DRAYCOTT AND CHURCH WILNE

ANNUAL PARISH MEETING

Tuesday 19 March at 7pm

At the Parish Rooms, Elvaston Street, Draycott, Derby, DE72 3PY

Welcome to the Annual Parish Meeting

In this booklet you will find the Minutes from last year’s meeting, an agenda for tonight’s

meeting and reports from the local statutory bodies and community groups

Councillor Val Clare – Chairman of Draycott and Church Wilne Parish Council

AGENDA

1. Introduction from Councillor Val Clare – Chairman of Draycott and Church Wilne Parish Council

a. Confirmation of the Minutes of the Annual Parish Meeting held on 17 April 2018 and to discuss matters arising (please see page 3) (5 mins)

2. Derbyshire County Councillor - Robert Parkinson (5 mins)

3. Erewash Borough Councillor – Val Clare (5 mins)

4. Consultation with residents – Cllr Darren Gelsthorpe (45 mins)

5. Summary and thanks – Cllr Darren Gelsthorpe

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MINUTES OF THE DRAYCOTT PARISH COUNCIL ANNUAL PARISH MEETING HELD IN THE PARISH ROOMS ELVASTON STREET DRAYCOTT ON TUESDAY 17 APRIL 2018 AT 7.00PM

PRESENT - CHAIRMAN – Councillor V ClareCouncillors – D Dundas, J Fletcher, M Selwood, A Wilson, M Alexander, D Gelsthorpe, T Scott and R Parkinson (DCC)Representatives of Community Groups – E Case (Derby & Sandiacre Canal Trust), C Wilkinson and P Mee (Draycott and Church Wilne History Group) J Bayliss (Draycott & Long Eaton Table Tennis club), Rev G Dundas (St Mary’s and St Chad’s). Resident – Mrs M Burrows

THE CHAIRMAN WELCOMED EVERYONE TO THE MEETING

1.APOLOGIES were noted from Councillors B Rogerson, Sgt C Robinson (Draycott Army Cadets), D Truman (1st Draycott Rainbows), J Irlam (1st Derwent Valley Guides), P Riley (1st Draycott and Wilne Scout Group), C Riley (1st Draycott Brownies).

2.MINUTESThe Minutes of the Annual Parish Meeting held on 4 April 2017 as circulated were confirmed and signed.

3.REPORTSThe following reports were received in advance of the meeting;

STATUTORYBODIES/CHARITIES

Derbyshire County Council Erewash Borough Council Draycott Parish Council

Risley Educational Foundation Draycott Millennium Green Trust

COMMUNITY GROUPS/ORGANISATIONS

Draycott Community Primary School Draycott and Wilne Women’s Institute

Draycott and Church Wilne History Group Rotary Club of Church Wilne

Draycott & LE Table Tennis Club Ist Derwent Valley Guides

1st Draycott Brownies and Rainbows 1st Draycott &Wilne Scout Group

A copy of the reports is attached to the Minutes in the record book.

The following reports were received at the meeting;

Churches of St Mary’s and St Chad’s Derby & Sandiacre Canal Trust

THE CHAIRMAN THANKED EVERYONE FOR ATTENDING AND THOSE WHO HAD PREPARED REPORTS OR GIVEN REPORTS AT THE MEETING. SHE ALSO THANKED THOSE WHO VOLUNTEERED AT THE VARIOUS COMMUNITY GROUPS FOR THEIR WORK IN THE VILLAGE..

8.00PM

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REPORTS FROM STATUTORY BODIES/CHARITIES

Derbyshire County Council – Two years on we are now leading an ambitious change agenda focused on delivering the most efficient and effective public services at the lowest cost to the taxpayer. Our aim is to become an “Enterprising Council”. This is not just about providing services in a different way but also about changing the mindset of the council. We are one of the biggest county councils in the country and culture change in local government is never easy. However, we are steadily moving from a bureaucratic approach to decision-making to one where teams and individuals feel empowered to get things done. In doing so, we are underpinning a sense of individual responsibility to make the organisation and culture far less paternalistic.

A few people have read “Enterprising Council” to equate to a Programme of privatisation – which is wrong. This is not something that is driven by ideology, but by a desire always to find the best solution to delivering the highest quality of public services at the lowest cost to the taxpayer. In doing so, we want to tap into the creativity and passion of our own staff to come up with different solutions. An example of this is a new operating model for our highways services which is already regarded as one of the best in the country, thanks to an extra £6 million of investment since the election. This has seen a record number of 68,000 potholes repaired in 2018. The new model will mean even better performance and efficiency in the future.

