Mayor elected for 2017/18
At the Annual Meeting of the Town Council on 16th May 2017, Councillor John Walker was appointed as Mayor for the 17/18 municipal year. Councillor Walker takes over from Councillor Kerry who presented the Parish Meeting with her Annual report. Councillor Kerry is the Deputy Mayor this year. If you would like the Town Mayor to attend an event please contact the office by email:
office@alfretontc.co.uk or call 01773 520032. Councillor Mary Kerry can be seen passing the Chain of Office to Councillor John Walker.
Lifesaving defibrillators installed at Alfreton House
Leisure Centre gifts equipment to Town Council.
The Town Council was approached at the end of 2016 as potential recipients of a defibrillator from fund raising at Alfreton Leisure Centre. The equipment, which is there for anyone to use on someone in cardiac arrest, has been installed in the grounds of Alfreton House, and is easily identifiable by the bright yellow box.
Fitting a defibrillator and housing unit costs around £1,500, the installation costs have been met by the Town Council and ongoing maintenance and checks of the unit will be the responsibility of the Town Council. Shown with the Town Mayor, Councillor John Walker are Michael Conway who a made significant personal contribution to its purchase, due to having first-hand experience of requiring a defibrillator whilst having a cardiac arrest at Alfreton Leisure Centre and Manager Peter Sharkey. Hector the Hound is the Leisure Centre’s mascot and he stole the opportunity to grab the attention of children, so they too become aware of what a defibrillator is and how it can be used to save lives.
Town Mayor, Councillor John Walker said ‘The Council welcome the gift from the Leisure Centre and were happy to support their suggestion of installing the defibrillator at the opposite end of Town to them. This is a vital piece of equipment which, you would hope is never required but when needed has the proven potential of saving lives. It will benefit the residents and visitors to Alfreton’.
In an emergency, people phone 999 and the ambulance service will give them the access code to open the box housing the defibrillator.
An ambulance is then dispatched and the operator provides guidance on what to do. This is all clearly explained on the front of the box.
The staff and members of Alfreton Town Council have a training session in early July on the correct use of the equipment and maintenance checks.
Access Denied at Alfreton Station
Alfreton Town Council has reacted angrily to the news that the disability works at the Towns station to make platform two accessible to all users has seemingly been pulled just eighteen months after the scheme was given the green light.The scheme had also been fully surveyed, designed and costed, and presented to the public last autumn. The Town Council are seeking formal confirmation, but understand the scheme has been pulled by the Department for Transport. Cllr Scott Walker, Leader of the Council said ‘the public needs to be aware that it is the Government who have stopped the scheme and the reality of the situation is that it could be more than seven years before the scheme comes around. It is unacceptable that the scheme has been stopped again and that the bad news has been sneaked out when cynically before the last General Election the news of the scheme approval was broadcast from the rooftops’ The Town Council has also had train operating companies contacting them unsure of the situation as they have not been told by the Government department.
The Town Council has vowed to keep up its 20 year fight, and is working with a number of bodies to highlight the plight of disabled passengers and bring about a discrimination claim. Town Mayor Mary Kerry added ‘the situation beggars belief with unprecedented investment in the rail industry, when fares keep rising faster than inflation and HS2 is going to connect with a route that some people can’t even access. The scheme is all designed and it is no defence that the cost of the scheme make it reasonable for the discrimination to take place when the vast budgets of Network Rail are considered’. The Town Council also understands that a taxi service is available for disabled customer’s, but needs to be booked in advance. The Council has asked that the service be advertised, but the train operating companies are not prepared to change the signage at the station advising customers to take a one hour detour. The Town Council encourages rail users to ask about and use this service.
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