To make sure they’re keeping in touch with communities and practical local issues, Borough Councillors in Rother Vale Ward take part in regular Walkabouts round estates and villages with officers from 2010 Housing, Police and Environment Wardens from the Council. “It’s all about getting action taken when problems arise,” say the Councillors.

“On our recent Walkabout in Thurcroft,” explained Cllr Jeb Nightingale, “we found that initiatives we’d introduced to target graffiti earlier this year, had been successful and there had been no reoccurrence of the vandalism. And we’re now working with the Police to deal with an example of off-road motor bike nuisance residents told us about as we walked through the area.”

“The Council’s Streetpride service follow up our reports on litter and fly-tipping,” said Cllr Georgina Boyes, “but they don’t just get it cleared away, they check for any information that will give a clue to the identity of the offenders and their Enforcement Officers are now investigating an address they found.”

“Encouraging everyone to take a pride in the way Thurcroft looks is very important,” added Cllr John Swift. “We support the work of Estate Officers who contact tenants whose untidy gardens mean they’re in breach of their Tenancy Agreement. As we walk through the different areas, villagers tell us that reminding some householders about cutting the grass and clearing up gardens have made real improvements in the overall appearance of their street.”

“Being there at street level to see and hear what affects people can really make all the difference,” say the Councillors, “we mean to keep it up.”

Rother Vale councillors took the opportunity of a first visit to Treeton by Peter Thornborrow and Jonathan Bell of Rotherham Borough Council’s Heritage staff to introduce them to aspects of the village’s picturesque Conservation Area and the restoration work being undertaken on its historic Parish Church of St Helen.

Said Cllr John Swift, “We’re very pleased that the Council has experts available to offer advice to residents. It’s important for everyone here that the character of the village is maintained and improved for the benefit of future generations.” “The Council’s Heritage staff were particularly impressed by the excellent work of Treeton Local History Group and the displays of photographs and information in the Parish Reading Rooms, “ added Cllr Georgina Boyes. “They said it was rare to find a local history exhibition of this quality and were full of praise for the range of material and attractive presentation. In fact, this is a typical community initiative in Treeton, as credit is also due to the Parish Council for providing free use of the Rooms by the Group.” “There’s a lot of interest in Heritage and local history throughout Rother Vale Ward,” explained Cllr Jeb Nightingale, “2009 will see the centenary of Thurcroft’s coalmine and ideas are already coming forward from the community about ways of marking that anniversary too.”

“Treeton has a long and eventful history,” say the Councillors, “the village and church are recorded in the Doomesday Book and – leading the way for modern life - it was also the first village in England to have electric street lighting. We want to see Treeton keep up its reputation for maintaining the best of its history whilst making the most of the future.”

Councillors keep up pressure for flood prevention

Rother Vale’s Borough Councillors are keeping up the pressure for progress on flood prevention measures in the village. Said Cllr Jeb Nightingale, “Floods at The Willows School and in the Locksley and Elgitha Drives area have created problems for the school and health and safety concerns among residents. Gardens of houses adjoining the school grounds were affected by sewage during last June’s storms and even the heavy rain a few weeks ago created minor floods on the road outside the school,” explained Cllr John Swift, “so it’s important to everyone to get the drainage sorted out.”

“The emergency work which was needed to allow the school to re-open has been really successful,” added Cllr Georgina Boyes, “but we need long term solutions which will prevent further flooding if we have exceptional weather in the future.”

The Councillors have held meetings where plans for new work to combat potential problems in both the school grounds and surrounding roads have been brought forward. “As well as adding to existing banks to prevent water reaching other properties,” explained Cllr Nightingale, “there will be new bunds, high pressure seals for the water company sewer which crosses the playing fields and investigations to see if a new length of drain is needed to take water away from the road. There’ll also be an emergency pump available if power supplies to the main pump fail.”

“Work should be starting very shortly,” say the Councillors. “It looks like a good solution which we hope will meet the concerns of staff at The Willows and local residents.”

Thurcroft - Keeping Up the Improvement

Rother Vale Ward Councillors are joining Rotherham Borough Council’s Environmental services and officers from 2010 Rotherham in a programme of action to keep Thurcroft clean and green.

