ARMED police blocked off a Long Eaton street on Tuesday in a bid to find a ‘dangerous’ wanted man.

Officers blocked off Acton Road in the town for more than an hour while they raided a terraced house on the street.

They had received information that Wayne Green, also known as Stephen Cross, was there.

He is wanted for allegedly breaching a violent offender order that was imposed when he was released from prison in August 2010.

A police helicopter was also dispatched but Green was not found at the address.

A £1,000 reward has been put up for information leading to his arrest. The order prevented Green from contacting named individuals or entering Long Eaton.

ILKESTON residents will be able to pay council bills at the Post Office and PayPoint shops, if councillors give the go-ahead to plans next week.

Under the move, barcodes will be printed on council bills, including the new council tax bills to be issued next month, so they can be used at the outlets, in a move aimed at helping people in villages and rural communities in Erewash.

The move is set to be rubber stamped by the council executive on Wednesday and will go live from April 1.

Cllr David Stephenson welcomed the plans this week.

A SCHEME which sees new businesses setting up in Erewash handed £1,000 will be doubled if councillors agree to Conservative proposals next month.

The Tories want to double the amount of money put aside for the Golden Hello scheme.

Cllr Geoff Smith, lead member for regeneration, said: “This scheme has proved to be very popular with 15 new businesses already being helped. All but one, which was closed due to ill-health, have continued to trade and the scheme is certainly making a positive difference to our High Streets.”

Leader of Erewash Borough Council, Cllr Chris Corbett, welcomed the increase in the budget for the coming year from £10,000 to £20,000.

He added: “The council does not own the buildings on our High Streets so we cannot do much about the major expenses faced by our shops but we can help with things like the Golden Hello.”

KIDS spent half-term getting crafty at activities organised across the area.

Erewash Museum has been hosting a week of discovery-based workshops with arts and crafts on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday and science experiments all day on Thursday.

Cllr Mike Wallis, lead member for culture and leisure, said: “Science and the whole world of discovery is such fun and so exciting for young people.

“I am delighted that our museum is providing a whole week of crafts on this theme and I am sure it will be extremely popular.”

Derby College’s Broomfield Hall campus also had a range of activities on offer to keep the kids amused with the Food Hub running potato week to mark the launch of the farm shop’s potato products.

The Food Hub sells seed potatoes, potato growing bags and planters, compost and feed and teaches people how to get started in growing their own.

Children enjoyed planting up potatoes and were given the chance to take their efforts home as well as getting arty with potato printing.

And on Wednesday children were given the chance to meet the mammals at the college’s animal centre.

Activities continue until the end of this week. For information call Erewash Museum on 0115 9071141 and The Food Hub on 01332 836631.

]]> 1.4247879 Wed, 22 Feb 2012 08:00:00 +0000 http://www.ilkestonadvertiser.co.uk/leader_hands_deputy_power_1_4247809

THE LEADER of Broxtowe Borough Council has stepped down after being charged with a £45,000 benefit fraud.

Cllr Milan Radulovic, of Easwood, stands accused of failing to declare council allowances on an incapacity benefit claim form by the DWP.

The council announced this week that the Labour former mayor of the borough has appointed his deputy to act on his behalf while the allegations, which he denies, are investigated.

Beeston’s Cllr Pat Lally will now take on his portfolio responsibilities.

Off licence owners have been warned about the dangers of selling counterfeit alcohol and cigarettes after a rise in cases across the region.

Derbyshire County Council’s trading standards officers have written to all 2,500 licensed premises in the county warning that they face prosecution if they are found to be selling illegal products.

They are also warning consumers of the serious health risks of buying cut price products.

Cllr Kevin Parkinson, Derbyshire County Council cabinet member for regeneration, said: “We’ve seen a marked increase in the amount of counterfeit products on sale across the county – including vodka, wine and cigarettes.

“They are often produced by criminal gangs with no regard for health regulations and can pose a serious risk.”

AN INQUEST into the death of a retired furnace worker found that his death was caused by industrial disease.

Thomas Keen was 88 when he died at the Old Vicarage Nursing Home, Long Eaton, in September last year.

His son Brian told an inquest at Derby Magistrates’ Court that his dad had talked about being exposed to asbestos during his time in the Royal Navy.

Pathologist Dr Andrew Hitchcock said he had found asbestos fibres in Mr Keen’s lungs.

