Minutes of the Forum Meeting held on Wednesday, 23rd October 2024,
Manor Room, Buttery Lane, Teversal Village, NG17 3JN
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You can also download a copy of these minutes from our website here
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1. Attendance.
Andrew Jenkins (Chair), Geoff Snare (Secretary), Victoria Crossley, Jan Jenkins, Mike Vardy, Sallie Vardy, Jane Cooper, Lis Reid, Lynn Henstock, Doug Edwards, Sarah Woodside, Viv Smith, Mick Smith, Darren Broadhurst, Chris Goodall
Apologies: Richard Goad, Janine Vardy
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2. Minutes.
The minutes of the previous meeting were agreed as an accurate record.
Matters Arising - there were no matters arising
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3. Election of new Treasurer
Our Treasurer, Terry Whitehead, was unable to attend the meeting. it has become apparent from discussions with Terry that his struggles with his health and the increased requirement to use online banking are making it more and more difficult for him to continue in this role.
Therefore it was agreed that a new Treasurer was required and Victoria Crossley was the only individual willing to take on this role.
She was proposed for the position by Andrew Jenkins and seconded by Mike Vardy, and was duly appointed as Treasurer.
The Forum expressed its thanks to Terry for his sterling work as Treasurer for the Forum for the last 3 years.
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4. Treasurers Report.
The new Treasurer will provide a report in due course
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5. Reports from Working Groups
Planning & Environment - Richard Goad (written report)
Crompton Street, off Fackley Road: the developer, Persimmon, has appealed against the planning refusal, but has also submitted a revised application (with very minor adjustments to the boundary), resulting in two parallel applications for the same development.
The Forum will reiterate our previous objections to both applications.
Wild Hill: ongoing applications being received, mainly for infill housing. All our previous objections in relation to traffic, access, etc., remain pertinent and will be lodged.
Whiteboro Farm: enforcement is at last being taken by ADC requiring the owners to remove unauthorised material and the access roadway, however does still have an opportunity to appeal against the enforcement.
An application for 90 houses has very recently been submitted for Radford Farm, Dawgates Lane, Skegby - we will be looking at this very closely and with much concern
Friends of Stanton Hill (FOSH) – Mike Vardy
On August 14th, a very encouraging meeting in Stanton Hill was held with John Bennett (ADC Director of Place) and other ADC councillors/officers. We understand that money has been earmarked and a Project Investment Brief has been developed for the area.
We await further developments/news
Through our ongoing work with Nottingham Energy Partnership (NEP), we were able to linkup NEP with the ADC Selective Licensing Officer, who will cooperate to promote to landlords and tenants in Stanton Hill the grants and programs that are available to improve home energy efficiency.
Heritage – Lynn Henstock
ADC still does not have a conservation officer, therefore no assets are being designated but we still need to request designation as this can then be referenced when objecting/commenting on planning applications that affect these assets.
This is very important in the context of the Local Plan where some other areas of Ashfield are protected against development because of their designated heritage assets, whilst the Forum area has a backlog of assets waiting to be designated and therefore not considered in the Local Plan.
The proposed development at Radford Farm (see Planning & Environment) would see the blocking / destruction of a Neolithic way, and as such would be a great concern from a heritage perspective.
There is decision as yet on the application for destruction of White Cottage, Forest Road but we understand the block of flats adjacent is due to become carers' accommodation if the application is successful.
Climate Change & Sustainability & Public Transport – Andrew Jenkins
Food Share – this continues to go well, with a good supply of produce from Stanton Hill Co-op; we currently have 8 volunteers but would always welcome more.
The Place of Welcome session in the Library, running alongside the Food Share have now started and the number attending is gradually increasing, with the promise of Citizen Advice Bureau assistance in the pipeline.
Transport – Claire Ward, the new East Midlands mayor has been contacted requesting a conversation with the Forum, but she is yet to reply
We have been contacted by Ashfield Creates (ADC has been granted £1m over 3 years for this) which is a new programme working with communities to unleash creativity & celebrate their stories to bring Ashfield together and much, much more! Publicity about their program of events will be shared with Forum members.
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6. Forum Re-designation
Geoff Snare advised that an application for re-designation of the Forum for the 5 year period commencing in 2025, was submitted to ADC on September 11th.
ADC have announced that the consultation on the re-designation will take place between October 11th and November 22nd, with a final decision to be taken at the Council Cabinet meeting on January 27th.
The above information was sent out by email and on social media. ADC have also published this information on their website and in local libraries.
