RUGBY TREAT

 A Rugby treat has been lined up for Forces veterans in Erewash – with free entry to see Nottingham take on the British Army in the first game at the Championship side’s iconic ground since it was wrecked by floods. 

The clash next to the Trent comes weeks after Storm Henk saw the river burst its banks and turn the pitch into a lake, sparking an urgent £50,000 clean-up appeal. Erewash’s Deputy Mayor Councillor Kate Fennelly – who served in the RAF and is the council’s Forces champion – said of the side hosting the British Army on Friday 26th January: 

“Thankfully the game looks to be still on after frantic efforts to get the pitch in a fit state. The showdown is a friendly but promises to be thrilling. And the great news for Erewash’s Forces veterans is they can get free admission – as can serving military personnel.” 

Kick-off at The Bay in West Bridgford’s Holme Road is at 7:45pm. Nottingham RFC is already more than a third of the way towards its fundraising target after what head coach Craig Hammond described as a “devastating” setback. Footie neighbours Nottingham Forest and Notts County have been helping out by sending staff to aid the clean-up. Nottinghamshire County Cricket Club also answered an SOS. Club director Chris Simon said: "There's an enormous amount of work to do, but we'll bounce back. We've had fantastic support." Serving and former military personnel can get free tickets using the code FORCES here: 

 https://nottinghamrugby.ticketco.events/uk/en/m/e/nottingham_rugby_vs_the_british_army To donate to the flood appeal visit:www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/nottingham-rugby 

GARDEN TAX

Erewash residents have just days left to sign a public petition opposing Labour’s plans to tax garden waste. From April, Councillors are set to impose a new £37.00 stealth tax on households who use Brown Bins to dispose of garden waste.

This represents a 17.8 per cent increase in the Council Tax for an average Band D property, which will be levied over and above the formal 2.99 per cent rise that has already been announced by the Labour Authority for financial year 2024/25. The petition, which can be signed online at https://www.maggiethroup.com/stop-labours-bin-tax,  will close on Sunday 21st January, after which it will be forwarded to Council chiefs for consideration.  Leading the campaign to axe the garden tax, Erewash MP Maggie Throup said: “Since the introduction of the original free compostable waste scheme in the mid-90s, Brown Bins have helped households to dispose of their garden waste safely and responsibly. The scheme has also proved to be especially important to residents who cannot readily access the County Council’s Recycling Centre in Ilkeston, such as those who are elderly or disabled. Labour may talk about the big issues such as the cost of living or the environment, but all they have done since May is tax our bins, sell of our parks, and tell us to burn our rubbish. It is therefore vital that we fight to keep this service free to use, stop Labour from hitting the poorest hardest, and prevent a rise in fly tipping across our towns and villages.” 

COUNCIL PAYS FOR SHOP SIGNS

 A NON-profit shop that gave away two tons of CHOCOLATE when it was opened by a visiting beauty queen is one of the latest outlets to get a huge boost from Erewash council’s crusade to keep local high streets thriving. 

Others include a mecca for brides – and a former cheesecake shop (right) that is now a swish café. All got council grants to help pay for their shopfronts.  The Living Hope Community Store in Ilkeston was launched to help those struggling with the cost of living. Miss Diamond UK – alias Sian Hooton – cut the ribbon at its grand opening as delighted crowds were offered free choc bars. The Bath Street store’s project manager Chris Jones said: “We gave away two tons.” 

The outlet began as a food bank in a Methodist church basement early in 2023 but had to find bigger premises after it “exploded with popularity”.  Chris said: “We are open for everyone who needs us, it doesn’t matter if you are a student, a pensioner, employed or unemployed. Working poverty is currently on the rise in the UK and there is a lot of stigma around it. We don’t judge anyone.” 

The store won funding under the council’s Empty Shop Signage Grant Scheme – as did La Belle Bridal Boutique on Ilkeston’s Market Place. The wedding dress hub is an off-the-peg arm of a designer gown business. 

In Long Eaton, signage for what is now a smart café called Lady Nene’s was funded by the council initiative – which the authority is urging more new businesses to take advantage of. The grants are worth up to £2,000. The money is from a government levelling-up pot called the Shared Prosperity Fund – so does not come from Council Tax. 

Lady Nene’s has two floors of seating and is in what used to be a cheesecake shop. The Market Place premises had stood empty for five years. 

Ex-mental health worker Janine Lawmon, who friends call Nene, had always wanted to open a café. The eaterie’s name also pays tribute to her late dog Lady. 