We are rolling out a new libraries strategy that is working with local people to turn 20 of our least visited and used libraries into community-run facilities that will not only safeguard their future but also ensure that they play a leading role in the community. We are also looking to work with local organisations to safeguard the future of our mobile library service.

The sea change in the way that we work with local communities is fundamental to an Enterprising Council. We do not want to be a council that “does things to” local communities, we want to be a council that works with local communities to find the best solutions. In doing so, we are changing the whole dynamic of the council by driving a top to bottom culture change. Working hand-in-glove with our senior officer team, we are developing leadership skills across the organisation to embed an ethos of efficiency, effectiveness, and enterprise, while making sure that the ethos is cascaded down.

We have just completed a Corporate Peer Challenge from the LGA which has not happened in Derbyshire for more than 10 years. This has been a nerve-wracking experience because you open the council to criticism. We did it because we wanted to benchmark ourselves with other authorities. Overall, we came out well with many of the issues identified already clear in our minds and already being addressed via the emerging Enterprising Council approach.

We have been criticized for not taking the full 4.99 per cent council tax rise allowed by Government without triggering a referendum, but that is not a target to aim for. We have a responsibility to balance our budget and take into account that residents are squeezed too. It is critical to remember that taxpayers fund our services and the people whom we employ or commission. Often it seems that they get very little that is noticeable from us on a day-to-day basis. For them, it is all about street lights, well-maintained roads, bins and pavements. Of course, go below the surface and you will see the sheer range of life-changing services and support that we provide, particularly to people who are more vulnerable. We also take care of large areas of countryside, former pits, railways and opencast sites, canals and other assets that are there for environmental or recreational purposes. Not every taxpayer will benefit directly from this provision. So, we should always ask the question: could someone else look after these sites? If so, who from the local community would come forward to manage the assets at less cost while deriving more benefit from that sense of involvement?

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There is of course a huge range of other things we do, which is mostly unseen. For example, facilitating economic growth, promoting tourism, providing public transport, managing budgets for schools, and a whole host of other things. All these things cost money, some of which is non-statutory but if we did not do it, who would? This means that Derbyshire has a circa £1.1 billion annual operating budget. A not inconsiderable sum which demonstrates the need to take a carefully balanced view on how we spend the money.

I hope that I have given you a flavor of the sense of change that we are trying to engender in Derbyshire with good policies and a laser-like focus on efficiency, effectiveness, and lower tax. Summary of a statement by Cllr Barrie Lewis, the Leader of DCC provided by Cllr Robert Parkinson

Erewash Borough Council – Erewash borough council is still a debt free council with a balanced budget despite the cuts from central government.

The people of Erewash greatly appreciate the improvement in the cleanliness and tidiness of the borough and the way in which the parks and gardens maintenance department brighten the borough and the lives of our residents. This year has seen the installation of new greenhouses so that the parks department can continue to provide the plants and flowers which enhance our town centres and win such high awards in the Britain in Bloom competitions. It is to the parks departments credit that the parks and nature reserves continue to hold the green flag emblem

A recent report in “Which” magazine shows Erewash borough council coming top in a survey of 390 local authorities for food and hygiene safety. We scored 97% in a survey of medium and high-risk food businesses and proved to have taken action on all food outlets who do not come up to scratch.

Erewash museum continues to win awards and hold many events for adults and children during the year which proves ever popular.

This year we have re-introduced the collection of small items of bulky waste on Saturday morning, on a rolling program around several destinations in the borough. This is a new introduction but is proving very popular and well used, it is hoped this will reduce the fly tipping which blights many of our open spaces.

Another initiative introduced this year is the ability to use brown bins not required for garden waste to be used as a recycling bin if the lid is changed to blue. This is a scheme introduced for people who do not use the brown bin for garden waste and have not purchased a blue bin. This is an ongoing trial which is proving very popular in certain areas.

EBC have continued a program of community events including the Ilkeston charter fair the Chestnut Fair in Long Eaton, Christmas lights in the town centres and the bonfire in Long Eaton, Remembrance services in both town centres and again this year Beating the Retreat on Ilkeston marketplace.

Over the last few years we have had a deficit of around £2 million in sport and leisure on and approximately £11 million budget to provide all our services, this is not sustainable. We have gone into partnership with Parkwood and have entered into a 10-year lease with a possible extension of a further five years. We have safeguarded our regular group users and there will be a 1.3 million investment into the facilities by this outsourcing. We will bring in around £6 million over the 10 years that is £600k a year, this will help us maintain our frontline services. We have maintained ownership of the buildings and our name is above the doors. It is hoped that this will give enhanced service to our residence while protecting our investment.