“Seeing the village looking smart is important for everyone, so we’ve organised clean-ups right across Rother Vale Ward,” said Cllr John Swift who is Chair of the Rotherham West Area Assembly and a Borough Councillor for Rother Vale Ward. “Last week saw a clean-up led by Borough and Parish Councillors when we removed litter from streets and recreation areas in the centre of Thurcroft. Now, to ensure this good work isn’t lost, the Council has made an inspection and is following it up with letters asking householders to keep their yards free from rubbish. We’re also explaining the services the Council provides for dealing with Household Waste Recycling and removal of large items of furniture.”

“Council inspectors will be visiting the centre of Thurcroft again in two weeks,” added Cllr Jeb Nightingale who is also Chair of Thurcroft Parish Council. “They’ll be checking each yard to see if they need to take action against residents who haven’t removed the kinds of rubbish which might be an environmental hazard – such as dog dirt and household waste. In extreme cases, we can even take residents to court if they create health problems and won’t keep their property clean.”

“There’s a lot to be proud of in Thurcroft,” explained Cllr Georgina Boyes, “with new facilities in the village, many residents making improvement to existing houses and new properties being built. Residents have told us they want to see the whole village kept to this good standard – rather than being let down by a few dozen inconsiderate householders who won’t clean up. The Council is taking this seriously and is following-up on any cases where problems persist.”

Rother Vale Councillors are asking everyone to help to keep Thurcroft clean and green. If you see anyone tipping rubbish on streets or land in and around Thurcroft, ring 01709 336003.

The Council will make every effort to trace the fly tipper and will prosecute them wherever possible.

Safer travel for Treeton pupils

Borough Councillors and parents in Rother Vale Ward were celebrating the success of a year long campaign to see pupils in Treeton receive zero fare bus passes for travel to Aston Comprehensive School. The village just fails to meet the distance at which national guidelines say that pupils should receive free passes, but Borough Councillors argued that the route children had to take from Treeton to their Comprehensive School in Aston was not suitable for pedestrians. Now, following a visit by Rotherham Borough Council’s Road Safety Officer, it has been agreed that the route raised unacceptable safety issues and as it was ‘unsafe to walk’, pupils should receive free bus passes to travel to school.

“We have been very concerned that a route that had no footpath for part of its length and went past an extensive area of woodland was just not suitable for children walking to school,” said Cllr John Swift. “On dark mornings, even adults are not entirely safe when traffic passes. We have been working with parents in Treeton for some months now to raised this issue, and are delighted that the Council has listened and taken action.”

“The timing of the offer of bus passes couldn’t be better,” added Cllr Georgina Boyes. “We were especially worried about pupils walking the route during the winter months, so starting the new service the weekend that clocks have gone back is an extra benefit, and makes very good sense. A free pass means that parents won’t have to choose between the cost of bus fares and children’s safety.”

“I was really glad to give my support on this issue,” said Cllr Gerald Nightingale. “Road safety is a major concern in the Ward, and this particular route to school was a worry for parents and children alike. It will be a great advantage to families in Treeton now and into the future.”

Cllr Swift said "Working with our colleagues on Treeton Parish Council, we have invited the Passenger Transport Executive to send a representative to their next meeting. We are glad to say that the PTE have agreed to this and look forward to talking to them to see what can be done. A better bus service would make a real difference to life in the village".

Better Bus Service Needed for Treeton

Councillors for Rother Vale Ward have written to Transport bosses to complain about losses of public transport in Treeton which are putting school children at risk and damaging job prospects for villagers. "I've lived in Treeton all my adult life" says Councillor John Swift, "and seen bus services go down and down in recent years - but it's never been as bad as this. The last round of cuts mean that there aren't enough buses to take pupils to our local secondary school, Aston Comprehensive. Some pupils are having to walk on narrow country roads with no footpath, through open country and past woodland, it's not safe. We have raised the problem with Education and they tell us they're aware of the problems and support what we are doing, but what we need is a better bus service for the school.