Hutton Energy Exploratory Work Approved

Hutton Energy have recently been granted permission for exploratory drilling. I don't have full details, but a local group have organised a peaceful protest on 10th May 2015 at the site. Please meet at 1pm and show your support. You can find further details of the protest here:  https://www.facebook.com/events/1425564024415449/

Oil Drilling in Radcliffe on Trent: Our Village Takes Yet Another Hit

Yesterday's Nottingham Post ran a story about the plans to conduct test drilling for oil at Radcliffe on Trent. We found about this accidentally when one of our community members alerted us. This is really frustrating yet again to find out about something that has the potential to have a huge impact impact upon our community. What is more worrying is that the planning documentation reveals that none of our local councillors raised any objections.

You can read the full story from the Post here: http://www.nottinghampost.com/Drilling-oil/story-25842888-detail/story.html

The planning documentation can be found here: http://www.newtonenergy.ca/investors/pdf/Newton-Energy-Harlequin-3-Planning-Statement-130615-Redacted.pdf

The deadline to comment on the application is 3rd February.
The information about how to do so can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/ng12-2aw-hutton-energy-uk-limited-environmental-permit-application-advertisement/ng12-2aw-hutton-energy-uk-limited-environmental-permit-application-advertisement

At a quick glance of the documents, it is interesting to note that the predicted sound pollution would exceed legal and acceptable parameters at night time for those living on Saxondale Drive. I wonder if they are aware of this. Please do forward this onto anyone living currently living in Saxondale.

The planning document reveals maps and photographs of existing extraction sites. Pretty ugly stuff!

It seems like we are being hit from all sides in our community and we don't seem to find out about these things until it is too late.

Listen again to Andy Whittaker's show (12th Jan 2015) tune in from 1hr 6mins to hear Hutton Energy discuss their plans for petroleum extraction from the Radcliffe on Trent Harlequin 3 site. Listen again here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p02fwvwr

Rushcliffe Borough Council Plan was adopted at last night's Council Meeting. Now we have to wait and see what impact this is going to have upon our village.

They released the following statement on their Facebook page this morning. 

"At the Council meeting held yesterday evening (22 December), Rushcliffe Borough Council formally adopted the Local Plan Core Strategy. This is the key policy document that sets out where development is permitted over the next 14 years.

Most significantly, the Core Strategy proposes a new development of 2,500 homes (with up to a further 1,500 homes beyond the plan period) and employment on land east of Gamston/ north of Tollerton; 3,000 new homes and employment land in Clifton and 1500 new homes in Edwalton near Sharphill Wood. All of these sites also have provision for retail and community facilities. In total, the Council is making provision for 13,150 new homes by 2028.

Council Leader, Councillor Neil Clarke said: “Last night was a significant step for Rushcliffe. Adopting the Local Plan Core Strategy was a very important, but very difficult decision, for the Council. We know that not everyone will be happy with the outcome. However, as community leaders, we have a responsibility to the whole Borough to bring about positive growth. We want people to enjoy living and working in our wonderful area. However, we need to do this whilst protecting the area’s unique identity and characteristics. We also want to boost economic prosperity. This in turn will safeguard the future of the Borough for generations to come. Finally, it is important we maintain our standing as one of the most desirable places to live in the country.

The Local Plan Core Strategy is an ambitious one which will see over 13,000 new homes and over 50 hectares of new employment land developed before 2028. Developers are already preparing planning applications for the identified sites and, having a sound plan in place, will ensure that development can be influenced and shaped by the Council.”

On Twitter, they have just shared the following update.

Maybe the information provided there will offer less by way of PR speak and more in terms of clear answers about what this will mean for our community at Radcliffe on Trent.
Let's hope...

South Nottinghamshire Academy Planning Application Permitted With Conditions

This morning, we have received notification of the planning application being permitted with conditions relating to the:

Replacement of the current South Nottinghamshire Academy site with a new three story school building; provision of new pedestrian and vehicular access; soft and hard play areas and associated landscaping and making good of the site, generally, post demolition (phased demolition of all building except sports hall).

You can read the full details here: https://planningon-line.rushcliffe.gov.uk/online-applications/files/5611AA0EF9C3EF8C0E270F3DD66975A0/pdf/14_01813_FUL--712613.pdf

Or these can be found on Rushcliffe Borough Council's website here: 
https://planningon-line.rushcliffe.gov.uk/online-applications/

