NEWSLETTER - WINTER 2002

CHAIRMAN'S CHRISTMAS MESSAGE

Once again the international situation makes it impossible to predict what will be happening in the world by the time that you receive this Rollestonian. Warnings about the danger of terrorism at home and the threat of war in the Middle East suggest that this Christmas may prove to be a difficult time.

Let us all take a moment to step back from the consumerism that is now traditional at this time and to think about the majority of the worlds’ citizens who are less fortunate than ourselves. Let us pray for peace in our different ways and let us all undertake to do something however small, to make life better in this unique world during the coming year.

On behalf of myself and the whole Parish Council I would like to wish all Rolleston residents an enjoyable Christmas this year and a happy, prosperous and peaceful New Year.

Marek J. Trelinski
Chairman Rolleston on Dove Parish Council

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STATION ROAD

The Parish Council has strongly objected to the removal of the setts along Station Road. It is still the view that these setts should have been repaired and not removed. There are many areas in the village that the Parish Council believes that the money could have been better spent - for example the complete resurfacing of Station Road. The Parish Council has been lobbying the County Council to improve road conditions on several roads in the village. These include Chapel Lane and School Lane, which are badly in need of maintenance.

DESIGNATION ORDER TO BAN THE CONSUMPTION OF ALCOHOL ON ELIZABETH AVENUE PLAYING FIELDS

The Parish Council has successfully completed the first stage of this application. This was presented to the Licensing Panel of the Borough Council who has provisionally agreed to support it. The next stage was to advertise this order in the Burton Mail. The Licensing Panel will consider any objections at the third and final stage of this procedure at the end of January 2003.

TRAFFIC CALMING - CHURCH ROAD

The result of the recent County Council's questionnaire was reported at the September meeting of the Parish Council. The Parish Council support the findings of the survey for 'a system that combines speed cushions and build-outs' along Church Road.

NEW POST BOX

The Parish Council has been requesting a larger post box outside the post office for many years. It has now been reported that a new and larger post box will be installed shortly. Following a request from the postmaster the new post box will be relocated at the side of the post office wall thus freeing the forecourt for disabled access etc.

FLOODING

The Environment Agency has now installed a level reading gauge by the lattice bridge on Burnside. This will help them monitor the water levels on the Alderbrook. The Parish Council is awaiting an update from the Environment Agency on their monthly inspections. 

A new supply of sand and bags is being stored at the Brookhouse Hotel. This is for the use of any houses that are at risk from floodwater in Rolleston. 

The hedges on Craythorne Field and Wood have been cut and the ditches cleared. The Parish Council has completed its improvements to the ditch in between Craythorne Wood and Field. This should help with the diversion of water, which previously found its way towards Beacon Road. 

The Parish Council would like to thank Mr. Westwood, Brookhouse Inn, and Mr. Hickman, Anslow Lane, for volunteering to house Flood Warning boards to be used when necessary.

VISIT OF FATHER CHRISTMAS

Once again Father Christmas will be touring the village on his sleigh and members of Burton Abbey Round Table will be making a house-to-house collection. Look out for the white bearded man dressed in red sometime in December!

PARISH COUNCIL YOUTH REPRESENTATIVE

Katherine Phillip has been welcomed as the new Youth Representative. Katherine replaces Leah Conner who has spent the last year with the Parish Council. Leah is now working hard at University.

RECYCLING

The Working Party has now been organised and is awaiting word from the Borough Council before the first meeting takes place. The recycling unit based on the car park of Rolleston Club is for the use of Rolleston residents. 

SELF HELP NUMBERS

Borough Council ‘Litter Hotline’ – 0800 269098 (litter includes leaves)
P.C. Lear – 01785 238296 Extension 5

NEWSLETTER - AUTUMN 2002

RECYCLING

The Borough Council is required by law to increase its recycling rate substantially over the next few years. With this in mind, Parish Councils have been asked to form a Working Group which is to include as a minimum, a member of the Parish Council, the landowner of which any banks are sited and at least two residents of the constituency. This group is in the process of being established. At the present time, the village is taking part in a trial kerbside collection of tins and bottles.

