of the 2008 AGM
Minutes of the 2007 AGM
Minutes of the 2006 AGM
All Weather Pitch, Chellaston
School
Chellaston School
had
intended
to build changing rooms and create an all weather sports pitch with
floodlighting on its land adjacent to the footpath off Swarkestone
Road, after they were initially granted planning permission on 26th February
2009. However, local residents cited potential noise and light
pollution problems along with increased traffic and parking on nearby
roads,
since the facility would have been open until
9.30pm weekdays, 6.30pm on Saturdays and 1.30pm Sundays and Bank
Holidays. This resulted in them seeking, and being granted, a judicial review.
In the meantime, a second application
was submitted, but this was rejected by the Planning Committee in June
2010. The reason for rejection was given as:
"In the opinion of the Local Planning Authority, the
proposed all weather pitch, in the location proposed, would be severely
detrimental to the residential amenities enjoyed by neighbouring
residents, particularly those on Swarkestone Road, by virtue of
unacceptable levels of noise and disturbance introduced at times when
neighbouring residents could reasonably expect to benefit from the
peaceful enjoyment of their homes. Based on the information provided in
the acoustics assessment, noise levels were predicted to have a
detrimental impact on local residents. As such, the proposal is an
unacceptable form of development in the location proposed and would
cause unacceptable harm to the amenity of neighbouring residents,
contrary to the provisions of saved policy GD5 of the adopted City of
Derby Local Plan Review. "
The School / developer can appeal.
High Trees Surgery
Are you aware that the High Trees Medical Centre on Manor Road is
proposing to relocate to new premises on West Chellaston (the Bonnie
Prince Estate), at the northern end of Holmleigh Way?
The new location is
one and a half miles
from the existing site (via the Bonnie Prince roundabout), or you could
make your way through the maze of residential roads and risk getting
lost. Either way, patients living in the older parts of Chellaston will
need a car or to use public transport.
There is a 61 bus at 20 minute intervals but this will only be useful if
you live near Derby Road or Parkway. There are no direct buses from
Maple Drive, the Ridgeway or East Chellaston.
The new medical centre will be bigger and have more facilities than the
existing building on Manor Road and it is true that Chellaston badly
needs a better GP practice. But to move our largest practice away from
the centre of Chellaston is a high price to pay when there are other
alternatives.
We want to know what YOU think and whether YOU have ever been consulted
on this previously. Please let us have your views with your name,
postcode, and, if you wish, your postal and e-mail address in our
online survey.
Alternatively, you may fill out the form at the Chemist.
Update Dec 09: Planning permission for
the new surgery has been granted, but this is permission to erect a
building, not permission to move in to it.
News in Brief
Alcohol Free Zone
An 'alcohol free zone' is now in force. This covers the village centre and
surrounding streets, plus Chellaston Park and recreation
grounds.
Motor Cycles
Motor cycles ridden by youths on Pit Close
rec. continue to be a problem, especially during the wet weather, when
the grass becomes a mud bath. The Police have powers to confiscate
these motor cycles, so please ring them on 0345 1233333 if you see this
happening.
Dog Mess
We have had reports of dogs fouling the
paths and grass areas around the infants and junior schools, and the
mess isn't being cleaned up their owners.
Whenever
people come across a dog fouling problem they should call it in using
the Derby Direct number of 255260 during office hours. The call for
service will be logged and someone will go out in due course. If people
are aware of someone allowing their dog to foul the highway then if they
are able to provide a description of both the person and the dog, the
location and the time of day when it typically occurs then this will be
used to try and collar those responsible.
Red
Lion Site........and Future Developments
An article in the Derby Evening Telegraph
(reproduced below) confirmed
that Desmin Developments, a London based company, wished to build 50 purpose -built flats for the over 55s
on the site of the Red Lion public house, but the timescales quoted have
long since passed, the building remains boarded up and is an eyesore at
the approach to the village centre.
"Developers
behind a new housing scheme in Chellaston are hoping work will begin on
the project this summer (2008).
Talks are continuing between developers and Derby City Council planning
officers over proposals to turn the former Red Lion pub, in Derby Road,
into sheltered housing.
