Great Hucklow, Grindlow, Windmill, and Coplowdale Parish Council Newsletter – September 2018

PARISH COUNCIL MEETING DATES The next Parish Council meeting be held on Monday the 19th of November 2018 at 8.00pm in the Old Methodist Chapel. All parishoners are welcome to attend. Copies of the minutes of all previous meetings are now available to view on our website at http://www.hucklow-pc.gov.uk/.

A NOTE FROM THE PARISH COUNCIL CHAIRMAN I am aware that there is significant concern among residents of regarding the recent surface collapses at Silence Heritage Site and the road subsidence on Bretton Edge.

Along with other trustees of SHS, I have been in discussion with the Peak Park minerals planners (PDNPA), the Health and Safety Executive inspectorate of Mines (HSE), County Council (DCC) and British Fluorspar (BFL) since February to try to get a better understanding of what is happening on the hill side and what can be done about it.

PDNPA have slowly been gathering evidence and have recently issued a planning enforcement notice against BFL which demands certain additional information to help them make an assessment of the relationship between BFL's activities and the surface collapses.

HSE take the view that their responsibility is primarily to ensure the safety of those working in the mine and they are unable to take any action with regard to public safety unless and until there is clear causal evidence to link the current mining activity to the surface collapses.

Both PDNPA and HSE are very reluctant to issue any enforcement notices against BFL because they do not have sufficient evidence to prevent any such notices to be challenged and this would likely make matters worse when it comes to seeking a successful resolution of the Village's problems.

DCC take the view that collapses on private land are not their problem and they can only make funds available to investigate problems with the roads.

BFL maintain that while they are willing to assist with remediation of collapses as a 'good neighbour' exercise, they accept no responsibility for the surface events.

The Parish Council and the trustees of SHS would very much like to see a thorough geotechnical investigation and report done by suitably qualified engineers, to include a programme of investigation and monitoring with a view to identifying where further collapses may occur and a fully reliable methodology for remediation. However, neither the PC nor SHS has the funds to pay for this.

To date, I have been reluctant to call a public meeting to discuss this matter since while we are clearly aware of the collapses which have taken place, we have no new information about what has caused them or where further collapses may occur. However, with the recent closure of Bretton Edge Road, DCC are showing some willingness to investigate further and I think it would now be a good idea to ask them as well as PDNPA and HSE to attend a public meeting at which they can explain their strategy for investigation and resolution of these problems. I have asked our Parish Clerk to arrange a public meeting in late October. The date, time and location for this will be published via this newsletter and notices on the village noticeboards as soon as it is set.

Nick Williams Chair, Hucklow PC 29 September 2018

BRETTON EDGE ROAD Bretton Edge Road was closed by Derbyshire County Council on 27 September after they measured a displacement of about 30mm over the course of a month in a section of the carriageway. The affected section starts about 100m to the east of Little Plumpton Cottage and extends eastwards for approx. 60m. It is now fenced off and so there is no access to the Barrel pub via this route: all traffic (including motor vehicles, bicycles and pedestrians) will need to use the alternative route via and Bradshaw Lane.

DCC say it’s too early to say how long the road is to be closed for. They are trying to establish the root cause of this subsidence as that will determine the options available for repair. They are currently survey monitoring the subsidence by way of a laser scanner on a bi-monthly basis,

SILENCE HERITAGE SITE A further large surface collapse took place at SHS on or around 22 August. The hole appeared about 4m to the north of the footpath through the site in an area of dense vegetation about 30m from the collapse which occurred in January. It is around 10m in diameter and a drone survey indicates it is about 20m deep.

The drone survey also showed that much of the circumference of the hole is comprised of an overhanging shelf about 1 - 1.5m thick. It is a certainty that this will eventually collapse into the hole, most probably after a period of wet weather. It is thus extremely dangerous to attempt to approach the edge of the hole. Please stay away.

TEMPORARY CLOSURE OF GRINDLOW RESTRICTED BY WAY 6, FOOLOW RESTRICTED BYWAY 10 AND FOOLOW FOOTPATH 9 Extended from 13TH September 2018 to 12th March 2019 WHERE: the whole length of Restricted Byway No.6 Grindlow Parish continuing as Restricted Byway No.10 Foolow Parish and Public Footpath No. 9 Foolow Parish.

REASON: To facilitate safety due to unstable ground.

ALTERNATIVE ROUTE: No recommended alternative route. Access will be maintained, whenever reasonably possible, on the affected length of restricted byway and footpath. The restricted byways and footpath will re-open as soon as the work is finished. This may be earlier than advertised.