WASTE SKIP

A skip will be sited adjacent to the Spread Eagle Island on Saturday 7th September to enable you to dispose of your bulky waste. 

CONSUMPTION OF ALCOHOL ON ELIZABETH AVENUE PLAYING FIELDS - DESIGNATION ORDER

Following an exercise to collect detailed evidence of the problems being experienced on Elizabeth Avenue Playing Fields, an application has now being made for a Designation Order which would give the Police more control.

AUDIT

The audit of the Parish Council's Accounts for the year ended 31st March 2002 will be held on 23rd September

YOUTH WORKERS

Youth Workers have now been working in the village over a period of three to four months. They have spent two nights a week in the village, including some Saturdays, and have talked with over 70 young people in an attempt to find out what they would like to see put in place to improve their life in the village. The Youth Workers talked to Parish Councillors at their July meeting about their initial reactions and highlighted some likely needs for youth activities. At the end of the exercise, a more detailed report will be made to the Council.

The Parish Council is grateful to the Countryside Commission for a financial grant to cover the cost of this work.

BUS TURNING - ROLLESTON CAMPUS DEVELOPMENT

Westbury Homes have informed Arriva that there will be a period during the early stages of the development when there will not be a turning facility for Service 15 buses. This means that for a while, the buses will be using Meadow View.

OVERGROWN HEDGES

These are still causing problems - Members of the Parish Council are constantly pressed by residents to report on problems being experienced by pedestrians due to hedges which overhang the footway. If your hedge is causing such a problem, could you please attend to it? It would save the Clerk the embarrassment of having to write to ask you to cut it back.

EXTENSION OF 30MPH SPEED LIMIT ROLLESTON ROAD

The Parish Council has given its support to the County Council to extend the 30mph speed limit on Rolleston Road to a point adjacent to Oaklea.

TRAFFIC CALMING ON CHURCH ROAD

The County Council's questionnaire on alternative methods of traffic calming for Church Road was circulated to a wide area of the village covering all roads which are likely to be affected by any traffic calming. Responses were due to be returned to the County Council by the beginning of August and the Parish Council is awaiting information as to the number of questionnaires returned and their contents. The County Council has made it quite clear that if a scheme is to get the go ahead, the consultation exercise carried out will have to have proved that there is a majority of agreement that traffic calming is the answer to the problems on Church Road.

POSTWATCH

Postwatch have agreed to look into the Parish Council's complaints about the Royal Mail pillar box outside the Post Office. For may years the Council has been campaigning for a larger box due to the level of use. Reports are frequently received that the box is overflowing

HIGHWAYS

Despite the Parish Council's objections, the County Council is to replace the setts on Station Road with kerbs.

Following strong opposition from the Parish Council and many village organisations, the County Council has withdrawn its plans to carry out a major scheme in Brookside which would have included the replacement of the setts with kerbstones. The opposition was raised particularly because no local consultation had been carried out.

POLICE

The recent WASP Leaflet circulated by the Borough Council published the telephone number for PC Lear - the number was incorrect and should have read:- 017852 38296

ALAN WOODBINE MEMORIAL

The final amount collected for the Alan Woodbine Memorial amounted to £700 and Paul Chilvers, the Parish Council's Environmental Officer, has indicated that he will start work on the two 'Kissing Gates' later this month.

FOOTPATH WALKS

Two evenings were spent walking the Public Footpaths in the village and problems with stiles, way markers and overgrown hedges will be dealt with.

ENVIRONMENT AGENCY

The Environment Agency is considering installing a gauge board at some point along the brook so accurate level readings can be obtained. The agency has also confirmed that they will inspect the Alderbrook on a monthly basis.