The other big issue facing the borough is HS2. This is a government backed project which the Controlling group has always insisted whether you are for HS2 or against it does not matter because it is a government project and we in Erewash cannot stop it. It has always been our commitment that we must do all we can to make sure that Long Eaton residents and businesses that will be blighted by this project get the maximum compensation and we put forward a very comprehensive document in mitigation to try to ensure that the high-speed line came through Long Eaton on a high level line so that The town was not cut in half and traffic could still flow through the town centre.

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We must all do our best to make sure that LE residents and businesses that will be blighted by this project get maximum compensation and help through this project. – Councillor Val Clare

Draycott Parish Council - This year saw the retirement of our parish clerk Val Lewis after some 28 years. We interviewed for her replacement and appointed Mrs Sheena Butcher who has settled in well already completing her Qualified Clerks training so that we may retain our Quality Council status.

I would like to thank Val Lewis for her many year’s commitment to Draycott, she has facilitated many changes in the village and brought thousands of pounds into the village by the many grants she was successful in obtaining, to improve the village amenities for our residents.

We have put a cycle track around the teen area of the Millennium Green on Hopwell Road this year, which has been welcomed by the young people, and renewed the paths round St Chads Water damaged during the flooding last winter.

There was a lot of anti-social behaviour at the Leisure Green during the summer months which caused us much concern, and we had to remove the sides from the teen shelter on the advice of the police, but the problems continued until the weather turned colder. Councillors continue to monitor the situation on a regular basis.

The Councillors arranged the service at the war memorial to celebrate the centenary of the end of World War 1 and arranged for the road to be closed for the service. It proved to be very popular. The decision was taken that the whole service should be at the war memorial in future years rather than a church service first.

The council organised the Christmas lights and the putting up of the Christmas tree in conjunction with the Draycott Village funds Edwardian market. Unfortunately, the switch on of the lights failed. It has not been established where the fault lay, but the contractor had the lights working by 9am the next morning. There are plans to ensure this does not happen again and to expand the lighting in the centre of the village hopefully to include the other side of the marketplace in the Christmas illuminations scheme.

The Council is presently planning to extend the paths on the playing field so that they will make a circuit round the field for walking or jogging and signage will display the distance around the perimeter for people who we want to use it for exercise purposes. This is following a request brought to the council from members of the public.

There is now a much closer working relationship between Draycott in Bloom and Draycott Village Fund and the Parish Council, and I feel this can only benefit the residents of Draycott.

I would like to thank all the counsellors for their commitment and hard work over the last election term. New elections will take place in May and I know many counsellors will be choosing to stand again for re-election, but I would like to thank especially those counsellors have decided to retire for their commitment and hard work on behalf of the village. Councillor Val Clare

Risley Educational Foundation –. I have attended the meetings of the Risley educational trust since taking this responsibility since the death of Councillor Derek Orchard.

This year-to-date, 10 Draycott young people have benefited by individual grants, of £300 each this Academic year. DRACOTT primary school received £981.15 for the provision of music in school and Draycott Sunday School also received £476.40 from the Trust.

If any Draycott young person is going into further education and wishes to apply for a book grant next Academic year, please reply by looking on the website for contacting me for details of the clerk to the trustees.

Grants are given to the young people Draycott Breaston, Risley Sandiacre, Stanton by Dale and Dale Abbey. - Councillor Val Clare

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Draycott Millennium Green Trust – All ongoing maintenance at the Millennium Green has been carried out by the Parish Council and both areas are well used by both residents and visitors. We have put a cycle track around the teen area of the Millennium Green on Hopewell Road at the start of the year. We have also been awarded a grant towards extending the existing pathway around the play area and work will be completed by the end of March (if not before) this allows users to complete a full circuit of the Playing Field / Millennium Green. This work was requested by a number of users and we are very grateful to Erewash Borough Council for the grant to support this work. Signs will also be installed with the distance in KM of the route to encourage activity. – Councillor Val Clare

REPORTS RECEIVED FROM COMMUNITY GROUPS AND ORGANISATIONS IN THE

VILLAGE

Draycott Community Primary School - I am proud to represent the staff and children of our local school and nursery as the Chair of Governors.

Over the last year, our children have enjoyed a variety of activities and learned new skills. These skills and experiences will be greater enhanced by the introduction and use of the bottle greenhouse. The Rotary Club of Wilne are to be thanked for this initiative.

The children continue the Learning Adventures through the academic year. Our STEM science teaching area is now being put to good use. The children are learning to analyse their experiments for themselves. This helps develop a wider range of vocabulary. The Hogwarts spelling and reading plans also help our push for improvements in reading and writing. In 2018, our children gained an insight into the centenary of the end of World War 1. They created a plastic bottle poppy field within school and our Year 5 children visited the plaque display in one of our village shops.