Using planning reference 14/01813/FUL

Radcliffe on Trent Swimming Pool - October 2014 As of today, Friday 10th October, there are just 22 days until our village pool is due to have its water drained for the last time, before the South Nottinghamshire Academy re-build commences. Having received no support from our Parish and Borough Councils, since we all found out about the likely closure last December 2013, the Save Radcliffe Pool Group reported in the summer that they had done all they could on behalf of the community to attempt to keep our 41 year old village pool. This week, one of our group was advised that the planning application, to include the pool demolition, has been supported by the Parish Council. There was only one parish councillor, John Thorn, who voted against the plans; due to concerns about traffic on Cropwell Road and demolishing the Pool and comments were made at the time as to whether the building could be moved to save the pool. Cllr Thorn then emailed Cllr Neil Clarke at Rushcliffe Borough Council to ask if any pressure could be put on the proposers for a small shift in the footprint of the build to avoid the swimming pool. Now they are going for a three story building rather than two, could the pool be saved for both school and community use? .... something both Kay Cutts and Ken Clarke had commented to concerned residents about previously. This has always been the Save Radcliffe Pool Group's arguement and it now appears that the Parish Council members are agreeing with us. It is particularly relevant for reconsideration by the Borough Council, given it would seem that the footprint of the new build is now significantly reduced. Following John Thorn's email, some of the Group have also made contact with Cllr Clarke for one last ditch attempt to try to save the pool. We know that SNA are worried about the cost of running the pool if it remains but our group has looked into this and there are examples of local communities taking over the running of community pools, Wirksworth in Derbyshire being one example. This is a charitable trust run by a Board of Trustees and was financially supported in its early days by their local council. It now supports itself. Building Proposal Documents can be viewed via the Rushcliffe Borough Council Website - http://www.document1.co.uk/blueprint/Documents.asp Acpt=912956037&CaseId=1401813&CaseNo=14/01813/FUL. Neil Clarke can be emailed via Cllr.NClarke@rushcliffe.gov.uk.

Campaign to Preserve Wrap Around Childcare in Radcliffe

It's been a while since we have had anything to report and we are still waiting to hear on any decision surrounding the future of our Greenbelt around Radciffe on Trent.

However, it would seem that another cause has emerged as a concern for our community and particularly for those with families. The Radcliffe Out of School Club are facing an uncertain future surrounding the provision of wrap around childcare for the children of Radcliffe on Trent.

Currently our Out of School Club is sited at Radcliffe on Trent Junior School, however due to the increase in children needing a place at the School for this coming academic year, the Junior School have had no choice but to reclaim that space as a teaching classroom. A site is still being sought, but as yet nothing has been secured beyond October 2014. This leaves many parents who are reliant on the facility with no ongoing childcare for the future. The childminders of the village have finite spaces and are guided by strict and legally binding childcare rations, which has left many without a space from October this year. This is a real concern and worry for those with work commitments.

A campaign has been started by one of our community members, you can lend support to the campaign by signing the petition here: http://bit.ly/RadChildcare

Response from Kenneth Clarke re: Radcliffe's Swimming Pool

The Save Radcliffe Pool group met Kenneth Clarke on Saturday 22nd March 2014.

He commented, like Cllr Cutts had done previously, that he couldn't see why the building could not be moved a few metres to stay clear of the pool, however he thought there was little chance of financial support from RBC. He offered to speak to Mr Gove to get assurance that our campaign to save the pool will not jeopardise SNA's rebuild.

After our meeting, Mr Clarke contacted SNA directly to talk to them about our concerns and sent us the following response:

'Thank you very much for coming to see me about the problem of the future of the swimming pool at the South Notts Academy in Radcliffe on Trent. Obviously everybody wants the new school built and it is difficult for the Member of Parliament to play much part in the decision about the grants available, the finances of the Academy and their future plans for the school's development. I have taken up the points you discussed with me with the school and I will go on to take it up with the Secretary of State for Education if their arguments raise issues with which he might be persuaded to be helpful. I will also see if the Borough Council is prepared to contemplate having a hand in maintaining a pool in Radcliffe, although I have no control over them, and they face very practical difficulties over their leisure centre policy.'

We will keep in touch with Kenneth Clarke, particularly around the time when SNA are going to submit their plans to Rushcliffe Borough Council (possibly June/July 2014). In the mean time we will be staying in close contact with SNA to keep in the loop with progress on the procurement stage of the rebuild and ask to be involved with any feasibility study meetings that the village's leisure committee had suggested take place. The planning stage may naturally fall behind schedule as these processes tend to do, regardless of any issues that we happen to be facing.  The Save Radcliffe Pool group will also continue to investigate future management and funding of the pool if it were to be saved.

Thank you to all those that signed the Save Radcliffe Pool Petition

We have busy been inputting all the email addresses given by the 948 signatures on our petition (about a third of the signatures included this information) and this week sent a thank you email out to all those people. We would like to thank you all, as follows:

Save the Radcliffe Pool Group thank you for signing our petition. We raised over 900 signatures in only a few weeks, demonstrating the support for keeping the existing pool in Radcliffe. This is around 10% of the population of Radcliffe.

The petition was submitted to Rushcliffe Borough Council on 6^th March. They have replied to say they are unable to support our campaign. After speaking to one of Radcliffe on Trent's Borough councillors Eddie Fearon, we understand that part of the reason for this is that the Borough council strategy is to reduce the pools in Rushcliffe Borough to just 2 due to financial constraints. This is apparently in line with government guidelines. Nb. See pg 4 Rushcliffe News Spring 2014, just out.