Janine, whose daughter Keeley, 22, is helping her with the café, said: “I used to come past this place, stare at it and think, I’d love to get in there. 

“I went for an alcohol licence so people could have a glass of prosecco or wine with afternoon tea – and then I said we can do cocktails while we're at it." Erewash councillor Alex Breene, who is Lead Member for Town Centres, Regeneration and Planning, said: 

      “We are over the moon to have helped Janine realise her dream – and also wish the very best to the other new business that have won grants. We urge more to follow their lead as the council continues to tackle the blight of retail units lying empty in our towns.” 

NEW YEAR BOOST TO CUT ENERGY BILLS

Erewash council is urging residents hardest hit by the cost of living to apply for grants worth thousands as part of a £1million-plus drive to make homes across the borough more energy efficient. 

The money – for loft and wall insulation, solar panels and heat pumps – comes after it was revealed almost a third of Erewash’s roughly 52,000 residential properties are rated at the lower end of the Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) scale. This compares to a national average of a fifth. Funding for the grants over the next two years is being allocated by central government and the shadow East Midlands Combined County Authority, so does not come from Council Tax. Levelling-up cash from what is known as the Shared Prosperity Fund is being used – along with other investment as part of the UK’s drive towards Net Zero. The grants are available for owner-occupiers whose gross household income is below £31,000, including benefits. 

Applying is easy after the council teamed up with Marches Energy Agency, which is an environmental charity specialising in the energy sector. More info is on the Erewash Borough Council website here: Warmer and Greener Homes (erewash.gov.uk) Councillor Joel Bryan, Erewash’s Lead Member for Environment, said: “This investment is great news as we step up our efforts to get to Net Zero. We are determined amid the cost of living crisis to see that residents get every help. The programme will help to instal energy efficient measures to provide warmer homes, reduce fuel poverty and improve the lives of Erewash residents struggling with the cost of heating their homes. Those people who live in poor housing are more likely to be in fuel poverty and to suffer from long-term health conditions.”  

GREEN LIGHT FOR NATURE RESERVE

 A New Year masterplan to invest more than £500,000 creating what will be Ilkeston’s latest nature reserve is poised to get the green light at an Erewash council meeting this month. The aim is to turn the defunct Pewit municipal golf course into a wildlife haven right on the edge of town – WITHOUT using Council Tax. 

Half the cost will come from government levelling-up investment through what is called the Shared Prosperity Fund. The rest is money the authority is getting from businesses involved in the redevelopment of the old Stanton ironworks on the other side of town. The council launched a public consultation on the future of the Pewit site after reluctantly closing the golf course at West End Drive in 2022. The course was barely being used. Figures revealed a bill of £51,000 to keep it open while income from golfers was just £7,894. Almost nine in ten residents who responded to the council’s survey backed transforming the land into a nature reserve. Just four per cent of the 200-plus who gave their views were against the idea, with some calling for new homes on the land. 

While the vast majority of the site will remain public open space, a parcel between the end of West End Drive and Manor Fields Drive behind existing homes would be earmarked for disposal as part of a development strategy that will also be considered by the Council Executive at its meeting on Tuesday 16th January. 

The sale of this seven acres would help the authority meet housing targets and spare green belt land from being built on, according to a report which stresses that residents will be invited to give their views. Two small buildings on the land have been targeted by vandals and are a magnet for antisocial behaviour. 

Erewash has been working with Derbyshire Wildlife Trust ahead of coming up with its proposals for a nature reserve that will boast a mix of woodland planting, fruit trees, grasslands and “open mosaic habitat creation”. 

There is expected to be a pond with footpaths and trails. These will link to the wider Nutbrook Trail plus the beauty spots of Straws Bridge, Manor Floods and Pewit Carr. 

The authority says in a briefing document: “This enables the consolidation of a much wider area to achieve a greater biodiversity and recreational benefit.” Natural England has welcomed the blueprint, which could see the former pavilion building become a coffee shop and educational centre. The meeting of the Council Executive at Ilkeston Town Hall is also set to decide on a name for the new nature reserve.  The most popular option among residents was to retain the name Pewit. This was backed by just over a quarter of respondents (27%). As a tribute to the King – who has long been a green champion – the area is set to be called Pewit Coronation Meadows Local Nature Reserve. It is expected to open later this year or early in 2025.  

Councillor Joel Bryan, who is Erewash’s Lead Member for Environment, said: “We were sad the golf course had to close but it had simply become unviable, and the council could not keep pouring money into it. The consultation clearly shows local people are keen to back our green agenda which will keep the area as a tranquil open space that can be enjoyed by everyone.”