Lisa - Out & About - L4G & Local Elected Members

Meeting - Friday the 19th September 2014

I had the pleasure to meet Councillors Celia Cox and Paul Jones in Heanor town hall and dicuss at length Heanor and the "four towns", and the issues affecting Heanor and Langley Mill in particular.

Both came across as knowledgeable and passionate about their wards and the people living and working within them.

I am very grateful for their time in meeting with me and discussing the regeneration of Heanor in particular, and I look forward to meeting and working with them again soon.

The Situation in the Heanor Area

Heanor (in case you are just browsing and don't actually know) is a market town in Derbyshire, England, very close to the border with Nottinghamshire.

Key Characteristics:

• Population: 17,251
• Hectares: 603
• Number of Households: 7221
• Population Density: 30.7 people/hectare.

Source: Census 2011

The Inherent Issues

Heanor and the four market town areas have complex and historical issues affecting their prosperity and regeneration, such as

Poverty

Low employment and income

At between 4.6 % and 4.9 % the percentage of those unemployed is significantly higher than
the Borough average, with Heanor West having the 2nd highest rate in the Borough, this is also significantly higher than the national average.

The percentage of Heanor residents claiming benefits is higher than the Borough average. At 16.2% the percentage of Heanor West residents claiming benefits is significantly higher than the other Heanor wards and the national average

Average households incomes in Heanor are between 8% (Heanor West) and 14% (Heanor and Loscoe) less than the Borough average.  Between 2008 and 2013, incomes rose by 4.2% and 4.8% respectively in Heanor West and Heanor and Loscoe. However, in Heanor East incomes fell by 4.6% in the same period. The change in modal incomes illustrates that more households are
earning less than they were in 2008.

Poor educational achievement, 

There is a higher percentage of persons aged 16 and over in Heanor with no qualifications than the Borough of Amber Valley and national averages.

Low Economic Activity and Lack of Regeneration...

Following the decline of coal, engineering and textile industries which started in the 1960s, Heanor lost its traditional industrial base.

Loss of employment and the rise in mobility have reduced the dependence of
the local residents on the town centre.

The Market Place and Market Street area is severely under attack, this is not unique to just Heanor, it is indeed a nationwide problem

In Heanor the shops and services that survived competition from major centres like Derby and Nottingham which are in close proximity, now face increased competition from edge of centre retail developments within the town, which use increasingly aggressive economic policies in run down areas.  Then the advent of the online shopping boom by companies such as Ebay and Amazon have also had a major impact.  As a result there is a low retail provision in the High Street and Market Square, with a small number of local shops for convenience & comparison shopping.

Too Much of this...

There are far too many take-aways, betting shops and charity shops and not enough independent shop keepers, the ones that are there are losing "foot traffic" to the likes of the retail parks - Tesco, Aldi, Argos, Home Bargains etc.

Not enough of this...

There are no butchers in Langley Mill or Heanor that I know of, although there is a market stall on a Friday and Saturday, and there is are no wholefoods available either.  There are absolutely NO shops for the younger generation, meaning most of them go into Derby for shopping, maybe this is a key as people don't move out of these areas due to the above issues of low income/education etc. that Heanor has a large young person population, yet majority of its shoppers are about 45 years of age, this is not proportionate.

And another thing...

From talking to local shop keepers they all state that the rates and rents are high and there are a great deal of shop properties left vacant for long periods of time, as well as some falling into serious disrepair, the main problem is absentee landlords who are still receiving rent on empty properties due to having made long term lease contracts, which is unacceptable, shops left empty after a certain amount of time should be given over to community projects and regeneration schemes, empty shops does nothing for Heanor town.

There is some  good news in that the long stood
empty old Somerfield store has been taken up by Boyes, and the planning permission has been granted for their sign, which means the two empty (again too long empty) shops at the side of the larger one will most probably be taken up soon afterwards, again creating more foot traffic along the high street.

Lack of Investment...

Another problem is investment, there is very little to no interest in investment here due to an awful past history, where Langley Mill and Heanor in particular were and in some cases still are perceived as being a hot bed of racism and activism within far right groups such as the British National Party and English Defence League among other.

In fact this area was the subject of a book, a Channel 4 documentary and I believe a film exposing the National Front activity and the awful treatment of shopkeepers, and I believe interest in the far right has picked up again after an influx of mainly polish and other eastern European immigrants.

It is without a doubt a predominantly "white" area with 98.2% of the population being from white British backgrounds according to the 2011 census.

For more on this check out the Heanor Area Profile from Amber Valley Borough Council.

