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The Birstall Post, February 2001 (211)

Bus service

RESIDENTS ON the Lawn Estate are being asked what they think of their bus service.
The consultation by Birstall Parish Council follows complaints from some residents that the route along Blenheim Road is unsafe. Mrs Tracy Simpson lives on Blenheim Road. She told the Birstall Post: “There are a number of issues, vibration, queuing, damage to parked cars, but the priority is safety. These buses are just too big for the roads. Cars are now parking on the pavements to avoid being hit by the buses and this is making it difficult for pedestrians.”
Mrs Simpson feels that if it’s not possible to have smaller buses then it would be better to have no service at all and she says many of her neighbours agree with her.
Mrs Diane Harrison, also of Blenheim Road, has been monitoring the buses on the route. From October to January there have been 12 double deckers using the road and in one day there were three within two and a half hours, she says.
She has photographs of buses driving along the pavement, cutting corners and driving in the middle of the road. She said: “Think how you would cope if the bus was re-routed your way and you had double deckers and large singles 42 times a day, not forgetting the Sunday service, making 260 buses a week by your front door.”
Many other residents on the estate are keen to retain the service and several have contracted Birstall Parish Council to make their views known. To help resolve the issue the Parish Council have met with the bus company, First Leicester, the police and residents and have produced a questionnaire that will be delivered to 400 homes on the estate.
The questionnaire asks for views on three options: leaving the route unchanged, moving it to Orchard Road/Allington Drive or withdrawing the service from the estate, leaving the Wanlip Lane service.
Chairman of Birstall Parish Council Nigel Coleman said: “This is a very difficult situation to resolve. On the one hand we live in a society where we are being encouraged not to use our cars and to use public transport, on the other we find ourselves with a service which causes concern to people over the physical size of the vehicles running around certain roads. For this reason we have decided to consult with those affected and to make a decision on the future of this service.”
He added: “The aim of the questionnaire is to ascertain usage of, need for and general feelings on the subject. One comment which is constantly raised is over the size of the vehicles. We have spoken to the bus company who tell us that the smaller ‘mini’ buses are being withdrawn from service as they cannot always cope with the demand for seats at peak times, that is why the larger ‘midi’ buses have been brought in. We hope the questions will give us a feeling for the importance of the bus service on this estate.”

Music festival

Sibson Road

PLANS FOR environmental improvements to Sibson Road have been welcomed by Birstall Parish Council.
Councillors discussed the plans at a meeting in January where the only disagreement was on the 0.75 metre (2 feet) high wall in the middle of the pavement from Henry Smith and Hamylton to the Video store, outside the Happy Hobbit and the Fresh Approach greengrocer.
Several Councillors remarked that they didn’t like the walls. “They are appalling and look horrible” said Cllr Dennis Marshall. Cllr Kathleen Grundy agreed and commented they would be a target for graffiti. Cllr Sheila Alcock said: “Within 12 months these walls would be an eyesore”.
It was reported that one of the main functions of the walls was to prevent vehicles from driving on to the pavements. Cllr Maureen Ackroyd said: “These walls would look good if they were in a different material, such as brick”. Occasional gaps in the wall for easier access by pedestrians was suggested.
Cllr Tony Stott proposed that the walls be retained but in better materials and with gaps. There were 8 votes for and 8 against the motion. Chairman Nigel Coleman’s casting vote defeated the motion. Councillors then voted on a proposal to ask the architects to come up with an alternative to walls, such as bollards, and this was carried by 11 votes to 2 with 1 abstention.
Cllr Roger Wilson said he was thrilled to see these plans for Birstall, to improve the village. “If we can get a scheme that we can be proud of, a quality scheme, this will help to reduce vandalism” he said.
Cllr Kathleen Grundy commented that it was important not to rush through the plans but to take the time to get it right.