As previously reported, applicant Desim Development wants to convert the
site, which it bought earlier this year, into 50 purpose-built flats for
the over-55s.
Harvey Jennings, Conservative councillor for Chellaston, claimed the
site would turn the village into the "grey capital" of Derby, adding to
several nursing homes already in the area.
But David Rahal, chartered surveyor on behalf of London-based Desim
Development, said talks were progressing.
He said: "It is hoped a formal planning application can be made in the
next few weeks and the development could be started in late summer."
Once a planning application has been submitted, architects will work on
detailed site plans."
Source: Derby Evening Telegraph 19th Feb
2008
Update (March 2010): Two years on, the
building remains boarded up, but the developer now wishes to sell his
investment. However, in the present economic climate, it's
unlikely that he will achieve his asking price. So, the site could
remain as it is for another couple of years....unless someone sees that
a sensible solution would be to put the new doctors' surgery on there.
The Residents' Association has serious
reservations regarding the number of developers wishing to erect more
and more sheltered housing in the centre of the village. Interest
has previously been shown in developing the Lawns/British Legion sites for
'assisted living' accommodation. (We are pleased to see that the
Lawns has been refurbished and is now again open as a hotel and
restaurant). The doctors' surgery could be
redeveloped if they relocate to west Chellaston and there is a site on
Swarkestone Road which is also being looked at for accommodation for the
elderly. The CRA believes that there should be a broad demographic
mix and Council planners should take an holistic approach to
applications, rather than considering each one in isolation. We
will be pushing for responsible development and retention of important
buildings and facilities. As John Bowden recently said "Developers could end up
ripping the heart out of our village". We will fight to ensure
that this does not happen - but we will need your help.
A New Library for
Chellaston
The new library is now open.
It has a
community meeting room and partnership offices for the community police.
The Library entrance and car park is on Barley Croft next to the
Community Centre.
 Postal address: Chellaston
Library, Barley Croft, Chellaston, Derby DE73 1UA.
 01332 702614
 01332 380712
 Email:
chellaston.library@derby.gov.uk
Library
manager: Rikki Roche
Opening hours
The
library opens on these days and times
-
Monday: 12noon to 7pm
-
Tuesday: 10am to 1.30pm
-
Wednesday: closed
-
Thursday: 12noon to 7pm
-
Friday: 10am to 1.30pm
-
Saturday: 10am to 4pm
-
Sunday: closed
The
Library has:
Books
in standard and large print
Newspapers and magazines
Audiobooks - on CD and MP3
DVDs
Access to the internet and e-mail
Word processing and other Microsoft Office applications
Citizenship course and practice tests available on computers
Internet and email short courses
Museum exhibits
Storytimes for children
Please
note that there is a charge for some of these services.
Access
The
Library has:
Level
access
Automatic doors
Wheelchair friendly counters
Large print books and audio books
Induction loop
Computers with Zoomtext and high visibility keyboards
Chellaston School's Admissions Policy
The governors
of the senior school devised a policy to determine who should be
admitted in the case of oversubscription. However, the City
Council did not like the solution and brought in the Schools'
Adjudicator. Fortunately, the City Council has revealed that all
of those who applied for legitimate places before the cut-off date will
be accommodated in the 2007 intake. 268 places have been
allocated, eight more than the declared limit. However, the
governors have a controversial policy for the 2008 intake and beyond -
random allocation of places - which the press have referred to as a
lottery. More information on the school
page.
Update Aug 07: The Schools' Adjudicator has supported the
school's intention to implement the random allocation procedure in the
case of oversubscription. Both the Headteacher, Ray Ruszczynski,
and the LEA have said that the chance of it being used is 'remote' for
the foreseeable future. The criteria will be in place for the 2008
intake.
Archive: Minutes of
the public meeting held on 11th September 2006 can be
viewed here.
Chellaston Recreation Action Group
Although CRAG
has now disbanded, the fruit of its labour can now be seen in the form
of a newly erected youth shelter. For more information see
Recreation Ground
Traffic:
A panel made up of local Councillors, Council
Officers, Community groups and the Police met to discuss traffic
problems in the Chellaston area and to decide on priorities for
investigation and a possible timescale for solutions, taking into
account likely levels of consultation, design and costs.