The People

All in all the general population are not apathetic, yes they can't be arsed to vote, (and that's a whole different blogpost lol) truth is, having talked to many people in this area, not just local businesses but you know the actual people who live and breathe in Heanor are Langley Mill, the consensus is this - they feel they have no support, that the local and central government do not care about them as people, about their lives or their struggles.  There are community initiatives but the uptake for those programmes which are frequently offered by government and private sector for is very low - many ask why.

Many people feel that no one listens, that although people say they care, they forget about the issues we face before and after 5 o'clock when the phone lines shut down and offices close.

Suspicion is another reason, and poor interaction and treatment by the supposed authorities - many are in social housing and feel they are treated like scum - anti social behaviour is very high in this area - this is evident in the fact the housing officers are accompanied by PCSO's in a show of force.

When you feel like you have been forgotten about and left behind, its hard to believe in anything other that the people you live with that have been there, like I have discovered money is scarce in this area, yet people are kind and supportive, people when my marriage broke up and i was left weeks with virtually no money to feed my 7 kids, turned up with food, gave me money, not much but enough to cover a days food, without the people being like this, these communities would be much much worse.


And yes well piss them off and they let you know about it.  They are not afraid to say what they feel and feel strongly about it.  I for one LOVE the people around here for their frankness and take no flannel attitudes. Some call that anti social behaviour, well if you want pristine homes, language and behaviour move to Stepford, people here in the Heanor area have real "shit" to deal with.

Shame though that is - I have to admit I totally understand, we are all sick of the Nanny State - of being told what to do/ how to eat/behave and speak.  At the same time we are completely fed up with being treated like scum by social housing who offer very poor housing quality and repairs (whatever their statistics) the town is a mess, litter, dog crap and generally poor appearance doesn't inspire companies to say "ooh lets invest here".

So the people just get on with life, making ends meet and tackling the various issues that come with living in poverty.  There is a strong sense of community here, but its not one that fits in with POLICIES !

Those in "supposed power" need to understand we the public are more informed than ever before and we see a lot clearer in regard to the machinations of politics and the corruption higher up,  Its not apathy for many of us, its a simple act of civil disobedience.  We know that to vote is like pissing in the wind, and we refuse to play the game.

We are "sheeple" NO MORE !

Many people in our local government like Councillors Cox and Jones care deeply about the people they have chosen to serve.

Yet the system is likened to a well oiled mill stone, sooner or later you get ground down, the pace of change and red tape is all too often excruciatingly slow or in some cases non existent and many time the ideas and wishes of the community either are not listened to or cannot be adhered to because of pressure elsewhere or for purely economic reasons, which whatever those reasons some of which don't make an iota of sense to the everyday average Joe Bloggs.

Its a vicious circle, we the people are the problem at times but the good news is that we the people are the ANSWER

The Positives

Historically...

There is much in Heanor and Langley Mill in particular.  Langley Mill has been a market town since about the 12th Century, the railway and canal were key to its prosperity and there are still some beautiful Victorian buildings.  There is no tourist industry here and that is such a shame.  The Canal and the Great Northern could be the "Gate to Amber Valley", sadly much of this area leaves a lot to be desired, yet there is much potential.

Heanor could once again be a thriving market town if some of the issues with high rents and empty properties could be sorted, to begin with :)

I am still in the process of getting to know the various groups in activity around Heanor and Langley Mill area, I have been invited to the monthly Heanor Traders Association meeting by Geoff the Chair, who runs GTS computer shop on the high street.

I have spoken to quite a few of the business owners and shopkeepers along the market place and high street and they are all very keen to do something to regenerate Heanor area, this needs to be done without looking to the council as a major source of funding, however the council and LA need to do more to deal with the issues to do with absentee landlords and offer advice to local businesses on regeneration and business start up too.

Looking forward

Link4Growth

I am excited about our first +Link4Growth Derbyshire  Link4Coffee event on Wednesday to have the opportunity to speak more at length regarding these issues and what can be done to change things around here.  One of the things we do at +Link4Growth  is act as an umbrella, under which other groups or individuals in the community can work together to make the changes the people in their community they want to see.

Input Needed...

I listened to both the Councillors, advice and frustrations and their care for their communities was very evident.  I have listened to the business owners, shop keepers, the residents and youth.  I am also looking forward to visiting the charities too.  

Next is the local educational establishments in the run up to launching Link4Youth in Derbyshire.

It is getting difficult to sleep some nights, I am learning loads and taking in so much information, its awesome.  I am also brimming with ideas, and after sharing a few of them locally the initial response from the public, especially the youth, as well as the local business owners and others has been very positive.  - more on that later too :)

It seems people in Heanor are becoming receptive to a different drum... more later on that ;) 

Suggestions on a postcard PLEASE !! :)