Parish Council Notes

A FULL meeting of Birstall Parish Council was held on January 8.
A Harrowgate Drive resident expressed his concern at developer’s plans to demolish 57 Harrowgate Drive for a pedestrian and cycle access to the Hallam Fields development.
The Council agreed to oppose any construction traffic using the access when the development is built.
Councillors discussed bus services. Cllr Alcock reported that there will be no more small Foxcub size buses in the village. Councillors agreed it was important to retain bus services.
Cllr Stott reported that the Borough Council’s response to the Local Plan Inspector’s report will be published in late February and considered by the cabinet on March 8.
Chairman Nigel Coleman reported that the frequent visits by the Police helicopter to Birstall were a high visibility policing measure aimed at deterring crime.
Councillors discussed the Sibson Road enhancement scheme.
Cllr Neville Mays suggested that parking outside the Kingsgate Avenue stops could be made safer if the parking space was increased by narrowing the pavement.
The date of the next meeting is Monday February 12 in the Village Hall at 7.30pm. Residents are invited to attend.

Cancer help

HAVE YOU got cancer? Do you know someone with cancer?
Coping with Cancer, Leicestershire, is a charity that aims to offer support to cancer patients, their friends and families.
Services provided are an information line from 9am to 4.30pm on weekdays, counselling, centre based social support, aromatherapy, stress management, relaxation and visualisation, yoga, youth groups, befriending, hospital visiting, Asian language line, Asian women’s group and social events.
For details tel: 0116 223 0055 (Asian Language line 0116 223 0020) or write to Coping with Cancer, Helen Webb House, 35 Westleigh Road, Leicester LE3 OHH.

Song thrush

ONE OF Britain’s best loved birds could die out within Leicestershire & Rutland in about the year 2004!
Recent information gleaned from the results of the Leicestershire Garden Bird Survey and the British Trust for Ornithology’s long-term Common Bird Census suggests an imminent local extinction of the Song Thrush if the species continues to decline at its present rate within the county.
Such predictions should be treated with caution, of course, but the statistics are here for all to see and clearly illustrate that the Song Thrush is declining fast.
Nationally the species is of high conservation concern, belonging to the list of ‘Red Listed’ birds, one of the 36 species whose breeding population has declined by 50% or more over the previous 25 years.
The Song Thrush’s decline is likely to be attributed to many factors including changes in agricultural practices, habitat loss and degradation, pesticides and consequential shortage of food.
Looking in more detail at various aspects of the Song Thrush’s behaviour should provide us with a greater understanding of the bird’s requirements.
If you are truly concerned about conserving the Song Thrush for all to enjoy in the 21st century, and beyond, then please help us by participating, free, in the survey ‘Flight 2004’, a project of the Leicestershire Garden Birds Survey, before it really is too late!
To find out more about the survey, please send your name, address and telephone number to: Ken Goodrich, 6 Riversdale Close, Birstall, Leicester LE4 4EH Tel: 0116 2674813
From Ken Goodrich

Quilters' cash

Caravan thieves

A GANG of professional thieves has stolen at least two caravans in the Birstall and Syston area.
Using a white Transit-type van loaded with cutting equipment, the gang cut off the hitch lock and wheelclamp then towed away the caravan.
While a wheelclamp is seen as very good security for a caravan, a determined gang like this one will find a way around the protection.
An alarm is a further level of security, but nothing betas having observant neighbours - something that playing an active part in the Neighbourhood Watch can encourage.
If you witness anything suspicious, always call it in to the police immediately on 222 2222 (24 hrs) or 248 4258 (not 24 hrs) - or call the Watch on 267 6397.
From Birstall Village Watch

Summer festival

FOLLOWING THE success of Birstall’s Millennium Celebration last summer, a similar event is being organised this year.
Birstall Festival will be held on Sunday July 1 on the School Lane playing fields. Village groups, clubs and societies will be participating in the afternoon and the climax of the day will once again be a giant picnic in the park with the Hathern band performing a Last Night of the Proms programme.
Chairman of the Festival Committee said: “We feel that once again, with the support of the community, we can all have an excellent day and hopefully make some money for our many varied groups as well”.
The arrangements for the day will be discussed at a public meeting on Wednesday, March 14 at 7.30pm in the Village Hall. Any individual or organisation is welcome to attend, or you can contact Nigel Coleman on 2201610.
There are still some surplus funds from last year’s event and any village organisation which would like to be considered for a grant should contact the Festival Committee Secretary Bernard Crayfourd, 148 Wanlip Lane, Birstall, LE4 4GF before March 16, 2001.

