Volunteer speedwatch a success

POLICE in Hathersage are thanking volunteers for helping to spread the word on road safety.

It is after more than 200 letters have been sent out to motorists found speeding through the area during 2011.

They were found during Community Speed Watch checks carried out by the Hathersage Safer Neighbourhood Policing Team and a team of 27 volunteers from throughout the area.

Between January and September this year a total of 36 checks have taken place as part of the scheme in many different villages including Stoney Middleton, Calver, Grindleford, Bradwell, Foolow, Eyam, Froggat, Curbar and Hathersage.

Community Speed Watch was set up in the Hathersage area in November 2010 to target residents concerns about issues with speeding and to give people a chance to work alongside officers on road safety issues.

Signs, paid for by the Safer Derbyshire Dales Community Safety Partnership, are put up to advise drivers about the checks and anyone caught speeding is sent a letter which advises them about their speed and reminds them about the limit.

Data recorded through the scheme may also help officers to identify locations for future speed enforcement checks.

Shake up for National Park

Members of the public will be able to get involved in key decisions over the future of some of Derbyshire’s best loved landscapes after the Government announced changes to the make-up of Britain’s national park authorities.

Pilot schemes are to be launched in the Peak District and New Forest, where direct elections will be introduced for the first time to select some park authority members. If the elections are deemed successful in improving the way those parks are run, they could be extended to other park authorities at a later date.

Define members of the public.

60 jobs to go at Darley Dale firm

EMPLOYMENT in the Matlock area suffered another blow as 60 staff at a Darley Dale firm were told they were out of a job.

The future is bleak for workers at Cobb Slater Ltd as it was announced on Wednesday (11) that the site was closing and all workers were to be made redundant.

Parts of the machinery will be transferred to North Yorkshire and other parts will be sold off.

One worker, who wanted to remain anonymous, said: "This is a real blow to us all, the company was sold to BNL with no consultation with the employees and we were aware something was happening.

"We are all very low now as the majority of workers live locally and there is very little employment around the area.

"I have been with the company for nine years. I do not know what the future holds for me now."

Cobb Slater Ltd are a technical injection moulding company specialising in the design and manufacture of plastic rolling element bearings and assemblies, technical custom mouldings and security products for domestic electricity supplies.

A spokesman for the company said that staff would be paid their full notice period and would not have to work their full notice.

Brian Worth, production manager at BNL,

said: "The bottom line is BNL, a company in Knaresborough, bought all the shares in Cobb Slater.

"They only had a short term lease on the buildings and premises in Darley Dale.

"We are talking months not years and because the lease was so short it was not economically viable to continue the business here."

There will be a 30 day consultation period after which it will be decided which parts of the business will go to Knaresborough and which parts will be sold off to other companies.

Deputy Leader of Derbyshire Dales District Council Geoff Stevens said: "This is very bad news for the community, the loss of jobs is a bad blow for us in the area.

"We regret this and obviously we have to do what we can to attract jobs into the area.

"60 is quite a large number to lose from a small community such as Darley Dale. These type of specialist jobs are in short supply in the area."

Chris Sabian, Peak District View - 2007-04-26 10:57:00

Deadline for comments on the Pav

Members of the public who wish to submit comments for the review of a Dales nightspot's licence must do so before Thursday April 12.

Police have called for a district council licensing committee to consider closing the Pav in Matlock Bath, stating: "The licensing objectives of prevention of crime and disorder, public safety, the prevention of public nuisance and the protection of children from harm have been seriously undermined."

To make representations to the review, write to: The licensing and administration manager, licensing section, community services, Derbyshire Dales District Council, Town Hall, Matlock, Derbyshire DE4 3NN.

The hearing is scheduled for Tuesday May 1.

The Pav has been recognised as the biggest creche in Derbyshire.

Chris Sabian, Peak District View - 2007-04-10 07:59:05

Sisters support road campaign

Two sisters who lost their parents in two separate motorbike accidents on Derbyshire Dales roads have joined British Superbike star Leon Haslam to launch Derbyshire Constabulary's annual motorcycle casualty reduction campaign.

Melanie and Kerry Smith's father Philip Griffin was travelling at around 70mph in a 50mph zone when he crashed on the A6 at Cromford, in October 2005.

Their mother, Colleen, was killed in a collision on Alicehead Road, in Ashover, in August 2001.

The launch of Operation Focus 2007 took place at the collision hotspot on the A6, near Cromford, on Monday, and aims to reduce deaths and injuries involving motorcyclists on the county's roads.