Dr Robert Hunter, coroner for Derby recorded a verdict of death by industrial disease.

CARE homes in Cotmanhay, West Hallam and Sandiacre could be among the first in the county to be closed if plans to inject £200m into adult care are given the go-ahead next week.

Derbyshire County Council announced that the scheme – thought to be the first of its kind in the country – would deliver ‘dementia-friendly’ care and offer state-of-the-art accommodation to hundreds of elderly people.

It would be the biggest investment the authority has ever made in adult care and would bring care and support services to within 10 miles of everyone in Derbyshire, replacing local authority care homes with affordable one- and two-bedroom apartments.

But in the short term, there are fears it could turn the lives of hundreds of elderly people in county council-run care homes – some with severe health problems, including dementia – upside down.

Nine of the county’s homes, including Beechcroft in West Hallam, Hazelwood in Cotmanhay and Lady Cross House in Sandiacre, will be the first to be looked at if councillors give the thumbs-up to the plans at a cabinet meeting on Monday.

Cllr Jones, cabinet member for adult care, said: “These are ambitious plans to transform the care that is on offer to older people across Derbyshire, making it fit for the future.

“We realise, if the plans go ahead, there will be disruption for people and we would do everything we could to minimise this and support people through any changes. All the plans would be subject to further consultation.”

Under the plans, a network of 1,600 ‘extra care’ apartments are planned to be built within five miles of most county residents.

The apartments will be available to buy, rent or as shared ownership, where elderly residents can live independent lives with their own front door but have support and care on site at all times.

There will be communal areas and shared facilities, like cafés or restaurants, for use by residents and the wider community.

Similar schemes already exist in Wirksworth, Dronfield and Glossop.

Two community care centres will be built in Heanor and Darley Dale and could be operational as soon as 2014.

Existing sites in Staveley and Swadlincote will offer more specialised services for older people, including short and long-term residential care, specialist dementia care, rehabilitation services and respite care.

Council leader Cllr Andrew Lewer said: “These plans are a major leap forward in the way we care for older people. We want everyone to have their own front door and live independently for as long as possible.

“When people need extra support these plans mean they would have more choice and could expect buildings and services that meet modern standards and expectations.”

The consultation over whether to redevelop the first nine care homes is due to start in April.

Consultation on the remaining county council-run homes, including Hillcrest in Kirk Hallam and Southlands in Long Eaton will be carried out at a later date but are not likely to be affected by the changes for up to five years.

AN ILKESTON college has revealed plans to move to the centre of town and build a supermarket and homes on its current site.

Derby College announced this week it aims to sell off the Field Road campus and move students to one of three locations in the centre of Ilkeston, where it can provide ‘21st century learning facilities’.

The move could spell good news for town centre traders with a planned 1,000 students at the new college base within walking distance of shops.

But it is feared another large supermarket on the edge of town could also pull shoppers away.

Principal and chief executive David Croll explained that the Field Road campus is ‘not fit for purpose’ and has been looking to find a new site since it merged with South East Derbyshire College in 2010.

“We have of course considered the option of refurbishing the site at Field Road but have decided that, in the interests of our staff, students and for Ilkeston as a whole, the college needs to be in the heart of the town,” he said.

“This will not only benefit local businesses through the spending power of more than 1,000 staff and students but will also hopefully kick start the regeneration of the rest of the town centre with investment in a key site as has happened at our other sites in Derby.”

The Advertiser revealed last month that one of the sites the college is considering is the former Ilkeston Magistrates Court in New Lawn Road.

The college will not reveal where the other two sites are or whether a specific supermarket has expressed an interest in the site.

“The construction and then operation of the supermarket will create much needed jobs in the town and we plan to work closely with the company when it is finalised to ensure that local people have the training and skills required to keep those jobs in this area,” added Mr Croll.

The homes are planned to be a mix of private and social housing.

Residents and businesses will be asked what they think of rough plans for the site, currently being drawn up, in early March.

If it gets planning permission from Erewash Borough Council, the college plans to relocate in September 2013.

Leader of the council Cllr Chris Corbett said they would have to look closely at any plans for a new supermarket in the town.

But he added: “The thought that we might have 1,000 pupils and a number of teachers relocating into the centre of Ilkeston, that can only be good for trade.”