NEWSLETTER - SUMMER 2002

ANNUAL PARISH MEETING

The Annual Parish Meeting was held on April 15th and was very poorly attended. The Chairman read a detailed report which contained information on all the Council's activities during the previous year and reports were given by various organisations.

ANNUAL PARISH COUNCIL MEETING

The Annual Parish Council Meeting was held on May 13th when Dr. Trelinski was elected to serve as Chairman for a further term of office and Mr. Taylor was re-elected as Vice Chairman.

The following are Parish Council representatives on outside bodies:-

Rolleston Almshouse Trustees Dr. M.J. Trelinski and Mr. J. Westwood
Rolleston United Foundation Mrs. A.E. Gordon
John of Rolleston Primary School Mr. R.C. Paul
Derbyshire Airfield Consultative Committee Mr. P.M. Taylor

VILLAGE CLEAN UP SATURDAY 11TH MAY

Thanks are due to all the volunteers who gave their time to help with the village clean up. It was particularly pleasing to see some new young helpers joining in with the regulars clearing the brook and the WI with their litter bags (although many confessed that there was very little litter to pick up)

WASTE SKIP

A skip will be sited adjacent to the Spread Eagle Island on Saturday 7th September to enable you to dispose of your bulky waste. Efforts are being made to have another collection available later in the year financed through the WASP scheme.

PUBLIC MEETING ON TRAFFIC CALMING

A well attended public consultation meeting was held on 26th March when Ms Gormley from Staffordshire County Council spoke about various forms of traffic calming measures suitable for Church Road. There were many different points of view expressed. Although general agreement was reached that some form of traffic calming was needed in Church Road, the meeting was told that before any scheme could progress, a questionnaire would be circulated around affected areas of the village and a high percentage of returns would need to be in favour of one scheme for this to move forward. The Parish Council has now received a draft questionnaire and this will be discussed in more detail at the June meeting. The area to be consulted will be determined by the County Council

GRASS CUTTING

Continental Landscapes who are carrying out all the grass cutting in the village have made an impressive start to the mowing season. A close watch has been kept to ensure that areas are not missed as it is always difficult to get it just right when a new contractor takes over. If at any time you know of an area that has been missed, then please contact the Clerk.

CRAYTHORNE FIELD

In an effort to improve the drainage of Craythorne Field, Continental Landscapes are to carry out verti drainage and are in the process of advising the Parish Council about future maintenance of the field.

YOUTH WORKERS

In an effort to assess what activities the youth of the village are interested in, two outreach youth workers have commenced their work in the village. These workers will talk to young people to ascertain exactly what their needs are and hopefully a plan of action will eventually be produced.

BUS TURNING - ROLLESTON CAMPUS DEVELOPMENT

The Parish Council has brought to the attention of Arriva Buses the problem which will occur once the construction of the new development is taking place. In reply, they have written to Westbury Homes requesting confirmation that they will maintain a turning facility while the redevelopment takes place.

LYCH GATE 

Three quotations have now been obtained for the repair of the fretwork of the Lych Gate. As the Lych Gate is on Church land, before any work can proceed, the proposed work will have to be approved by the Church Authorities. Once the appropriate authority has been received, a grant application will be submitted to English Heritage for part of the funding.

DOG BYELAWS

The new Dog Byelaws are now with the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs for sealing. The Byelaws have been updated to include the removal of canine faeces on some of the Parish Council owned land. Details of the areas concerned are given below.

The dog prohibited areas - Meadow View Play Area, Elizabeth Avenue Play Area
The canine faeces removal areas - Craythorne Playing Field, Meadow View Open Space, The Croft Open Space, Elizabeth Avenue Playing Field
The dogs on leads areas - Craythorne Playing Field, Meadow View Open Space, The Croft Open Space, Elizabeth Avenue Playing Field

OVERGROWN HEDGES

Members of the Parish Council are being constantly pressed by residents to report on problems being experienced by pedestrians due to hedges which overhang the footway. If your hedge is causing such a problem, could you please attend to it? It would save the Clerk the embarrassment of having to write to ask you to cut it back.