Melanie, 28, of Leabrooks, said: "By backing this campaign, we hope that it will encourage bikers to slow down and ride more safely.

"Think of the effect that a crash has on the family that is left behind. It has been so incredibly tough for us and I wouldn't want anybody else to have to go through that."

Operation Focus, which will run from April to September, will use a combination of enforcement and education to encourage motorcyclists to slow down and reduce the number of casualties on the county's roads.

The following routes have been highlighted as collision hot routes and will receive increased enforcement during Operation Focus: A6 Homesford Cottage near Cromford, A5012 Via Gellia, B5035 Ashbourne to Wirksworth and A6 Matlock Bath to High Peak Junction.

Chris Sabian, Peak District View - 2007-04-05 03:15:49

Menage ban in the countryside

Francesca Ludlam, from Grove Lane in Somersal Herbert, is a member of the British three-day eventing team and is training for 2012 Olympics. As part of her training she uses a training area,known as a menage, for 40 minutes per day.

But homeowners surrounding the sand-covered menage are upset about the noise made by her horse during the practice sessions and complained to Derbyshire Dales District Council.

Her father Michael has been battling to keep the menage since 2000, when a council enforcement notice ordered them to remove it.

They refused, and appealed against the decision, and a legal battle ensued that saw Mr Ludlam fighting for the menage’s use in the High Courts.

The arena has been used since 1985. In the late 1990s it was resurfaced to improve drainage, and land surrounding the arena was sold to nearby houses so they could extend their gardens.

Francesca said: "The land was sold on the agreement that the menage was there and would continue to be used.

"But in 2000 a complaint was made and we were told we would have to remove the sand surface and grow grass over the top.

"It’s the only flat area of land we’ve got, so I’ll still keep using it regardless, but I think a grass surface will be a lot more noisy than a sand surface, so it doesn’t make sense."

In her report to the planning committe, inspector Jean Jones said: "I have no doubt that there could be a disturbance to both adjoining occupiers at times when instructions are being given, maintenance carried out or people other than the rider are present.

"The council has not carried out a noise survey, but, given the sporadic nature of use, it would be difficult to do so.

"I consider the menage to be materially harmful to the living conditions of adjoining occupiers because of its proximity and use.

"It is sandwiched between their rear gardens which could expect to have more peace and privacy than frontages and the village is very small, with low levels of activity, so sounds will be noticeable."

The latest appeal decision was dismissed on February 13. Michael Ludlam said: "I’m very passionate about this, and will take it as high as it needs to go.

"We will now go to the High Court of Appeal again and, hopefully this time, will be allowed to keep the menage as it is."

I have been through a planning application for a menage and witnessed the same stupid arguements about noise. On that occassion the planning department dismissed the objections and I hope this will be the case here.

Perhaps the residents of Sommersal Herbert are not used to country life and should get back to the towns where they will no doubt have much more to moan about.

Chris Sabian, Peak District View - 2007-03-13 05:49:12

Time running out for Pav night club

It seems that the double stabbing outside the Pav night club in Matlock Bath on February 10 is the last straw as far as the Police are concerned.

On Tuesday evening Inspector Paul Corton, of Matlock Police, met with angry residents and parish councillors who claim the venue is a magnet for anti-social behaviour and under-age drinking. He confirmed officers would be presenting evidence to the district council’s licensing committee which would warrant closure of the venue.

Insp Corton told the meeting: “Our case will not hang just on the events of February 10 because there has been a constant drip of incidents occurring for some time.

“We feel the situation is so serious that we have to go for revocation of the premises licence.

“We will be presenting evidence to say the venue is having a negative impact on the community.”

The district council licensing officials were not represented at the meeting to the dismay of local residents.

But this might not be as straight forward as first thought. Matlock Bath Parish Council chair Belinda Heaney said: “If Derbyshire Dales District Council opts to hear The Pav’s review we would object on the grounds that the district council owns the building and therefore has a vested interest.”

Councillors also urged all interested parties to make representations once the review is called.

Derbyshire Dales District Council’s head of community services, John Morris, said: "The district council are the licensing authority.

“This function was passed from the Magistrates Court and is entirely separate from any other activities which the district council has responsibility for."

The Pav has had a reputation since I was a teenage ale swigging lout (I am now a middle aged ale swigging lout) for being a dump and where under age drinking was rife. I seem to remember drugs was also an ever present.

Although I have not had the pleasure for several years, if you ask any local resident what to expect on a Friday and Saturday night their responses would devalue their properties by 50%.

Close it down for the sake of everybody's health.

Chris Sabian, Peak District View - 2007-03-07 12:19:41