The children are encouraged to carry out regular, daily exercise. The children have access to staff from several organisations who bring their varied knowledge to our school. This year we thank Derby College and Derby County Football Club. The staff at the Draycott Table Tennis Club also welcome our children. Their ability to include the abilities of EVERY child is superb and we are very grateful for the opportunity to use this very local facility. The introduction of the new House teams and colours have proved popular with the children.

Our School Council continues to ensure the voices of all children are heard and shared. Our very active PTA support the learning and ethos of our school. Their fundraising efforts are greatly appreciated and very necessary to help provide necessary resources for our lessons.

Our artistic Teaching Assistants once again allowed the children to produce an Advent Window for the village. In fact, Radio Derby sent a roving reporter to see the wonderful window and to interview a member of our office staff.

We all look forward to hearing where the Learning Adventures take our children and ask you all to support their efforts in any way you can. Kris Bingham - Chair of Governors

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Draycott and Wilne Women's Institute - Founded 73 years ago, Draycott & Wilne WI had a membership of over 60 founder members. We now number 18 members who meet on the third Thursday of each month in our Methodist Church Hall. We make a point of keeping our tradition of singing Jerusalem every month.

We make our programme as varied as possible and especially attempt to incorporate 'traditional' WI activities such as cookery, craft and flowers. These meetings are usually interactive, and the majority of the members love to have a go. It is important to continue the WI ethos of educating women, so First Aid sessions have been very positively received on our programme this year. We have found a brainstorming session for our programme content, in July and open to all members, has enabled us to satisfy most tastes.

In 2018, we launched our Facebook page as part of our recruitment initiatives. We were grateful to two of our members for creating our wonderful scarecrow, Angela, for the village Scarecrow Festival. We were even more pleased to gain a rosette for their efforts. We eagerly anticipate the Draycott Picnic in the Park as a method of increasing our presence and profile. Our members were particularly successful with entries to the Derbyshire County Show. Our WI gained a rosette in every category entered – including a Best Craft in Show for one our ladies.

We would love to welcome new members to our Institute and all ladies are encouraged to come and visit us. You can attend for 3 meetings before making the decision to join, so come and enjoy our hospitality and not forgetting tea and cake. - Kris Bingham

Draycott and Church Wilne History Group - We are an eight strong study group dedicated to researching all aspects of the history of the parish. We meet every two months or so in one another’s houses to discuss our latest findings and to plan our research.

Every August Bank Holiday we hold an exhibition in St Mary’s Church Hall looking at different aspects of the history of Draycott and Church Wilne. This year, amongst other topics, we will be looking at the impact of the canal and the railway on Draycott.

We publish booklets relating to Draycott and its many characters from the past. We have produced eight booklets to date, and more are in the pipeline. They can be bought from Dundas the Butcher and Wilson’s Chemist in the village.

This has been an amazing year for us. When we devised the project to place plaques commemorating all those involved in World War 1 on houses throughout the village, we never dreamt it would be so well received. We would like to thank the people who took it to their hearts and were so pleased to display the plaques on their homes. The History Group also received a special award from the Britain in Bloom judges for the contribution made by the plaque project to the Draycott in Bloom entry. We were also interviewed by Radio Derby and featured on the ITV Local News. We have left it up to individual householders to decide whether or not to keep displaying the plaques. Some plaques have been requested by relatives of those named and have been handed over to the families concerned, but many are still on display. If anyone has a plaque they do not want, please contact us (details below) and we will arrange to collect it.

We welcome contributions from anyone, especially the more senior members of the community who we know from experience always have good stories to tell. Anyone who has information, documents or pictures relating to Draycott or Wilne is very welcome to contact us through Clive Wilkinson on 01332 873 926 or email: - alesi4@sky.com - Lesley Garnett

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Draycott and Long Eaton Table Tennis Club This year the Draycott and Long Eaton TTC were the 2018 Winners in the derby telegraph Derbyshire sports awards , category junior team of the year and finalists as club of the year and Coach team manager of the year

Community The club fosters community use in the “Whittaker Hall.The current users are: -Draycott Tae qwando club – Sunday evenings – 15 membersExercise for the heart – Tuesday and Wednesday mornings – over 50 members Draycott Primary school – Thursday 14:00-15:00 (this is provided free of charge)- 30 pupils at a time these youngsters were taken through the bronze starter awards and were award their certificates in assembly. We also run two after school sessions Tuesday and Thursday 15:30-17:00Participated in the best in bloom Partnering with Firfield school in Breaston with outreach coaching in an after-school session on Thursdays

Over 50’s sectionThe over 50’s section now has 110 registered members. Running sessions on a Monday am, wed pm and Friday lunch time – it regular attracts over 40 members to each session.The over 50’s continues works with other clubs in the area hosting friendly matches.

