|
Townscape
Heritage Initiative
The
Chamber is represented on the steering committee of the Townscape
Heritage Initiative which is scheduled to spend nearly £3m on the
buildings and public spaces in the town in the next two years. Funding
has come from the Heritage Lottery Fund. The Derbyshire Economic
Partnership and Erewash Borough Council. It is still not too late for
businesses to apply for support for building repairs and improvements
Support
during recession
In
conjunction with Ilkeston Chamber of Trade we have pressed local and
regional agencies to provide support for the Market Towns during the
recession. This has resulted in £52,000 being made available to
support businesses in Long Eaton and Ilkeston. Details of how to apply
for grant aid are to be made available in the near future. Contact
us for details.
Master
Plan
In the last few months, the Chamber has
been heavily involved in the consultations over the "Master
Plan" for Long Eaton Town Centre that consultants have produced
for Erewash
Borough Council. This is an important document because future
planning applications for properties in the Town Centre will be
considered on the basis of whether they are consistent with the Master
Plan.
Environmental
Improvements and Artwork near Tesco
We
are also involved in the consultations with the Council over the
improvements to the land between Tesco Extra Superstore and Long Eaton
Town Centre. The Council has £310,000 as a result of granting
planning permission for the store and the petrol station which has to
be spent on these environmental improvements and works of art. The
Council have received a further £310,000 for this work from the
regional development agency and have engaged a well known French firm
to produce proposals. The Chamber are very concerned that this money
is spent effectively and has been invited to send a representative to
consultation meetings with the French firm, Council Officials, and
other representatives regarding this work.
Car
Parking
 As
part of our regular joint meetings with Ilkeston Chamber of Trade and
Officers and Councillors of Erewash
Borough Council we have supported the free car parking
available in Council Car Parks in Long Eaton up to Christmas and the
New Year. We continue to lobby the Council to stop car parking charges
throughout the year.
CCTV
 We
continue to lobby the Police
and the Council for additional staff to be made available to monitor
the CCTV cameras in the Town. At present the cameras are monitored by
volunteers who seem to have little support. Unsurprisingly the Council
and the Police
keep referring the matter to each other but we will not let the matter
rest, and
now the Council have included the issue in their 2010-11 capital
budget.
Traffic
 The
Chamber has been pressing Derbyshire County Council regarding the
severe traffic problems which are discouraging trade and commerce in
the Town. This has resulted in more sophisticated pedestrian traffic
lights being installed on Derby Road and in the Town Centre. We are
continuing the search for other methods to alleviate the traffic
congestion in the Town.
Licencing
 We
have expressed concerns over the risk of damage to business premises
resulting from the changes to licensing laws. We continue to monitor
this situation and support the local enforcement officers.
Charitable
Work
Each
year we help organise the charity stalls when Santa comes to Long
Eaton to turn on the Christmas
Lights. There are lots of people there
to greet him and the 20 Charity Stalls appear to do good business.
Other
Matters
There
are also a variety of other matters that we are dealing with. These
include planning delays, pigeons and traffic policy.
|