WI news

CELEBRATIONS FOR the fortieth anniversary of Birstall United Football Club are on hold as the club faces a financial crisis.
Over the last few years the escalating cost of pitch repair, ground and building maintenance together with poor housekeeping have left the club with immediate debts of £14,000.
The club are currently appealing for donations from any former player, committee persons, supporters or parents of the many junior teams the club have run. Many social events are also planned for the coming year.
Chairman Carl Gunns said: “Over the years the number of Birstall United Players and Junior Players must now be somewhere in the region of 3000 when considering the amount of senior and junior teams we have operated each year. Birstall United have certainly provided a service to the community of Birstall and we are sure you look back on your time with the club with great affection. Birstall United in some ways is more of an institution than merely another football club.”
Already over £4000 has been raised. Carl added: “We still have a long way to go but with the help of friends of Birstall United we hope to have a senior league for a few more years to come. If anyone can help us financially or with any ideas, please contact me at 469 Loughborough Road, Birstall or on 2671494.

Conservative

BIRSTALL CONSERVATIVE Association has announced their candidate standing for Birstall in the May County Council elections.
The Conservative candidate will be Mr Nigel Coleman, Chairman of Birstall Parish Council.

Monica Osborne

Interesting moments

CHARLTON HESTON, Tony Benn and Rosemary Conley are just three of the many famous contributors to an interesting paperback book full of accounts of ‘the moment that changed my life’.
Compiled and edited by Jill Bernhardi, the book costs £6.95 and all proceeds go to the brain injury charity Headway. You can obtain a copy at Peggy’s China Shop, Melton Road, Syston or by sending a cheque payable to HEADWAY, to Dept BP, 4 Croft Gardens, Old Dalby, Melton Mowbray LE14 3LE

Planning

Mr & Mrs Harrison-Guess - Single storey extension to rear of semi detached house. 10 Kedlestone Ave
Mr A Sarrafan - Single storey extension to front/side of detached house. 82 Rectory Road, Wanlip
Mrs McDermott - Erection of detached garage with sun lounge to rear. 12 Melba Way
Mr M Pacey - Single storey extension to rear of semi detached house. 18 Sibson Road
Mr & Mrs J Todd - Erection of porch to front and conservatory to rear of semi detached house. 701 Loughborough Road
T M Retail - Installation of new shop front. 99 Sibson Road
Burton Developments Ltd - erection of 2 storey extension to rear of end terrace house. 9-13 Front Street
Dr Ashton & Dr Hanley - erection of conservatory to rear of dwelling. 105 Curzon Avenue
Mr & Mrs L Hunt - erection of 2 story side extension to detached dwelling. 31 Church Road, Wanlip
Brewin Smith Homes - erection of 1 bungalow (4 bed) with double garage. 28 Tempest Road
CBC - change of use of agricultural land to wildlife area. Land to rear of 41-65 Worcester Ave and 7-25 Ashmead Crescent

Bradgate Park

BRADGATE PARK, an area of some 800 acres, welcomes over a million visitors per year.
Knowing that even local visitors leave wondering how the ancient deer park within the 800 acres came into existence, who lived there, why the house has been in ruins since 1740, David Ramsey, a retired Groby school teacher, set out to answer these questions and many more in a series of books using primary source material from the Grey family archives.
Book One: ‘A Time Line...Old John’ (1996) is a diary of events which affected the Park between 1066 to 1928. The story of the building Old John tower in 1784 and its use as a horse racing viewpoint becomes even more intriguing when the reader learns that potential Derby winners were selected here. (50 pages, £1.95)
Book Two: ‘Breakfast at Bradgate’ (1996) draws on the weekly recordings of food and drink purchases made by kitchen staff at Bradgate House during the years 1679-1681. (96 pages, £3.95 - presently being reprinted)
Book Three: ‘Was There a Village called Bradgate?’ (1998) Draws on State Papers and archives held by the descendants of the Earls of Stamford. Bradgate did support a tiny village by that name and curiously the village moved! (Glossy cover and coloured photographs, 80 pages, £3.95)
Book Four: ‘The Leicestershire Slate Industry and Newtown Linford Notes’ (2000) has just become available. This book takes a close look at the development of the slate industry within the Newtown and Groby Parishes and how the early village of Newtown developed with hovels close to the Main Street. The Swithland Woods quarries adjacent to Bradgate Park are identified, as are the families who worked the quarries until their closure in the 1880s. For family historians the surnames of the Newtown Parish are listed in chronological order for the period 1327-1837. (Glossy cover - 100 pages, map & sepia photographs £6.95)
The books are privately published by David Ramsey and are available by telephoning him on 0116 2875241 or e-mail: r73@beeb.net. The books are also available at selected local stockists.

