Virus cases back below the national average after surge
THE number of new coronavirus cases recorded in Ashbourne has now fallen back to close to or below the national average, following a surge last month.
In the past seven days, in the urban Ashbourne South ward, there have been 15 new cases recorded, down from the 23 reported at this time last week.
This puts the town’s rolling rate, per 100,000 population on 201.5, which is down from the 309 last week and a significant reduction from the 510.5 we saw at the peak.
There is good news in other wards surrounding Ashbourne, with our neighbouring rural Ashbourne North ward falling to 11 cases in the last seven days, and a rolling rate now down to 152.5.
Similar drops have been seen in the Ambergate, Heage and Idridgehay ward, the Hatton and Burnaston ward – which includes Foston – and the Bakewell South, Youlgreave and Taddington ward - which encompasses Parsley Hay and Middleton.
The Staffordshire Moorlands ward of Ipstones, Warslow and Hamps Valley, which includes villages such as Wetton and Ilam, has seen such a small number of cases its data has not been published.
However, not all of Ashbourne’s neighbouring wards have fared as well. The Mayfield, Rocester and Bramshall ward has seen 14 new cases, putting it well above average and other wards, including Duffield, Quarndon and Kirk Langley, have also seen increases.
The Wirksworth ward, which had been seeing one of the lowest rates of new infections in the Derbyshire Dales, has started to see a new increase in the past week of 14 cases, putting its rolling rate at 228.8, and above the national average.
The Derbyshire Dales’s rolling rate as a whole finally fell below the 200 mark in the last seven days, with 130 new cases recorded and a rolling rate now of 179.7, down from the 201.9 we reported last week.
All of our neighbouring districts and boroughs have also seen drops over the last week, including East Staffordshire, which has a rolling rate of 344.9. Derbyshire’s rolling rate remains higher than the national average, however, with 2,024 new cases putting it at 252.2 – but the number of new cases is falling quite sharply. Meanwhile the latest available hospital admission data, which takes us up to the end of January, suggests the number of people being admitted to hospital in the Derbyshire Commu
It is not all good news... some local wards have actually seen increased cases
nity Health Services NHS Foundation Trust area is starting to fall.
By January 28, the number of new admissions to hospitals in the area has dropped to an average of 1.4 per day - at its peak this seven-day average reached 4.3 and the number has been falling steadily since the middle of last month.
As of January 30 the trust was caring for 20 patients with Covid-19 symptoms, compared to 27 at its early January peak, and there are no patients on mechanical ventilators.
A DUTCH couple who have been voluntarily tending to the grave of an Ashbourne soldier they had never heard of are starting to unravel the story of his life.
John and Sharon Esser chose to “adopt” a grave in their local war cemetery as part of a grave adoption programme and, as well as leaving flowers and tending to the grave, they set about researching the soldier they were paying respects to.
The memorial, at Venray War Cemetery in the Netherlands, marked the final resting place of John William Roe, who was born in 1918, the son of John William and Esther Fanny who are both buried in Ashbourne.
He had several siblings; Beatrice, Annie, Phylis, Mary Elizabeth, and John and Sharon used a familyfinding company to track down his descendants.
After a search of his family tree, the firm, Finder Guru, located his niece Christine Scott – his older sister Phylis’s daughter – who was living in Melton Mowbray. Through Finder
Guru’s founder, Nicola Girling, the couple were able to explain to a very emotional Christine why they had been tending to her uncle’s grave, and to exchange photographs.
She said: “It was a shock when Nicola got in touch, but a nice shock. I was really overwhelmed and cried.
“Even though I never met him, my mother talked about him so much and we always kept his photo. I never thought I would ever get to see his grave, I am thrilled.
“John and Sharon are amazing people to do this for a stranger.
“They have been so kind and sent me photographs and placed flowers for me.
“Just to know he is looked after, that somebody else is remembering him, I know my mother would have been overjoyed with this news.
“I have learned to email now and stay in touch with John, Sharon and Nicola. I had Uncle Bill’s photograph touched up and copied and posted it to them. I cannot thank them all enough.”