Also it appears Rushcliffe Borough Council would be concerned about any additional leisure facilities in Radcliffe as it would take money away from other leisure providers in Rushcliffe Borough such as Bingham, Keyworth, Cotgrave or West Bridgford. We do not feel this is fair to Radcliffe residents who will have to travel to nearby pools if the closure goes ahead.

The Radcliffe Community Plan for which you submitted a questionnaire this year has highlighted that the people of Radcliffe wanted more leisure facilities not less.

If saved the Radcliffe pool cannot survive into the future without additional funding as the South Notts Academy are clear they can no longer support the running costs. Therefore we are currently looking elsewhere for financial support. If you have any expertise in the area of fund raising for major projects or would like to get involved please contact us.

The next stage, is for the planning application, to rebuild the South Notts Academy (without the pool) to come up for public consultation-probably in June/July. Please make your views felt at this time as you can make a difference. We will notify you of the date when we have it.

All current information about the pool can be found on https://www.facebook.com/SaveRadcliffeSwimmingPool and  radcliffecommunity.blogspot.co.uk.

Update from Save Radcliffe Pool - March 2014

March has been a mixed month for our campaign, starting with our presentation of the 948 signature petition to RBC's Council Meeting on the 6th March and culminating in a visit to Kenneth Clarke's surgery on Saturday 22nd March 2014. 

Kenneth Clark commented, like Cllr Cutts had done previously, that he couldn't see why the building could not be moved a few metres to stay clear of the pool. However, he thought there was little chance of financial support from Rushcliffe Borough Council but offered to speak to Michael Gove to get assurance that our campaign to save the pool will not jeopardise SNA's rebuild. 

On the morning of his surgery, our group received the official response from the RBC Chief Executive who advised RBC 'cannot make a financial commitment to support retaining the facility, but I am hopeful we can assist it identifying opportunities that might help achieve the petition's aspiration.'

Earlier that week, on Tuesday 18th March 2014 Radcliffe's first leisure committee meeting took place, with some parish and borough councillors present as well as representatives from the Residents Association, SNA, ROTSPA and Save Radcliffe Pool Group. The Parish Councillors started the meeting on the understanding that we all supported the proposal of new pool, however, the Save Radcliffe Pool group explained that they have not given up hope of saving the pool.

Eddy Fearon repeated what he had said at the petition submission in early March that the Borough Council are unable to support either saving the existing pool or 

building a new one and will not support a leisure centre in Radcliffe due to the perceived detrimental impact on other leisure facilities in Rushcliffe. There will be no money from Rushcliffe Borough council, as they are trying to close pools not open them, but he offered borough council input to look at funding options for a new pool.

The key question from ROTSPA and Save Radcliffe Pool group was is there actually any land for a new pool? Without land there is little point in moving forward with the committee. ROTSPA recommended a feasibility survey should take place to assess the possibility of building a new pool where SNA may offer land. SNA's Board of Governor's will contact RBC's Planning department to visit the site and make some observations of suitability for a pool and speak to a representative of Academy Trust about whether leasing land from the Trust is possible.

There was discussion about the cost of a new boiler and associated buildings that would be required if the existing pool could be saved. The meeting also discussed car parking and advised that any pool on the site would need to pay for its own parking. ROTSPA offered the possibility of funding to pay for a feasibility survey and Save Radcliffe Pool Group fed back briefly some options Carl Towner had suggested following his experience of setting up The Lenton Centre in Nottingham.

All agreed this group does not currently have a common purpose.

In the mean time, SNA's Chair Of Governor's committed to contacting RBC re: planned visit to school. School to update community of timescales from DfE for new build, SNA to ask if interested parties i.e. Save Radcliffe Pool, can be invited to any future meetings about new build and SNA to follow up with ROTSPA about i.e. how long pool can stay open.

Having recently lost two of our members, who we must thank for their time and efforts with the petition in January and February, we now require some more of the community to help with the project of researching funding/grants. Those left in the group have limited time available and so any other offers of help will be much appreciated, otherwise there may not be enough time to find out this information before the June/July planning processes in the summer. 

We look forward to hearing from some of you very soon!

Councillor Eddie Fearon sets his leisure agenda

Councillor Eddie Fearon approached members of the Save Radcliffe Pool group on Thursday 5th March at the RBC Council Meeting, before they were due to submit the petition on behalf of Radcliffe community. 

He had been investigating the cost of building a new leisure centre, which he said some of his constituents were asking for in Radcliffe on Trent. He had been advised that a new leisure centre would cost at least £2.2m. He was very clear that he could not support a leisure centre in Radcliffe on Trent because it would compromise the viability of the other leisure centres in the borough. Any new leisure centre would take custom away from the other sites and make them less viable.

The Save Radcliffe Pool group suggested that his comments added weight to saving the current leisure facilities already in place in the village.