PCC2012: Richard Davies Supports Local Residents On Nettleham Custody Suite Proposals

Conservative Candidate for Lincolnshire's first Police and Crime Commissioner, Cllr. Richard Davies, has supported local residents in both Nettleham and Lincoln by opposing current plans to move the West Parade Police Station's facilities to a new build at the Police Headquarter's site on Deepdale Lane, Nettleham. Cllr. Davies said:

"Lincolnshire Police have floated the idea of moving Lincoln’s West Parade Police Station and Custody Suite to Nettleham.

"Looking at the current evidence and plans for the relocation of Lincoln City Police Station I do not think that Nettleham is the best place to locate a custody suite. 

"On the broader issue of city wide policing: I believe Lincoln city centre needs a policing presence in the form of a police station, including custody suite – West Parade may not be the best location but we need a comprehensive business case and consultation of all options before a decision is made"

Massive Turnout Expected for Public Meeting Tonight

Nettleham Parish Council will be holding an extraordinary meeting tonight at Nettleham Village Hall, Brookfield Avenue commencing at 7:30pm.

The meeting is to consider proposals by Lincolnshire Police and G4S to build a new 'deployment base'/'custody suite' at the Police Headquarters site on Deepdale Lane, Nettleham.

Lincolnshire Police and G4S have been allocated half an hour to make a presentation, this will be followed by a twenty minute question and answer session. Following this residents will have an opportunity to make their views known, a period of forty minutes has been allocated for this. Finally the Parish Council will consider what preliminary position they wish to take pending a formal planning application being presented to West Lindsey District Council.

The meeting is expected to be attended by a large number of local residents, with estimates suggesting a turnout of around 300. Nettleham Village Hall has a capacity of 180, so plans have been made for an overflow area outside where local residents will be able to hear the discussion taking place inside the Hall. At the Village Hall Committee meeting on Monday night plans were put in place to ensure that refreshments would be available and there would be volunteer stewards available to manage car parking. Local residents are urged to make their way to the meeting on foot, where possible, as parking will be exceedingly limited.

The Parish Council's meeting follows on from a two-day exhibition of the plans held at the Old School, Mill Hill earlier in the month. The view that emerged from this consultation was that a significant number had concerns about the proposal.

Tonight will be a further opportunity for the Police to explain in detail how the concerns of local residents can be dealt with. The greatest fear local residents have is that those released will be free to enter the main body of the village. Despite reassurances by senior members of the force that released prisoners would be returned to 'where they came from' the legal basis for this is unclear. Many residents will want a specific reassurance on this particular matter.

Local action group S.O.L.V.E. (Save Our Local Village Environment) have presented a list of fourteen specific, detailed questions which the Parish Council will expect answers to.

Expected to be attending tonight is the Acting Chief Constable Neil Rhodes on behalf of Lincolnshire Police together with a significant portion of the local press.

Edward Leigh MP Calls for Rethink on Nettleham Custody Suite

Local MP Edward Leigh today urged caution over Lincolnshire Police’s proposed new custody suite on Deepdale Lane.

"I think that it’s vital that Lincolnshire Police consider carefully the implications of putting a custody suite in a residential and rural area, as well as taking residents’ views into account."

People living locally have been concerned by the plans to relocate capability from the Force’s West Parade Station to a new privately run facility adjacent to Lincolnshire Police Headquarters in Nettleham.

Mr. Leigh has said that he supports the Police when it comes to innovative solutions to smaller budgets, 'I think that most taxpayers can agree that savings in the police budget which allow more focus on front-line policing in straightened times are a good thing'. However he added that 'schemes which cause large numbers of criminals to be released onto the streets of Nettleham are simply unacceptable. People write to me to tell me how worried they are for the safety of their homes, their children, and themselves if this plan goes ahead. It is crucial that the Police fully address these concerns before this project progresses any further.'

A number of local residents have made their opposition to the scheme clear, on the basis that released criminals will have nowhere to go. There are fears that they will commit robbery and burglary within Nettleham in order to fund alcohol or drug habits, or in order to get back into Lincoln.

Judgement Day: Police & G4S Exhibition Expected to Fuel Controversy

Local residents in Nettleham are expected to attend the first of two consultation events being held by Lincolnshire Police at the Large Hall of the Old School on Mill Hill today.

The Parish Council arranged for the Police Authority and G4S to hold an Exhibition in the Village at which they can roll out their plans; this will take place today and tomorrow at the Old School, Nettleham. The sessions will run from 9:30am - 3:00pm on both days.

A large number of local residents are expected to attend to find out more details about the Police's proposals. A number of Parish Councillors will also be in attendance.

The proposals have met with opposition from some quarters, a facebook group has been established as has a resident's group - S.O.L.V.E. - Save Our Local Village Environment.

Liberal Democrat's Attendance at Meetings Slumps to New Low

Cllr. Malcolm Leaning, Liberal Democrat (Nettleham Ward), a Nettleham Parish Councillor, is revealed to be the poorest attending member of Nettleham Parish Council.