You are encouraged to visit the ADC website pages for this consultation and register your support for the re-designation of the Forum.
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7. Examination of ADC Local Plan
Lis Reid advised that the first phase of the examination of the revised ADC Local Plan by the appointed Planning Inspector takes place between November 11th & 15th.
There are 5 areas that the Forum will focus on with regard to it's concerns about the Local Plan
- Consultation - more precisely the lack of consultation by ADC with the Forum
- Settlements - Skegby and Stanton Hill have changed from settlements to urban areas, affecting their protected status, whilst Fackley has retained it's Settlement status but the Local Plan shows an increase of 50% to the number of dwellings
- Services - the transport, education and health services in the area are already seriously under-provisioned, with no additional provision in the Local Plan; in addition with the proposed Distributed Development model (i.e. no large new estates), the opportunity for developers to pay for new schools or health facilities is non-existent
- Heritage - the lack of a local conservation officer is seriously impeding the designation of heritage assets, and the ongoing impact on protection for those assets
- S106 money -S106 money are funds provided by developers to support local projects to improve the community facilities in and around where development is taking place; however ADC has a history of spending this money on general projects away from the area of the development and there is no indication that this will change in the revised Local Plan
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8. Community Energy Project
Andrew Jenkins gave a presentation of the current status of the Community Energy Project (see attached), including the news that our application for a grant of £40k from Midlands Net Zero Hub for a feasibility study had been approved.
There was a length debate, with representations from a number of Teversal Village residents objecting to the siting of the project within the confines of the Village.
It was explained that the project included in the funding bid was simply an example project, which was required under the terms of the bidding process, and as such was simply indicative of what might be possible.
One of the main objectives of the Feasibility Study is to identify potential sites within the Forum area and attendees were encouraged to put forward possible sites for consideration.
Andrew also highlighted that community engagement was a significant component of the Feasibility Study (and any subsequent) activities. It was also highlighted that full planning permission from ADC would be required before any Community Energy project could be initiated.
Following the discussion, the meeting agreed to proceed with the Feasibility Study.
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9. Heat Hub event
We have teamed up with Nottingham Energy Partnership (NEP) who are running two events in the Manor Room on November 9th and November 27th. These are targeted at providing advice to the residents of older, harder to heat homes, on the options for improving their energy efficiency. Communication about the events has been sent out by email and on social media
If you are interested please do register for the event(s) - without appropriate levels of registrations in advance, the event(s) may not go ahead
Register for November 9th event
Register for November 27th event.
We are also talking with NEP about running a Healthy Housing Workshop providing a range of practical home energy improvements to people over 60 and families with young children, at risk from cold-related illnesses
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10. Repair Cafe
Geoff Snare suggested that we should investigate the possibility of setting up a Repair Cafe, possibly in the Teversal Visitor Centre. It would typically run once a month or once every 3 months, for a couple of hours on a Saturday morning, where residents could bring along items in need of repair. The objective is to see our possessions in a new light and discourage us from throwing away well-loved items which could be repaired and returned to a useful life, rather than being sent to landfill.
We would need to build up a team of volunteers who would do their best to repair, mend or advise, free of charge. Items could include electrical, household, carpentry items, clothing mending and alterations.
Repair Cafe is an international organisation and you can find out more here.
If you are interested in being a volunteer "repairer" please get in touch.
Geoff Snare agreed to progress the matter and report back
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11. Any Other Business
Sarah Woodside suggested we might be interested in the TinyForest concept.
Tiny Forest is a dense, fast-growing native woodland, about the size of a tennis court. These forests are not only great homes for butterflies, birds, bees and other wildlife but also a place for people to connect with, and learn about, nature. Each forest is a unique public asset – planted and cared for by the local community.
These super tiny, super powerful forests aim to mimic natural forests but in a small space. They include a mix of native trees which, over time, will create a wildlife-rich woodland. Tiny Forests don’t require much space and they can be planted anywhere that land is available – in a park, school or on a brownfield site.
Sarah agreed to investigate further and report back.
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12. Next Meeting.
The next Forum meeting, will be held on Wednesday January 15th from 7.00 pm, in the Manor Room, Teversal Village.
Attendees were thanked for their input to the meeting which closed at 8:50 pm.
The Forum is recognised by Ashfield District Council as the representative body for Skegby, Stanton Hill and Teversal
and Forum working groups are dealing with a number of issues affecting our area.
Anyone who lives or works in Teversal, Stanton Hill and Skegby is entitled to be a member of the Forum and attend its meetings.
To become a Forum member please visit our website