Junior section The club’s junior section has continued with its success of last year, it has increased its members from 49 last year to 60 this year. It also attracts over 50% of the membership from Draycott and surrounding areas. It caters for beginners through to an excellence squad. With its aims around participation and performance. This increase has facilitated a structure change in the coaching set up.The dedicated team of coaches headed by Phil Vickers one of the highest qualified coaches in England now has four areas to manage. On a Monday and Friday, we run the new starters, advanced squad from 18:00-19:20 and excellence squad group 19:30-21:30 and this year we have started a new squad on a Friday 18:00-19:00 solely for 5-7yr olds We run the after-school’s club Tuesday and Thursday which are headed by Latvian international and current No 1-woman Inta Zdanovska and ex England vets international Nick Heaps. This year we have trialled a very successful 4-8yr old group which now has 12 girls in regular attendance

Our current excellence squad is producing some of the top players to the country and it currently has the national champions for the U12 girls and u12 boys and the u13 boy along another 8 players ranked inside the top 10 in the country at their age group The twins of Connor and Anna Green continue to shine and are the 2018 master’s champions at u12 girl and u12boy level, Poww came a creditable 3rd in the u15 boys despite beating the winner and r/u in the event Georgios was 6 th in u12 boys and Erin 8th in U15 girls. The club had 5 players on show out of a possible 40 (just the top ten ranked players in England of the two age groups are selected to play) which was the most from any club in the country.This year we are likely to Have 2 players in the u12 masters, 4 players in the u15 masters and 2 players in the u 18 masters we also have 10 players selected for the England 9-13 or youth training squads making up 25% of England’s junior players.

Senior & local league The club has over 90 members who regularly play in the Derby, Nottingham and Loughborough leagues. Keeping competitive grass roots tables tennis alive.it is well supported by our O50’s and Junior players No’s of teams as follows: -Derby league – 8 Nottingham league – 4Loughborough league - 6 Match nights are Tuesday and Wednesday, and anyone is welcome to come and watch

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We are the current Premier division winners of all three leagues this was the first time in our history that we have held all three at the same time along with various other division champions

Representative sides in the National and British leagues

The club provides a pathway for all its members to play in the highest leagues in England against all the other strong English and British clubs.

No’s of teams as follows: -

British league

Junior boys– 2 (prem & div 2)Junior girls – 2 (Prem, di& Prem) Seniors – 5 (Div. 1a 2a 1b 2b 3c)Women’s – 4 (prem div 1,2,5)Vets (O40) – 4 (prem, 3a,3b, 4)

National Junior leagues- aimed at non-British league players

Under 18’s – 1 (div1,)Under 15’s – (div1, 2,4)

Weekend events

The club continues to host over 20 weekend events a year with a dedicated team of volunteers. It regularly hosts some of the most prestigious events on the Table Tennis England calendar with many internationals playing at the club at both senior and para and junior level

International

We again entered the Riga Youth cup to continue to foster our Latvian connections we took 6 junior players and 5 coaches and parents, the club won the team event beating teams from France Germany Spain, Belarus, Latvia, Russia Lithuania and Iceland. Other Notable successes were Connor winning the u12 boys title, Naphat R/U u18 boys, Poww 3 rd U15 boys and Anna 5th U12 girls. On the 14th February 2019 we will again be taking a squad to Latvia featuring 12 players.

Poww also had a great season and despite being only 13 represented England at the recent schools 6 nations u15 event. winning the boys team and singles titles. Naphat represented England in the u18 boys and won silver in the team along with Erin in the u15 girls winning team bronze

Poww, Erin, and Naphat gained their full junior caps by representing England in the Portuguese open with Erin and Naphat making the quarter final of the u18 team and Poww reaching the u15 boys single event quarter final losing out to the winner and no 16-world ranked boy.Poww also played in the Danish open winning the u15 boys’ event and the u15 team event.

Erin, Connor, Naphat and Poww have all been selected to play for England in the next international event at the Sweden open at the end of February. And are in the running to be selected for the Italian open in May. - Jon Bayliss

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St. Mary’s Church Draycott and St Chad’s Church Wilne.St Mary’s church works closely with the Methodist church in the village under the title “Draycott Churches Together”, all children’s work is run jointly.