60th anniversary

Vouchers

LONGSLADE COLLEGE is appealing to readers to help them collect tokens that can be exchanged for books, equipment and software.
Over the last two years the college has obtained a variety of items including 67 books for the library, two computer printers, a digital camera and sensor equipment for scientific experiments.
Time Computers vouchers appear in the Daily Telegraph and are also awarded when buying a PC. Last year the college received 62 software discs by participating in this scheme.
Tiny Computers issue a single Free PC for Schools voucher when a new PC is purchased and Longslade already have three of these. With another 17 they would be able to obtain a new PC.
Tesco issue a voucher with every £10 spent and last year the college collected 9131, and Walkers Crisps have a Free Books for Schools voucher promotion.
Longslade would gratefully accept any vouchers from readers to add to their collection. They can be sent to Sheila Beatty, Longslade College, Wanlip Lane, Birstall, Leicester LE4 4GH

Scooters coded free!

THE POLICE are still very concerned about the theft of bicycles in the area.
At this time of the year there are a lot of expensive new cycles that have been bought for Christmas and they are very vulnerable. Please lock them if you have got to leave them and lock them to something that is secure, such as a lamp post or the cycle racks that are placed about the village.
Remember that the best way to deter the thief is to get it coded. On the third Saturday of the month at the Old Council Offices in Sibson Road between 10am and 12 o’clock the Members of the Watch will be pleased to do this for you FREE. What about all those new expensive scooters that the children have, bring them down to the office and we will code them as well. In fact you can bring any items that you have had for Christmas and we will put your postcode on it for you. Remember Code it and Keep It.
February is the time of the year when we ask the members of the Watch to renew their membership. You will receive with your February newsletter a little envelope to put in your membership fee of £1. Return this to your street co-ordinator and you will get a new membership card as your receipt of payment. if, for some reason, you do not get this or a copy of the monthly newsletters please let me know. Ring 2677233.
There are roads in Birstall that still have not got a Neighbourhood Watch operating. If you could get a few of your neighbours to join you and start up in your area please give me a ring on 2677233 or leave a message on the watch phone 2676397. We will give you all the assistance you want to get you started. Or come to our co-ordinators meeting at the Methodist Church Rooms on February 28 at 7.30pm and find out more about us.
Remember the Help the Aged/Handy Van Scheme. We still would like to hear from you if you would like to get up to date with smoke alarms and door locks etc. Ring the Watch on 2676397.
Peter Allen
Chairman Birstall & Wanlip Neighbourhood Watch.

Alarms going cheap

Birstall Village Watch has a supply of electronic personal security alarms available at their Saturday morning advice shops and on request from the committee.
Priced at only £4, the alarms were voted ‘Best Available’ by BBC TV’s ‘Really useful Show’.
The ‘Minder’ alarm features a piercing 138 decibel siren that is operated by either a panic button or if the cord handle is pulled out from the unit.
This makes it ideal for attaching to a handbag or briefcase, with the cord around your wrist. If your bag is snatched, the alarm sounds and stays with the bag.
This will encourage the thief to drop the bag without stealing anything.
An integrated flashing light also makes it easier to spot the alarm. This feature is particularly useful at night if you are holding the unit and are attacked in a secluded place.
It will be easier for someone to find and help you if they can see the flashing light on your alarm.
Another feature is an optional door/window contact that can be used to alarm a hotel room door or a shed or garage door.
The minder comes with a mounting bracket and heavy-duty 9v battery.
Similar alarms sell for more than £7, but the Watch is making these available at near cost price. The next advice shop is on February 17 at the Old Parish Council office, 10 Sibson Road from 10am-12noon.