Derbyshire County Council apologises for any inconvenience caused while work takes place. This notice is given under Section 14(2) of the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984 (as amended) to prohibit its use by traffic. Mike Ashworth, Strategic Director – Economy, Transport and Environment, County Hall, MATLOCK DE4 3AG

CONSULTATION ON POTENTIAL COUNCIL TAX INCREASE TO ADDRESS LONG TERM EMPTY PROPERTIES residents are being asked for their views on charging the owners of long term empty properties up to four times the amount of Council Tax as regular home owners.

Income from the empty homes premium would be used to fund activity to support bringing long term empty homes back into use - and the premium could be increased dramatically thanks to new legislation currently going through Parliament.

It means that from April next year local councils such as Derbyshire Dales could have the power to double the Council Tax on homes empty for two to five years, triple the tax on homes empty for five to 10 years and quadruple it for those empty for more than a decade.

Councils already have the power to levy a 50% premium - the whole Council Tax plus half again - on homes that have been unoccupied and substantially unfurnished for more than two years, although Derbyshire Dales District Council has not adopted this.

A District Council spokesperson said: "We estimate this will impact up to 600 long term empty homes in our area - and we want to know what local people think about the idea to introduce the new premium, as an encouragement to bring these properties back in to use.

"Allowing long term empty homes to remain unoccupied is a waste of resources, especially as the Derbyshire Dales is one of the least affordable areas in the Midlands, with residents on lower incomes struggling to access housing to rent or buy. There is also pressure to build new homes on greenfield land.

"In 2016 the Derbyshire Dales was recorded as the sixth worst area in for the number of empty homes per 100 people at 0.9, and we also know that the Dales has the highest percentage of long term empty homes in Derbyshire, at 1.9% of the total housing stock."

The District Council has established an Empty Homes Hub with the aim of developing a corporate approach to the issue of long term empty homes.

Meanwhile, the proposal in a White Paper is being taken forward through the Rating (Property in Common Occupation) and Council Tax (Empty Dwellings) Bill. This Bill is progressing through Parliament without any difficulty and would appear to be on track to becoming law in 2018/19.

The District Council wants to hear from all residents about the proposals but particularly from owners who may be struggling to rent out or sell their home and the neighbours of empty homes affected by the condition of an empty property. Complete the questionnaire at www.derbyshiredales.gov.uk/emptyhomessurvey before 31 October.

KNOW YOUR HEART AGE CAMPAIGN An online test can help reveal your true heart age. Derbyshire County Council is supporting a national campaign aimed at getting people heart health aware. Adults aged between 40 and 60 are being encouraged to get to know their heart age by taking part in a free online Heart Age Test. The short test, developed by Public Health England, helps you determine if your heart is at a higher age than your actual age. It does this by asking a variety of physical and lifestyle related questions, as well as taking blood pressure and cholesterol information. Having a heart age that is older than your actual age means you are at a higher risk of having a heart attack or stroke. Taking part in this short test means you can quickly identify if you might be at risk of developing a preventable heart condition. To find out your heart age, search ‘Heart Age’ or visit www.nhs.uk/conditions/nhs-health-check/check- your-heart-age-tool Live Life Better Derbyshire staff will be taking part in a range of information events around the county in September. They will help you fill in the online test and offer a variety of health and wellbeing advice too.

STOPTOBER

Free local support on offer to help you quit for good

It’s Stoptober and 1000s of us will be ditching the cigarettes for good – will you be one of them?

Smoking is still one of the biggest causes of preventable deaths in the UK but there’s plenty of support and advice on offer if you’re ready to stop for good.

Live Life Better Derbyshire is a free, healthy lifestyles service that offers a wide range of support including stop smoking advice, weight management and help to get more active.

The service offers a 12 week programme of stop smoking support that includes a variety of advice and support as well as:

· One to one support

· Free NRT

· Advice on other stop smoking medications

Derbyshire County Council’s Cabinet Member for Health and Communities Carol Hart said: “We have seen the number of people smoking in Derbyshire falling from 20% in 2010 to 15% in 2017.

“We are pleased to see that fewer people are smoking however we still have a long way to go.

“We’d encourage anyone who is trying to quit to take part in our free Live Life Better stop smoking service. Our team offers friendly, confidential and non-judgmental support to anyone who needs it.”

All Derbyshire residents, aged 12 and over, can take part in the healthy lifestyles service by filling in a short self-assessment form online at www.livelifebetterderbyshire.org.uk or call 0800 085 229