Children’s groups meet in St Mary’s church hall at 10.30am on the 3 rd Sunday of the month and join the congregation in church towards the end of the service.

Holy Communion is celebrated on the 2nd 4th and 5th Sundays of the month - the 4th Sunday being a Family Communion service with liturgy and music which caters for younger people.

There is a children’s corner in the church with books, quiet toys and activities for children who may be too young to participate throughout the whole service.

Sung Evensong with choir, alternates with St Michael’s in Breaston and is generally on the 1 st, 3rd and 5th Sundays at St. Mary’s (St Chad’s Wilne during the summer months)

Morning Prayer is held at St. Chad’s throughout the Spring and Autumn on the1st Sunday of the month.

“Sunbeams“, is a pre-school group that is held every Wednesday morning during term time in the church hall at 10.30am, and includes games, activities, singing and a simple Bible story. These sessions have proved very popular. Parents and carers are able to enjoy a time together over tea and homemade cakes while the children play. There are currently 24 children on role with an average attendance of 18. All are welcome from birth to 5yrs.

Throughout the year we have held a series of events –Sports day, Teddy Bears’ picnic, our own Harvest Festival and Nativity play. All are welcome to come and support these events.

A discussion group meets on Tuesday evenings in St. Mary’s at 7.30pm and is open to all ages and anyone wishing to explore the Christian faith in a warm relaxed and cordial atmosphere.

Coffee Mornings with a Table Top Sale are held on the first Saturday of each month, the next Coffee Morning will host members from Long Eaton Silver Prize Band. All are welcome to have a “sit down” and chat during busy weekend shopping.

St Mary’s Community Hall has seen extensive improvements since last year. Thanks to generous personal gifts from people in the community, the Rotary Club of Church Wilne and a considerable grant from the Veolia Environmental Trust the hall has been improved to a cost, so far, of circa £56,000.

Many more enhancements will be finalised over the coming months, these will be reported around the village. An opening evening and celebration will be held, everyone will be invited.

St. Mary’s together with The Methodist Church is involved in the whole breadth of village activities. We hold charity stalls for the Village Christmas Lights Switch-on, Picnic-in-the Park, Scarecrow Festival, and the annual Yard Sale.

The church is involved with the Community Allotment.

Remembrance Day itself was marked by a service at the village War Memorial, this proved to be a very well attended service with some 250 people coming along.

This outdoor service is to be held again this year with preparations already well in hand.

The clergy also assisted at the Memorial Garden, on South Street, during which children from Draycott primary school placed decorated pebbles to mark each Draycott life lost. - Revd. Gary Dundas

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Draycott Methodist Church - Draycott Methodist Church in Market Street continues to function as a worshipping and serving community in the village, being part of the Derby Circuit of 22 Methodist Churches. Our minister, since 2012, has been Rev Colin Emerson who also has responsibility for the Methodist Churches in Borrowash and Spondon. We hold services twice each Sunday, usually led by Rev Colin or one of the other ministers or local preachers from our circuit. Rev Colin undertakes Baptisms, Weddings and Funerals on request.

We work closely with our friends from St Mary’s, worshipping together on the first and third Sunday mornings each month, as well as on many other occasions. Mid-week fellowship groups and all children’s work is organised by ‘Draycott Churches Together’. Sunbeams (Mother & Toddler) meet weekly at St Marys and Messy Church meets monthly at the Methodist Church. Both these organisations are thriving and well attended which is very encouraging. We also work together raising funds for worthwhile causes. We regularly support Christian Aid Week and the village raised £650 for this worthwhile cause in 2018. At the Draycott Dickensian evening the two churches always raise funds for Homeless Charities in Long Eaton or Derby.

On the second Sunday of each month our morning service is an informal one, known as ‘Cafe Church’, held in the hall and led in a variety of ways which promote participation and discussion. This is very popular and welcoming to people unused to more formal church services.

For the past 20 years from September to May we have held fortnightly Guild meetings on a Wednesday evening. These are social evenings for men and women of all ages and a varied programme of speakers, activities and entertainments are arranged. Unfortunately, with an aging membership, our numbers have dropped recently, and we would encourage others to join us. This is a good way to make friends and would also help us to keep up our varied programme.

The church operates a good pastoral system so that those who are infirm, or elderly are kept in touch as much as possible. Our congregation varies from 15-30 at each service, many of our members are elderly (several over 90) and we provide transport wherever possible.