The following is the conclusion of the panel and
along with other views will form the basis for wider consultation with
the community and future development of solutions. In order of panel's
priority:
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Review of the control of the High Street /
Derby Road junction
Improvements to the left turn from Derby Road
into High Street (Since the meeting, Arriva have stopped running
buses up this stretch of the High Street and the problem has been
resolved)
Parking and deliveries outside the shops on
Derby Road
Bus stop locations and frequencies on the A514
Traffic speeds on High Street
Rat-running HGVs on Snelsmoor Lane and High
Street
(Hopefully, this will now have been resolved by the introduction of
the weight limit)
Congestion on Maple Drive roundabout and
adjacent school crossing patrol
Rat-running on Sinfin Avenue
Rat-running on St Peter's Road
Difficulties exiting Station Road
Parking on High Street next to the cottages
Rat-running on Shelton Drive and Jubilee Road
Questionnaires were given out at the September
2005 Area Panel meeting to arrive at a consensus of public opinion.
Update:
A review meeting was held on 18th May 2006, when council officers and a
representative of the consulting engineers gave their view of the
situation to ward Councillors, members of the Residents' Association and
other interested parties. Basically, at peak times, the traffic on
the A514 through the village is exceeding the road's capacity.
Therefore any changes will affect one group of road users to the
detriment of another group.
The option of a
mini-roundabout at the bottom of High Street had been dismissed due to
their poor accident record in situations where there is a four way
intersection, leaving the traffic lights as the only viable option.
The problems are made worse
by:
Deliveries to the shops on
Derby Road
Haphazard parking outside the shops
Location of the bus stops
School warden stopping traffic outside the Red Lion.
Possible solutions:
Yellow box on the junction
at the end of Station Road.
Relocation of bus stops. It has been suggested that the inbound
(for Derby) should be moved back, closer to the traffic lights, since
the road is wider at this point.
Removal of the cycle lanes at the traffic lights. These are little
used and would free up valuable road space.
Peak hours loading and waiting restrictions on roads around the traffic
lights.
Replacement of the Maple Drive roundabout with traffic lights and
pedestrian crossing, giving integrated control with the existing lights
to ensure smooth traffic flow. This was rejected by the majority
at the meeting as being unworkable.
Lay-bys for buses are said to be disliked by bus operators and it is
believed that they would oppose their installation, although they was a
favoured option by the majority at the meeting.
Formation of formal parking outside the shops. This would require
the co-operation of all shop owners and would reduce the effective
number of spaces available.
A proposal to modify the pedestrian crossings with central refuges, so
as to keep traffic moving more was rejected as being too complex for a
small junction.
A 'Keep Clear' marking to be painted on the A514 at the end of Manor
Road.
The reported problem of
speeding on the High Street was not confirmed by checks at the lower end
of the road. No-one was found to be exceeding the 30mph limit
between the church and the traffic lights. Further up the road
speeds were found to be excessive and do warrant police checks and the
possible installation of a vehicle actuated sign.
Actions (as of
December 2006):
The yellow box has been
painted at the end of Station Road.
The cycle lanes at the traffic lights on Derby Road have been removed.
The 'Keep Clear' sign has been painted at the end of Manor Road.
High Street is now monitored for speeding traffic and speed camera signs
have been erected.
Weight Limit on the A514:
Following years of campaigning by the Association, a 7.5 tonne weight
limit was finally introduced towards the end of 2005. Most
operators are complying with the regulation, but there are still a few
who decide to flout the law. Only HGVs delivering in the area are
allowed along the A514, Snelsmoor Lane and the surrounding roads.
The police will be carrying out spot checks, but if you observe
violations, report them to us (see Contact Us at the top), or
your local councillors, who will pass the information to the appropriate
authorities. Please obtain as much information as possible ie.
registration number, operator's name/address/telephone number, time,
place etc. Already, some large companies have been reminded of
their responsibilities and the response has been good. But
persistent offenders will be named and shamed. Watch this space!
Other Burning Issues:
What other issues do YOU
have? Let us know - remember, we are here to make Chellaston a
better place to live!
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