East Leake
Mike Elliott 0115 937 6506 elliottnews@btconnect.com
OBJECTIONS TO 170 HOUSES. Plans for yet another large scale housing scheme for East Leake are being vigorously objected to by the parish council.
The latest application is for land West of Field End Close and is for up to 170 new dwellings.
A statement from the parish council says they have objected to the application after it was discussed at a special council meeting in St Marys Parish Church and attended by about 100 members of the public.
It is understood that a number of residents have also commented directly via the Rushcliffe Borough Council planning portal.
Coun. Carys Thomas, the chairman of the East Leake planning committee says the key points of their objections are: that no further development is appropriate for East Leake at this time
and the latest. scheme is not “sustainable” development as the infrastructure capacity in the village has already been exceeded.
They say the location of this particular site is unsuitable and contravenes national and local policies does not support sustainable forms of transport into the village centre or elsewhere. “The access arrangements are inadequate and there are inaccuracies in the transport assessment as well as there being a significant ecological impact “
The council say there are archaeology/heritage objections and the proposal contravenes many policies in the East Leake Neighbourhood Plan.
The council add: ” We also note that there has been inadequate consultation process for this application and request that this be rectified.”
Parish chairman Conrad Oatey says should the application be approved despite their strong and valid objections, there are several matters that must be covered by developer contributions and/or conditions.”
Coun. Thomas has given a background to the development position in the village and says East Leake had around 2700 homes at the start of the plan period (2013) and since then has already provided sites for 1257 new homes, expanding the village by almost half again.
“Rushcliffe’s Core Strategy specifies a minimum of 400 new homes for the entire plan period to 2028. Whilst it is understood that the 400 is a minimum figure, the approvals to date far exceed what was planned. At what point does this stop? East Leake cannot be expanded indefinitely without holistic planning of infrastructure and roads,” says the council.
In addition to concerns about the overall number of houses now approved for East Leake, there is also the matter of timescale. The “minimum 400” houses were allocated for the entire plan period to 2028 and about 700 have been built already by 2018.
It is the Parish Council’s view that East Leake can no longer be considered a sustainable location for development due to lack of school places, Health Centre capacity, sewerage capacity and the limitations of the local road network.
“Housing development is spreading the size of the village so that it is no longer easy to walk from the outskirts to the central village facilities. Developer led housing is providing the wrong mix of housing to support a balanced community. No employment opportunities are being created alongside the housing. Couple this with a bus service linking only to Nottingham and Loughborough and not other local centres of employment, and it is clear that the housing will generate additional car journeys.”
PUPILS SHOW OFF BAKING SKILLS. Students at East Leake Academy joined the national craze by showing off their baking skills when they took part in a Christmas inter-house bake off competition.
The event was organised through the Academy Parent Teacher Association with the inter-house bake off event taking place in the lead up to the festive break.
The quality and creativity of the baked goods was, it was universally agreed, spectacular – and East Leake Academy principal Mrs Kathy Hardy said they were all so very impressed.
“Well done to all the students who took part,” was her comment.
There was one male student who appeared in the list of winners.
The judges admitted it had been a very difficult task for them to come to a decision but eventually they were able to announce the winning bakers as:
Cakes: 1, Freya Kemp, runner up: Sophie Hill. Cupcakes: 1, Charlotte Chaston, runner up: Jessica Smith and Alice McDermott. Tray bakes: 1, Holly Carruthers, runner up: Tommy Goodwin
The Parent Teacher Association, say the event raised £165 and they say thank you to everyone who contributed.
MEMORY CAFE MEETINGS. East Leake’s Memory Café, organised through the village Community Care organisation, has started its new sessions of weekly meetings, at the village Methodist Church.
The sessions are held every Tuesday from 10-30am to 12noon and is a café with a difference, being for those with dementia, their family, carers and friends.
Music, reminiscences, fun, chair exercises and help and advice are all on the agenda for the group.
Contact is Ann on 01509 559797
INSIGHTS INTO THE KENNEDY FAMILY. East Leake WI members were treated to a fascinating insight in to the life and times of the Kennedy Family, when John Whitfield spoke at their first meeting of 2019.
The first Kennedy was an Irish Catholic who arrived in Boston after fleeing the potato famine and worked hard to make money and gain influence in a variety of occupations which paved the way for the political careers of his ancestors.
At least one Kennedy family member served in federal elective office in every year from 1947, when John F Kennedy became a member of congress for Massachusetts until 2011, when Patrick J Kennedy retired as a member of congress – a span of 64 years.
Members found it interesting to learn more about not just JFK’s famous brothers Bobby and Teddy but discover more about his spirited sisters including Kathleen (Kick) Kennedy who, despite family opposition, married William Cavendish and became Marchioness of Hartington. Sadly, several members of this famous family have died in accidents and assassinations in what has been called the “Kennedy Curse”
The January activities for the group include a walk in Highfields Park followed by a café stop, a pub lunch and a craft session.
The next meeting is on Tuesday February 12 at 7.15 pm in the village hall on Main Street where members will be enjoying a social evening with a fun quiz and competition
New to the village or been here a while? - why not come along as a visitor and enjoy a pleasant evening, join in and find out more about us, we offer a warm welcome to a range of events and activities with fun and friendship is the message from WI.
VISIT TO FRANCE. As well as enjoying festive activities at home, a group of East Leake Academy students took part in a visit to France last month as part of a trip for Year 10 and 11 students to the popular Christmas markets.
After crossing the Channel, the students started their whistle stop tour with a visit to an artisan sweet factory where they had an opportunity to try their hand at
making their own sweet treats. The following day they visited a school in Desvres and enjoyed some sightseeing around Boulogne.
On day two the students were taken on a trip to visit the markets at the beautiful coastal town of Le Touquet, and also took the opportunity to stop along the way at the Étaples war cemetery. This led to significant reflection of past sacrifices from the international community. Students observed a minutes silence for the fallen to pay their respects.
To round off the trip, the students had a fun-filled visit to Le Fournil boulangerie where they encountered the crazy croissant maker – who also had an interesting
behaviour management technique whilst teaching the students. He wasn’t overly impressed with some of the Academy students croissant making efforts!
East Leake Academy offers a comprehensive programme of visits and trips for students as part of our enrichment programme and this was one of them.
Meanwhile the Academy have given their sincere thanks to Six Acre Nurseries in Costock for their kind donation of two Christmas trees the run up to the festive period.
Six Acres has donated trees to the academy for the past four years.
INDECENT EXPOSURE. Police in Nottinghamshire are asking for information after a man was seen exposing himself to schoolchildren.
Information has appeared on the social media pages of both Rushcliffe and West Bridgford police.
The incident is said to have happened on Wednesday, January 9 at around 3.30pm, when pupils from the East Leake Academy were walking home.
The man was apparently seen on Elm Avenue and Brookfields Way in East Leake, sat in a small red car which could possibly be a new style Ford Focus.
The man has been described as white, around 50 years old, with grey hair and a scruffy beard.