As a church we wish to actively serve our community and our premises are available for hire at a reasonable rate and well used during the week. Those meeting are: Chair Yoga, Weight Watchers, Stitch and Chat, Rainbows, Brownies, Guides, Playball, Tea with Friends, W.I as well as private parties etc. Our premises are constantly in need of repair and maintenance. We have recently had a full electrical overhaul and currently we are looking at remedying damp in the church and the kitchen area, windows need replacing and more general updating and decorating is needed. This is an on-going process and any help or support is always appreciated.

Last year we were delighted to work with the Draycott in Bloom Team to help develop a Living Wall at the side of the church. This turned out beautifully and helped to earn Draycott its much deserved Gold Award. It has been a privilege to host the judges’ lunch for the East Midlands in Bloom, and the Britain in Bloom competitions.

The whole purpose of our church is to share the love of God with those around us. If there is any way in which you feel the church can serve you or help in anyway then please contact Rev Colin Emerson. - Mary Murden (Church Council Secretary, Draycott Methodist Church)

Derby and Sandiacre Canal TrustThe Trust has been very active over the last year in Draycott and the neighbouring parishes. We have undertaken work on lock restoration in Borrowash and Sandiacre, but most of our activity has been within the Parish.

We have a growing band of volunteers and they undertake work maintaining the canal corridor between Hopwell Road and Derby Road where we have again worked in concert with Draycott in Bloom. This relationship has worked so well we are delighted that DIB will choose the Canal as its theme for 2019.

Other work on the canal line includes replacing and replanting hedges along the Derby Road. Holly and other saplings have been planted to form a hedge to protect the path from road traffic. We have continued to maintain the hedgerows treat the Japanese Knotweed and pull the Himalayan Balsam.

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Fundraising has continued and we are now only a few thousand short of our fundraising target to restore the Golden Mile Canal. Work is continuing to raise matched funding so that the restoration can be completed – hopefully later this year. A planning application has been lodged and we await its conclusion.

The development of the Canal Cottages has continued apace. Volunteer working parties now take place three mornings each week (Weds, Fri, Sun) with growing numbers. We continue to look for expert volunteers, but all are welcome. We have contracted some specialist skills where required including bricklaying and scaffolding. We have now replaced the roofs throughout, rebuilt the brickwork where required and have started working on internal walls, etc. Planning permission for change of use to include a café has been lodged and is currently out for consultation. The biggest concerns of neighbours seem to be the potential encouragement of antisocial behaviour which we are working to limit or eradicate. There is substantial work to do to connect to water as this is expected to be brought along the canal line – the nearest connection with capacity.

The Trust is arranging another open day after the success of the last one. It will be free to local residents who can tour the building to see progress and plans. This will have taken place on Sunday 31st March from 10am. We appreciate the past support from the village and hope for more in the future. – Edwin Case

Erewash Ramblers - I am Brian Marshall a member of Erewash Ramblers for which I am a Footpath Warden for Draycott and Breaston. I am a member of the Erewash Ramblers footpath maintenance team for the Erewash area clearing overgrown paths maintaining steps and stiles etc. in conjunction with Derbyshire County Council.I also help to clear and keep open the footpaths in Draycott and Breaston, aliasing with both Parish Clerks.

I am a Walk Leader for Erewash Ramblers and also lead 6 Wednesday Walks per year April to September from Breaston 2 of which pass through Draycott. The September one is for the Macmillan World's Largest Coffee Morning Charity.

Information is on the Public Notice Boards and the Inside 72 booklets for these and other Erewash Ramblers walks. For the August Bank Holiday Scarecrow Festival Weekend my Wife and I provide and sell refreshments in aid of The Air Ambulance. – Brian Marshall

St Chad’s Fishing Club – Is a club for residents of Draycott and Church Wilne. We are committed to continually try to improve the fishing by having a restocking programme, we have £1000 worth of carp on order and they will be introduced to the lake as soon as available from our normal stockist Jon Wall.

Membership is from £35 per year starting on 1 April 2019, Juniors under 16 free as long as they are with an adult member, ages 65 to 70 £15, over 70’s free. If you would like more information regarding the club, please contact John Reynolds at reno07@hotmail.co.uk

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VILLAGE SIGN

Early 2018 DVF, supported by FC laser (who donated the sign) and sponsors (funded post and fixings), erected the sign and had the Mayor of Erewash officially unveil it.

LITTERPICK

Twice a year, Spring and Autumn, DVF and Draycott in Bloom worked with Erewash Borough Council to organise a community litter pick. A great environmental project which keeps the village looking clean and tidy.

This is the main route for Draycott residents to get invloved in DVF activities with an active and growing membership. With a vison to enhance the perception of living in Draycott through colourful planting and features, the team have surpassed expectations by being judged in the highest category (Gold) for successive years in the RHS regional competition, and in 2018, were invited by the RHS to represent the East Midlands in the UK National competiton, where once again Draycott in Bloom won Gold, the highest level of achievement.