Nature Notes

by Finch

The other day I was reflecting, as I drove in the direction of yet another shopping mall with orders for yet more shopping, that trees have had a very poor deal in our society. According to the theory of evolution we are descended from the same tree-dwelling ancestors as monkeys. Whilst monkeys have remained in the trees, we sought out grasslands. It may not be unexpected, therefore, that when we were able, we extended the grasslands at the expense of woods.
If we now come out of the ages ‘Before Cornflakes’, and consider what we now know about the place of trees in the ecological scheme of things, our actions appear much less logical. The soil in which we can grow the various grasses we need (wheat, oats, barley etc) is not very deep and is being continually washed by rain. If we keep on trying to take out the various minerals our grasses need to thrive, yet put none back, soon there will be no minerals left. Manure: lots of it: even our ancestors knew that. But a tree is a natural manure factory in that its roots penetrate the sub-soils our grasses cannot use. The minerals it thrives on are lifted from far below our crops and, in autumn, are spread over them naturally when leaves fall.
What do we do? Firstly we plant trees in concrete environments where this natural pump does no good at all. Secondly, we design railway trains which can be brought to a halt by ‘leaves on the line’ (whatever happened to the old sanding gear the Victorians used to combat this problem?). Thirdly, we complain bitterly if the leaves make our gardens untidy, gather them up, and burn them. What does burning do to the chemical forms of those important minerals, one may ask?
Probably more serious has been the affect of tree-felling on stability of the soil itself. The tree roots form strong cages which hold vast quantities of soil that would otherwise be washed off hillsides by rain. In this country we are so far down the line of deforestation that all the hillsides have been bare for many generations. But in the third world you can still see the hill soil rushing down flood rivers on its way to the sea. At a minor level, trees along river banks help to hold them together; the deep, tree-less cuts which were the 1850s flood prevention schemes have carried more of England into the north sea in recent years than any man-devised dumping.
Finally there are the fallacies: that the soils under a tree must be very rich to support so large a plant, and if all the woods were removed think of all the wheat that could be grown: in fact the soil immediately under a tree never comes into contact with leaf litter, and is impoverished. That all trees are continuous supply of wood for manufacture: then we select trees that are hundreds of years old, and never replant for future generations. That two acres of young trees will consume all the carbon dioxide an American family produces.
I give you the new National Forest - North America.

Is it not possible to make a protest against the new plan in west Wanlip [Hallam Fields]? Surely the Council can state that they will co-operate in the original plan with some adjustments, but make a strong protest against the new plan. Plan B is nothing like Plan A (which the Inspector passed). Legal advice is not necessary to make this protest.
L Briers

I and many other bus users who live off the Loughborough Road in Birstall are absolutely devastated that First Leicester have stopped our bus service. We are gradually becoming second class citizens where travel is concerned.
Two years ago, we had a bus service that ran through the whole estate and someone in their wisdom decided that we could no longer have a bus service. Now, we cannot even walk and catch a bus on the main road as again, someone in their wisdom has decided to re-route the Birstall bus along Birstall Road. Why? We have now been completely cut off. We cannot catch a bus from the village to Loughborough Road and walk the rest of the way, we cannot catch a bus into town from the main road or back again. The residents of Loughborough Road, Tempest Road, Station Road, Park Road, Johnson Road, Fielding Road, Went Road, Walker Road, Elmfield Avenue, Goscote Hall Road, Hallam Crescent, Cliffe Road, Henson Close, Walnut Avenue, Curzon Avenue, School Lane, Roman Road, Hermitage Road are suddenly not served by City Bus. Would someone please let me know whey they have decided to cut us off from the rest of Birstall.
Maureen Foster

