Snapshot

This is the first in a series giving details of conservation and preservation initiatives in the Notts/Derbyshire area. Rather than providing fully-fledged articles, it will just contain  brief details, a bit of background and contact points.


Butterley Iron Works
Stanton Iron works 

See my articles  `A Tale of Two Ironworks` (this blog, 6 Feb 2010) and `Ironworks Revisited` (this blog, 21 Feb 2010) for background and contact details.

Rushcliffe Greenfields

Signs of life from the strange land of SoRT (South of the River Trent) . They do things differently there, but this is an interesting campaign concerned with plans to build housing and a football stadium on Green Belt land. Numerous community groups are involved in the campaign and member Tony Stace has written three blog articles which address the wider issues - What Use is the Green Belt ? , Where Should Houses Be Built ?,  What to do With all the Cars ? His views may not be yours, but at least he`s prepared to get a discussion going.

www.rushcliffegreenfields.co.uk

www.rushcliffegreenfields.co.uk/links.shtml

Save Heanor Town Centre / Say No to Tesco Extension

A fledgling camapign mounted by the owners of independent businesses in this former mining town on the Notts/Derbyshire border. Details from http://www.thisisderbyshire.co.uk/ and http://www.tescopoly.org/.

Tesco will be looking nervously at this one, having recently lost a 14-year long battle with the Save Our Sheringham campaign (see http://tescno.blogspot.com/).

Rufford Incinerator

The proposed Rufford Energy Recovery Facilitator - that`s `incinerator` to you and me - is opposed by Notts Wildlife Trust. A policy briefing is available from them at  http://www.nottinghamshirewildlife.org/ . The ongoing public inquiry into the matter is due to resume on April 13. Unlike some other campaigners against incinerators, the Wildlife Trust accepts that some use of incineration is necessary, for non-compostible, non-recycleable items, but objects to the proposed siting of the incinerator on the site of the former Rufford Colliery, due to the likely impact on wildlife in the area. 

The issue is complicated by the fact that government departmenty DEFRA pays £3m per year towards the County Council`s 26 year waste contract with incinerator operators Veolia (in order to take the pressure off landfill sites) and could potentially claw back some of that funding if planning permission is refused. Obviously that would be less of an issue if a different site was found.

N.B. Another contractor, Waste Recycling Group, has been given permission to expand existing incineration facilities at it`s Eastcroft site, near to Nottingham City Centre, to the point where it will be able to process 430,000 tonnes of waste per year. Some campaigners  query whether there is in fact any need for another incinerator under those circumstances. 

Other interested parties ; People Against Incineration ( http://www.p-a-in.co.uk/ ) , Friends of the Earth ( www.foe.co.uk ).

Other sources : www.thisisnottinghamshire.co.uk

Derby Incinerator

Another anti-incinerator campaign is expected after council officers recommended approval for Cyclamax`s plans for an incinerator to be sited at Derby Commercial Park, near Raynesway.

It`s too early for campaign details to have emerged , but Derby FoE is affiliated to UK Without Incineration ( http://ukwin.org.uk ).

Other sources - www.thisisderbyshire.co.uk

Mann`s Bridge
 
The Grantham Canal Society ( http://granthamcanal.com/ ) are currently lobbying the Secratry of State for Transport, claiming that extensive alterations to the A46 Fosse Way will impact on  Bridge Number 16 ( `Joshua Mann`s Bridge` ) at  Nottingham Road, Stragglethorpe, near Cropwell Lock. 

If I understand correctly,  planners had an obligation to take the navigability of the canal into consideration but did not take into account the fact that the bridge would need to be heightened or  the canal could be impassable at that point. The contractors cannot unilaterally change the plans without the Secretary of State`s consent and the Highways Agency have simply stated that the bridge could always be heightened at a later date. The Society, understandably, believe that if the work is not done now, it will never happen.