Cllr. Leaning, has been ranked as the poorest attending member of Nettleham Parish Council in figures attached to the  Chairman's Annual Report. Cllr. Leaning - who is both a district and parish councillor - is known to enjoy extensive holidays away from representing his constituents. This has lead to a slump in the number of meetings he has managed to attend.

In the third year running, figures showing the attendance of Nettleham's Parish Councillors have been attached to the Chairman's Annual Report. On average Cllr. Leaning's colleagues attended between 82%-97% of their meetings.  It would be remiss not to mention that Cllr. Leaning, having both district and parish roles, will potentially have diary conflicts; but such a low figure of attendance brings in to question the viability of fulling the expectations of  local residents to do both functions properly. The wards second district councillor and county councillor, Cllr. Ray Sellars, Liberal Democrat (Nettleham Ward and Nettleham & Saxilby Division), has sensibly not re-joined Nettleham Parish Council after stepping down in 2010 - but even he managed an attendance figure of 69% that year. The county council also meets during the daytime, whilst the district council in the evening.

Cllr. Leaning's figure is even more surprising when considering that his presence was only required at the 13 Full Council Meetings (of which he managed to attend 7). Other councillors take on significant additional roles and contribute hundreds of hours a year to help the village. The parish council's Deputy Chairman, Cllr. Mrs. Janice Clayton, was expected to attend 30 meetings during 2011-12, achieving a 97% attendance rate. Meanwhile, Cllr. Alf Frith, who was expected to attend 20 meetings during 2011-12, achieved a 90% attendance rate.

Cllr. Leaning hasn't attended a single meeting since the start of the year and was notably absent from the meeting held on Tuesday, 20th March 2012 - when many villagers turned out to express there concerns over controversial plans to develop a 'custody suite' at Nettleham Police Headquarters. Local residents can only hope that Cllr. Leaning will make an effort to improve his attendance.

Nettleham Parish Council Wants Answers On Police Custody Suite

Mulsanne Park Pavilion was packed with nearly one hundred local residents from Nettleham this evening; for what was widely expected to be a routine meeting. However, events took a dramtic turn over the weekend when Mrs. Sue Turnbull, of Washdyke Lane, instigated a campaign to raise awareness, that the plans for a new operational facility, at the Police Headquarters on Deepdale Lane, were due to be discussed.

For the multitude who attended their were audible gasps when they were informed that they would need to sit through over an hour of discussion between the Parish Council and Mrs. Manjeet Gill and Mr. Mark Sturgess, Chief Executive and Director of Planning at West Lindsey District Councl respectively. Undeterred, shortly before a quarter to eight, the Chairman, Cllr. Terry Williams, moved the item up the agenda to take as the next item; and discussion began.

A number of speakers from the floor put questions to Inspector Stubbs, who was representing Lincolnshire Police. He wanted to stress that talk of a massive custody suite was misguided; that in fact what was being considered was a replacement facility to the West Parade Police Station in Lincoln.

Parish Councillors sought answers from Insp. Stubbs. After nearly an hour of discussion, questions and answers Cllr. Giles McNeill proposed that a suitable letter be drafted to the Deputy Chief Constable asking for a dialogue to commence with the Parish Council. Further that they arrange an Exhibition to explain the plans to local residents and make themselves available to attend a Public Meeting, convened by the Parish Council. This was seconded by Cllr. Mike Spencer and unanimously agreed. Cllr. McNeill said, following the meeting:

"Residents of Nettleham are demanding answers, and the Parish Council has said it will facilitate this. This is such an important issue that we must get the fact about what is proposed. It was really good to see so many residents of the village turn out and demonstrate their strong feeling. Now we absolutely must act, and act quickly, to ensure that people get the information want and deserve."

Details of a facebook page that has been set up as a focus for the campaign can be found here: http://www.facebook.com/CampaignForG4SToHearNettlehamsVoice

Custody Suite Plans Likely To Cause Controversy at Parish Council Meeting

Following on from Lincolnshire Police's announcement about the possibility of establishing a new custody suite at the Nettleham Headquarters on Deepdale Lane local campaigners have begun the process of making their voices heard loudly and clearly.

The message they want to send to Mr. Barry Young, the Chairman of Lincolnshire Police Authority is 'No'.

In a letter to Parish Councillors Mr. Young says:

"[T]he media had been told in general terms that G4S intended to build a new operational deployment base incorporating a state-of-the-art custody suite somewhere in the county.  No location was given. During interviews following the contract signing, reference was made to the building being constructed, subject to consultation and planning permission, on the Headquarters site at Nettleham 

"The important point here is consultation.  It was not our initention to spring any surprises on our neighbours, and this letter is to assure you and your fellow councillors that Nettleham Parish Council will be an important part of the consultation process. We like to think we have always been good neighbours, and we can assure you that we will do all we can to ensure this remains the case."

However, in an unsigned letter, posted on a number of notice boards in the village and delivered to a number of homes for circulation, states that:

"When criminals are released from the new Nettleham cell block where Do [sic] YOU think they will go? They will be released into the village and can look for places to burgle to raise funds for the drink or drug habit many of them have, or try to take cars to get back to where they have come from."

There is properly a lot of concern about this proposal, regardless of how embryonic it may be. Tonight's Nettleham Parish Council Meeting is expected to seethe with resentment.