PICNIC IN THE PARK (EARLY JUNE)

A one-off event that just keeps on coming back as its so well liked (whatever the weather). DVF, through its team of willing volunteers, put this event on with kind permission from Draycott Parish Council to use the sports field. Loads of local businesses and individuals set up stands to make this family event a great success.

OPEN GARDENS (LATE JUNE)

Hugely successful two-day event attracting national, as well as local interest, from serious and amateur gardeners.

Hundreds of people came to this event, toured around 22 venues and of course the village businesses. A vital source of income for Draycott in Bloom but also always priced to be a good value day out.

SCARECROWS (AUGUST)

Draycott is known as an August Bank Holiday destination due to the hugely creative and inventive Scarecrow Festival. Scarecrows of all shapes and sizes are displayed in residents’ front gardens, and in 2018 DVF introduced a ‘Peoples Vote’ and awarded winners pennants, produced by a talented local resident.

NEWSLETTER

Throughout the year, DVF produce and distribute to every household and business in Draycott, a full colour Newsletter, including a diary of events, keeping everyone informed of what is going on.

NOVEMBER - REMEMBERANCE

2018 commemorated the end of WWI. DVF helped mark the event with a school service on the South Street Memorial Garden on Friday 9th and provided marshalling for the Parish Council’s event on Sunday 11th.

DECEMBER AND CHRISTMAS

DVF volunteers erected 240 Christmas trees on properties throughout the village. Letters to Father Christmas were posted in ‘Santa’s Post Box’ and every child got a personalised reply from Father Christmas just before the big day.

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DRAYCOTT VILLAGE FUND (DVF)

The Dickensian Street Fayre is our village’s big night out. DVF work with Draycott Parish Council, who provide a Christmas tree and lights, to make it a fun family event. In 2018 we saw improvements to the quality and variety of stalls, plus the event enables local businesses to stay open for a late-night shopping extravaganza.From 1st to 24th December, each night a Draycott household unveiled their Advent window demonstrating again the community spirit of the village as well as creative flair!!

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ALL THE ABOVE, ONLY POSSIBLE THANKS TO DRAYCOTT VOLUNTEERS, SUPPORTERS AND SPONSORS

There are three Sections –

Beavers - Age 6 – 8 with 23 members

All about fun and games and introducing them to the things they can expect in the later sections such as; Sleepovers, Promise, Short walks, Map reading, Knot tying, Putting up a tent, Campfires (toasting marshmallows), Mini engineering (building dams, tall / strong structures), Global / International Events, Working towards their Chief Scout Bronze Award via six challenge badges - Adventure , Outdoors , Personal , Skills, Teamwork, World.

Cubs -Age 8 – 10 ½ with 16 members

Starting to expand on what they have learned in Beavers; Promise, Longer walks, Knots and Lashings, Camping, Campfires (preparing and cooking some of their meals) / Backwoods cooking, Basic Pioneering, Abseiling, Climbing, Shooting, Basic Water Activities at Trent Lock. Working towards their Chief Scout Silver Award via seven challenge badges - Adventure, Outdoors, Personal, Skills, Team Leader, Teamwork, World.

Scouts - Age 10 ½ – 14 with 19 members

Putting into practise what they have learned at Beavers and Cubs; Promise, Hikes, Orienteering, More extreme camping – try and camp in every season. Campfires (building and lighting their own), Advanced Backwoods cooking, Advanced pioneering, Abseiling, Climbing, Archery, Laser Quest, More advanced Water Activities at Trent Lock. Working towards their Chief Scout Gold Award via nine challenge badges- Adventure, Creative, Expedition, Outdoors, Personal, Skills, Team Leader, Teamwork, World.

Group Activities – We have continued to redevelop the Scout HQ. Thanks to a £10,000 grant from the Lottery Awards for All we have finally been able to insulate the roof in the main hall. This was then plaster boarded over and we have just completed the decorating. We had a little bit of money left over so we are going to use it to get hot running water plumbed into the toilets (to replace the electric water heaters) and then we can finally start to look to get all three toilets fully refurbished.

The installation of the CCTV two years ago around the MUGA continues to bear fruit. I know there have still been a few issues of anti-social behaviour in the area but it is nowhere near as frequent as it used to be.

Volunteers - The Scout Group can only operate with the support of the volunteers who give up their time each and every week. We currently have a small core of volunteers who go above and beyond by covering for more than one section, so we still need to get more people involved in order to ensure the Group can continue to thrive.

Paul Riley – Group Scout Leader

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