Bill Roe signed up to the army at the start of the Second World War and went away to Scotland to complete his training.
He went home for a week, after training, before going out to fight. He joined the Royal Tank Regiment RAC/A Squadron 5th but died of injuries sustained in battle at the age of 27.
He was buried at Venray War Cemetery and has a memorial stone embedded into his parents’ grave in Ashbourne.
John and Sharon began their search for information on John William Roe by leaving a message on the UK Veterans’ Facebook group, a supportive community for veterans and their families and friends. John Kelly, its founder, says anyone needing support, new friends or people to reminisce with is welcome to join them.
He said: “We are incredibly pleased and honoured that our group was involved in bringing John, Sharon and Nicola together.
“We are so grateful to John and Sharon, and all the people of the Netherlands for the respect shown to our fallen soldiers.
“Nicola is heavily involved in locating long lost family and friends and as such, is a valuable part of the group. When we heard Nicola had found Williams Roe’s family and they had been connected with John and Sharon, we were incredibly proud.
“We urge any veterans or their friends and family to join us for support especially in these difficult times.”
Nicola would now like to help John, Sharon and Christine find out even more about Bill Roe, and she is appealing for any information from people in Ashbourne who might be able to tell her more about him.
To pass on any information, email nicola@finderguru.co.uk or call 07306 388635.
I never thought I would ever get to see his grave, I am thrilled.
Christine Scott, niece of the soldier
DERBYSHIRE County Council will have to make savings of £13.3m over the next financial year, it has announced, as its budget was agreed, including a 2.5 per cent council tax rise to help fund adult social care.
The authority’s full council met on Wednesday to set its net budget for 2021-22 at £572.4m.
It was also revealed the council would have to make savings of £72.8m over the next five years to continue to balance the books.
However, council bosses have insisted they are in a “robust financial position” due to careful budgeting and sufficient extra funding from government to support extra spending due to the coronavirus pandemic.
At its meeting on Wednesday the council agreed to the 2.5 per cent increase, made up of one per cent for adult social care - which will raise just over £3.4m - and 1.5 per cent for general council expenditure, which will help to support other council areas under pressure, mainly children’s services.
This year the Government has allowed local authorities with responsibility for adult social care, like Derbyshire, to raise council tax by a maximum of five per cent, made up of an adult social care precept of three per cent - which must be spent solely on adult social care - and two per cent for general council expenditure.
The council can levy the remaining two per cent adult social care precept in the next financial year if required.
Derbyshire County Council’s precept makes up the vast majority of the annual council tax bill. Other authorities also have their own precepts which make up the bill.
For Band D homeowners this year’s hike is an increase of £33.73 a year to £1,383.07. For Band A homeowners, this is an increase of £22.49 to £922.05.
Council leader Barry Lewis said: “Every year we have to make what we have go just that little bit further, and we’re constantly looking at enterprising ways to get the most out of every penny.
“Coronavirus has put extra pressure on all our services and we welcome the extra support from central government which has put us in a much better financial position that we initially anticipated at the beginning of the pandemic, and we are told there will be further support into the next financial year.
“There still remains significant pressure in some areas, namely adult social care and children’s services, and although we have been able to put more money into these areas, demand continues to rise and the challenges will not go away.
“As important as ensuring these vital services continue to protect our most vulnerable residents, old and young, is the need to keep council tax as low as possible for residents and not put additional pressure on already overstretched household budgets.
“That’s why when the government gave us permission to raise extra money to pay for adult social care by three per cent this year, we decided to keep this to a one per cent increase. And we’re also keeping the general increase to 1.5 per cent, rather than the permitted two per cent. In an ideal world we’d like no council tax increase at all, but the pressure on all our services, especially for adults and children, means that’s just not feasible and could lead to greater challenges in the future.
“Our net budget for the year ahead is just over £572m and our stable financial position means we can continue with our ambitious plans for the county. These include spending more on adults and children’s care services, continuing with our £40 million programme of repairing roads and pavements, investing in schools and care homes and continuing with our important climate change programme.”
Coronavirus has put extra pressure on all our services.
Barry Lewis. council leader