CRAYTHORNE WOOD

The grass in Craythorne Wood is to be cut back again in June in an effort to reduce the thistle growth. 

STREET SIGNS

New street signs have now been erected in the cul-de-sacs in Hall Road and The Lawns. Thanks are due to the Borough Council for their speedy response to the Parish Council's request.

MEETING WITH COUNTY COUNCIL

A recent meeting was held with the Area Surveyor and several topics were discussed. These included

· Possible solutions to the continuing destruction of the grass verges in Brookside
· The poor state of the road surface in Station Road and School Lane
· Verges at the corner of Marston Lane
· Damaged verges in many areas of the village
· Extension of 30 mph speed limit on Dovecliff Road and Knowles Hill

ELIZABETH AVENUE PLAYING FIELD

As a result of the growing problems with broken glass in the Elizabeth Avenue Playing Field and children's play area, the Parish Council is to seek powers to ban the drinking of alcohol in this area. The problem has extended to the adjacent school playing fields.

If the Designation Order is approved it will give the Police powers to ensure that alcohol is not consumed in the area, to require any person to surrender any alcohol or containers and failure with the Police Officer's requirement, would give powers of arrest.

RAILINGS, BURNSIDE AND BROOKSIDE BRIDGES

In preparation for the Golden Jubilee celebrations in the village, all the railings on Burnside have been painted in addition to the bridges on Brookside.

NEWSLETTER - SPRING 2002

ANNUAL PARISH MEETING

The Annual Parish Meeting will be held in the Methodist Schoolroom, Chapel Lane on Monday, 15th April, 2002 commencing at 7.30 pm. At the Parish Meeting, reports are given by the Chairman of the Parish Council, Borough and County Councillors, John of Rolleston School Governor, Civic Trust, Village Design Statement Group and RODSEC.

As far as local government is concerned, Parish Meetings are unique events; at no other level does the elector have the opportunity of putting forward propositions on local affairs. The number of electors taking advantage of this opportunity varies greatly from year to year. In a year where there are contentious issues, it is usual to have a good attendance. Currently there are many important issues affecting the village which you may want to discuss - the Technical College Site, Traffic Calming, Flooding etc.

STREET SIGNS

The Borough Council has agreed to erect street signs on the cul de sacs in Hall Road and The Lawns following a report that recently an ambulance driver had difficulty locating a patient due to not appreciating that the properties in the cul de sacs were numbered as part of the two main roads in the estate.

VILLAGE CLEAN UP

The Parish Council is to finance the provision of a skip on Saturday, 11th May to clean up the village and the Alderbrook ready for the celebrations for the Queen's Jubilee. The skip will be available from 9.00 am - noon. If you can spare an hour or so on that day, you will be most welcome to help. The skip is only to be used in connection with this clean up.

TRAFFIC CALMING, CHURCH ROAD

Staffordshire County Council has provided suggested schemes of traffic calming measures for Church Road. Before the schemes could be prepared, the Parish Council had to agree to partly finance the traffic calming. Extensive local consultation now has to take place to ensure that these measures are acceptable to residents.

Ellie Gormley, the County Officer dealing with the project, or her representative, will attend a Public Meeting to be held in St. Mary's Church on 26th March commencing at 7.30 pm. This will be your opportunity to put your views forward.

If you wish to view the proposals prior to the Public Meeting, copies will be available at The Post Office and Starbuck's News.

FLOODING

So far, so good. Despite the heavy rainfall over the last few weeks, so far the village has escaped the flooding experienced last year. The Environment Agency is still being pressed to sort out some of the problems that were identified when their Action Plan was formulated. The Anslow Lane flooding and the problems with sewage spills from manholes in Burnside and the bottom of Knowles Hill have not yet been addressed. This subject is being kept on the Parish Council Agenda.