We are told the Sibson Road enhancement scheme has been a pipedream for over 12 years. In fact, it started in April 1999, but effective consultation with the Local Community, on the scheme, has been almost non existent.
The June 1999 Parish Council resolved to hold a public meeting and exhibition when firm proposals for the scheme had been prepared, and in September 1999 the Council Chairman said “the village will be asked for its views in a referendum as soon as detailed proposals are available”, promises, promises, but added that “having discussed the Sibson Road Enhancement scheme at length in Council, we are awaiting further proposals from the Borough and County Councils. This means that while we may wish to deliberate further on ideas, it would be wrong to do so. But I assure you that there will be public consultation via an exhibition - a village referendum and whatever other measures we feel necessary, and that these will happen with reasonable time to comment before any decision is made by the Parish Council”.
However, some councillors were not happy with the proposed arrangements. At the October 99 Parish Council meeting, Cllr West and I were both concerned that the consultation process might be unsatisfactory. At the November 99 Parish Council meeting, Cllr West expressed concern about the delay in providing plans, and Cllr Scott said the Council needed to know what was on the table by the end of the month.
Requests for a working party to be set up to enable the participation of those councillors who were not happy with the existing arrangements were ignored. The response was always that Cllr Wilson was “pushing hard” at County Hall, as was Cllr Stott at the Borough Council, while the Clerk was keeping in contact with officers of both authorities. And that, effectively, is how it has been ever since. Other councillors have been kept more or less in the dark, compared to those who have appointed themselves responsible for the scheme.
This matter of effective self appointment calls into question the roles of those self appointees, who are not only unpaid parish councillors, but are also well paid members of other Councils such as the Borough and/or County Councils. These other councils insist that the allegiance of their councillors shall primarily be to them, not to the local communities of any Parish Councils to which they may also happen to belong!
AS Councillor Stott, a Parish and Borough Councillor explained about a year ago; it was important that members of councils other than the Birstall Parish Council, did not declare an opinion until all the evidence had been heard. He would not therefore be able to give his opinions at Parish Council meetings on any application, although he could offer advice as to how objections could be submitted. He explained it was very important that members who served on both councils did not exclude themselves from being in a position to make comments and vote at Charnwood, at Planning Committee (now Planning and Policy) meetings.
This of course is especially important in such major issues as proposals or applications arising from provisions put forward by the Borough Council, either in the Local Plan or in respect of any other major Borough Council proposals such as those for the Borough Council’s £185,000 Sibson Road Environmental Improvement scheme.
This really does call into question the propriety of those Borough Councillors above, who are controlling the progress of this scheme, in continuing to take virtually exclusive primary part in Birstall Parish Council considerations on these issues, when, as parish councillors, they should be representing the best interests of the Local Birstall Community.
This is, actually, only the tip of an iceberg. It seems likely, at this stage, that the Local Community may be denied proper consultations, and that the Chairman’s earlier promises to the Local Community may be rendered worthless. Something needs to be done about this, but it can only be done by the Birstall Parish Councillors themselves, as the arrangements to which the Borough Councillors are urging us to give virtually instant ratification, are in fact likely to be totally unsatisfactory.
Cllr C D Clarke

I would like it to be known to all responsible dog owners who walk Watermead Park. On New Year’s day whilst walking my two very placid cocker spaniels (on leads) with my daughters along from Worcester Avenue to Whiles Lane of the park. A lady with a cycle was standing talking to two others. As we walked up her dog a Yorkshire terrier ran up to my two year old dog and bit her on her head, the lady was very apologetic and said she was very sorry, her dog should have been muzzled as it had done this before. I asked her why she did not keep it on a lead if it had done this before but she just said she was sorry. I said she was irresponsible and she could pay the vet’s fees, she said all dogs bite each other all the time and if it had been a child it would have been different. She would not give me her name, she got on her bike and left.
I caught up with the couple that she had been speaking to but they would not or could not give me her name - they just said they had met her at the local church. As luck would have it the Park Ranger came along in the jeep so I reported the matter to him.
Although he said there was not much that could be done - but if a dog is prone to this sort of behavioural problem it is up to the owner to use a lead etc.
So to all responsible dog owners - please use your leads if you cannot control your dog properly and to the Yorkshire terrier who bit my dog PLEASE TAKE YOUR OWNER TO TRAINING CLASSES AS SOON AS POSSIBLE.
Responsible dog owner
(Name & address supplied)

It is with much regret and disappointment I read about the proposed Hallam Fields development. I have lived in and loved Birstall all my life and my family have been involved in the community in one way or another over the last 70 years. I, and I am sure many others, will be saddened to see our beautiful countryside turned into yet another part of the urban sprawl that is overwhelming our country.
I was also angered at the prospect of having a park and ride car park adjacent to our two large capacity schools. With one child already at Stonehill and the second starting there in September, I am concerned about the increased pollution levels there will be around both schools. I already have a battle with asthma in my youngest son, and as recent research by Leicester University (see Leicester Mercury Headlines Jan 5th 2001) proved that traffic pollution has increased the levels of asthma and other respiratory diseases in children, I am extremely worried about the further increase in traffic in the vicinity of the schools. These schools have already been subjected to an increase in pollution from the development of the A46. The further increase from buses as well as cars may prove disastrous for our children’s health. I concede that park and rides may help to reduce the traffic into the city centre but at what cost. The one at Meynelles Gorse is situated slightly further away from schools and housing and hopefully has less impact on children’s future health. The saddest thing of all is that we are powerless to do anything about it, BAD have been terrific in their attempts to halt the development to no avail and many people in Birstall realise that this development will go ahead even though many don’t want it too. In the meantime, perhaps those in the Charnwood Council Planning Department could give some consideration to the many children who may be affected in one way or another by this particular part of the development.
L Meachem