The County Council has supplied more sets of Flood Warning signs. If you live adjacent to a road that floods, would you be prepared to store a set of signs and put them out when necessary? 

PARISH COUNCIL BUDGET

At the January meeting of the Parish Council, a budget of £45,645 was set for the next financial year with a precept totalling £30,000, an increase of £1,000 on the previous year. Major items of estimated expenditure cover traffic calming on Church Road, improved play facilities, grass cutting and the use of a Planning Consultant in connection with the Technical College Site and the Local Plan.

USEFUL TELEPHONE CONTACTS

Dog Fouling, Litter, Leaves - contact the Litter Hotline on 0800 269 098
Problems with street lights - contact Staffs County Council on 01543 510169 and give them the number from the lamp post

GRASS VERGES

The whole village is suffering at the moment with churned up grass verges. A site meeting has been organised by County Councillor Bather with the Area Surveyor when this subject will be the main topic on the agenda. 

Brookside has never recovered from last year's floods; the verges are so soft that the vehicle tracks are becoming deep ruts. Something has to be done to prevent this continual erosion of the verges in Brookside which was described in the original Conservation Document as the most picturesque street scene in Staffordshire. If anyone reading the Newsletter can come up with some solution, the Parish Council would be pleased to hear from you.

The roads in the village adjacent to the shops were never built to deal with the heavy vehicles that make the deliveries to the Co-op on Burnside and the verges opposite are constantly churned up. The problem was added to recently after heavy traffic was diverted down Anslow Lane following a major accident on Lodge Hill. The recent questionnaire made in connection with the production of a Parish Plan has produced many comments about the provision of a lay-by in this area.

ROAD SURFACE, STATION ROAD

Concern has been expressed to the County Council that the road surface is again breaking up and that major problems are arising due to the uneven reinstatement following the installation of the gas main.

BURTON COLLEGE - ROLLESTON CAMPUS

On 28th January, the Borough Council's Planning Applications Committee approved plans for the housing development on the brownfield site and also for part of the playing fields to be used as Open Space. Despite all the strong objections put forward by the Parish Council's Planning Consultant, many village organisations and individual residents about the actual layout of the site and the type of buildings, Westbury's were given the go ahead on the Chairman's casting vote.

Obviously this development will cause a great deal of disruption to parts of the village and the Parish Council will make every effort to ensure that during the demolition and construction works, the developer adheres to procedures laid down by the Borough Council as part of the planning approval.

WANTED

Do you know of anyone who would be prepared to tackle the painting of the railings in various parts of the village? These include the railings in Burnside, Brookside, Craythorne Playing Field and on the exit to the village at the junction of Church Road and Cornmill Lane. If you can offer any assistance, the Clerk would be very pleased to hear from you.

FORMER SEWAGE WORKS STATION ROAD

The reclamation of the land at the former sewage works on Station Road has caused a great deal of concern to local residents. Following strenuous efforts by County Councillor Bather and Borough Councillor Hodson Walker, the operations have been halted whilst various matters are dealt with to meet planning conditions for the site. These include a method of cleaning of vehicles before they leave the site, signing of the site entrance, directing site traffic away from the centre of the village and restoration of any damage which has already happened as a result of their operation.

ALAN WOODBINE MEMORIAL

Donations from the following are gratefully acknowledged:-

Mr. & Mrs. J. Sinclair
Mr. & Mrs. D. Aspinall
Mrs. A. Mackie
Mr. & Mrs. G. Johnson
Mr. & Mrs. J. Morris

As was reported in the Winter Rollestonian over £2,000 was donated to the Methodist Church for disabled facilities and £670 has been donated for the Kissing Gates project. The fact that two major projects in the village will be paid for as a result of your generosity will be a lasting memory to him.

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Last updated: 22 November 2002