It seems that despite the fact that the police have been informed by several residents, including myself, that certain public houses in our area are staying open until the early hours of the morning, nothing is being done about this matter. I think that a lot of problems, including noisy people at 3am in the morning, is as a direct result of this, not even to mention other drunken behaviour! Why is it that the law requires these premises to close at 11pm in most of the country, including Birstall, but it is not being enforced? These premises seem to get away with ‘murder’ by simply saying that they are hosting a private function. Is it so difficult for the police to work out that it is impossible to have a private function three times (or more) a week, every week?
Concerned Citizen
(name and address supplied)

Do you know someone who has had a stroke or cares for someone whose life has been turned upside down by the devastating effects of a stroke?
Nominations are now being taken for The Stroke Association’s Life after Stroke Awards 2001. The awards are held each year and recognise the extraordinary courage that has been shown by people of all ages who have had a stroke, and also those who care for them.
There are seven categories, including an award for children who have had a stroke, a carer’s award and an art award. All those nominated receive a certificate of recognition, and the winners of each category will attend the award ceremony lunch in London on July 17, which is supported by a host of celebrities.
The nomination forms are available from: LASA Forms, The Stroke Association, Stroke House, Whitecross Street, EC1Y 8JJ or telephone 020 7566 0315. The closing date for nominations is Friday March 16, 2001
Nicola Ryan, The Stroke Association, London

Tell us a story about anything that has happened in your life and you could be in line for £1000.
The Derby Evening Telegraph’s non-fiction writing competition is open to anyone of any age, from anywhere in the UK and beyond. The winner will receive £1000 and every entry received will be featured on a website called www.toowrite.com
Some of the best entries will be printed in one of the top regional newspapers in the country.
Your stories should be no longer than 1,500 words and should include your name, address, age, occupation and telephone number or e-mail address. The closing date is March 14, and up to five entries per person are accepted.
Submissions must be typed, be previously unpublished and must have a title and be written in the first person. There is no entry fee and no form to fill in.
The winner of the best article will receive £1000 from Royal Mail. The first runner-up will receive £75 worth of books courtesy of Bookstall Forum, of Derby. The second runner-up will be given a £60 Cross pen courtesy of Bennetts, of Derby.
Send your entries to Nicola Gibson. Derby Evening Telegraph, Meadow Road, Derby, DE1 2DW or e-mail them to ngibson@derbytelegraph.co.uk
Full details of the rules are featured on the Internet site.
Julie Weston
Commissioning Editor, Derby Evening Telegraph

A sincere thank you to all friends and neighbours for the lovely cards and letters of sympathy and good wishes during the loss of my dear wife Joyce Lee and mother of Brian and Pat which is so much appreciated.
Thank you.
Dennis Lee

Once again, through the Birstall Post, I would like to thank the people of Birstall who have donated clothes, bric-a-brac etc. We have been able to donate another £100 to the ‘Children’s Cancer’ Ward 27, Leicester Royal Infirmary. Also thanks for the five collection boxes taken for the other Cancer Research for Leicester Royal Infirmary.
An excellent beginning to the New Year. Many thanks for the continuous support.
On behalf of Mrs P G Finley
A Mills

I would like to thank very much all the kind relatives and friends who attended my 90th birthday party.
Thank you for the lovely cards and presents and for the donations totalling £176 for the Lord Mayor of Leicester’s appeal for Macmillan nurses. We all appreciated the Lord Mayor and Lady Mayoress attending, if only for a short time. My very special thanks and appreciation are offered to Joyce Godfrey, for opening her house to us all and making everyone so welcome.