News

Pictured Is Reform Uk Derbyshire County Councillor And Council Leader Alan Graves, Taken By LDR Jon Cooper

Derbyshire leader joins call for PM to allow councils to decide on housing illegal immigrants

Derbyshire County Council’s Leader has backed a call from Reform UK’s Home Affairs spokesperson to the new Labour Prime Minister Andy Burnham for councils and communities to be granted the power to decide to stop housing illegal immigrants in their own areas. Reform UK County Council Leader, Cllr Alan Graves, has co-signed Reform UK’s Home Affairs spokesperson Zia Yusuf’s letter to Andy Burnham with 23 other council leaders in light of the new Prime Minister’s desire to move centralised power […]

28 July 2026 29

Borough Wide

SUMMER KIDZ: First young campers set to experience charity’s forever home in Ockbrook

Over The Wall Camp is set to welcome its first campers at its new forever home in Ockbrook. Hundreds of children with serious illnesses and disabilities are set for a summer of adventure, laughter and unforgettable memories at the charity’s new base at Ockbrook. From the end of July 2026, children and young people aged eight to 17, alongside their siblings and families, will enjoy week-long and weekend residential camps at the newly transformed former Ockbrook School site. Chief executive […]

28 July 2026 23

News

Postcode lottery leaving patients without urgent eye care

New analysis by the Association of Optometrists (AOP) suggests that up to four in five (78%) A&E visits could be safely managed in community optometry services, including patients presenting with conditions such as conjunctivitis, dry eye, eye infections and minor abrasions. Currently, nearly 780,000 A&E visits in England each year are for eye-related conditions, making eye problems, among the top 10 most common reasons people are attending emergency departments This means that hundreds of thousands of avoidable A&E visits for […]

28 July 2026 27

Derbyshire

From Derbyshire to The Royal Albert Hall – the story behind Derwent Brass’s journey to the National Finals

Later this year, more than 30 volunteer musicians will walk onto one of the world's most famous stages. Each week they travel from across the Midlands and beyond to rehearse with Derwent Brass, united by one shared ambition: to represent Derbyshire at the Championship Section Final of the National Brass Band Championships of Great Britain at the Royal Albert Hall. The band brings together people from all walks of life. Its members include professionals from healthcare, education, engineering, business and the Armed Forces, alongside […]

27 July 2026 27

Borough Wide

New Erewash M1 junction plans under consideration

Plans to improve congestion issues off the M1 – including a potential new junction in a bid to alleviate residents’ “misery” – are to be assessed by officials. At an Erewash Borough Council meeting last week (July 23rd) cross-party approval saw both the Labour administration and Conservative opposition back plans aimed at improving congestion through Sandiacre, Stanton by Dale and Long Eaton. The council agreed to spend up to £80,000 commissioning an economic appraisal of the options to improve access […]

27 July 2026 82

Gnome Island in Nottingham Road, Ilkeston. From Eddie Bisknell.

Borough Wide

Plans for large gnome statue on Ilkeston traffic island take a diminutive step forward

Plans to install a large gnome statue on a “culturally significant” ornament-adorned roundabout in a Derbyshire town have taken a step forward. In the midst of a near five-hour Erewash Borough Council meeting filled with debates about free parking, rewilding, a new M1 junction and asylum seeker accommodation, sat a discussion about Ilkeston’s beloved ‘Gnome Island’. The Nottingham Road, Park Drive and Morrisons junction is marked by a roundabout home to a number of gnomes, an impromptu community quirk which […]

27 July 2026 49

Derbyshire

Police officer sacked for sexual assault

A Derbyshire police officer has been sacked after kissing a colleague twice without consent and sending inappropriate sexual texts to another. The acting sergeant, who has not been named for medical reasons, kissed a member of staff – named only as PC B – inside a station locker room while off duty and again, on duty, in a police vehicle when parked in a layby on the A38. It was found the officer also sent an unwanted WhatsApp text to […]

27 July 2026 80

SV2 members celebrate a £900k funding boost

Derbyshire

Derbyshire charity receives nearly £900k from The National Lottery Community Fund

Derbyshire charity, SV2 - Supporting Victims of Sexual Violence Ltd - which supports anyone who has experienced sexual abuse, has been awarded almost £900,000 from The National Lottery Community Fund. The money will be distributed to the charity over the next five years and will be used to help cover rent, IT support, therapy and behind-the-scenes office administration. This works out to be £180,000 per annum which is 15 per cent of the charity’s annual operating costs. CEO Rachel Morris […]

27 July 2026 30

Borough Wide

Cricket, gymnastics and football get borough council boost

A much-loved local cricket club that was founded during the reign of Queen Victoria is poised to mark its 150th anniversary by installing the very latest in hi-tech grass – thanks to help from Erewash Borough Council. The “hybrid” wickets have been hailed as groundbreaking after being pioneered at Lord’s and the Oval. They feature natural turf with tiny amounts of unique polyethylene yarn stitched in to make the surface more durable. Sandiacre Town Cricket Club is to harness the […]

27 July 2026 46

Derbyshire leader joins call for PM to allow councils to decide on housing illegal immigrants

SUMMER KIDZ: First young campers set to experience charity’s forever home in Ockbrook

Postcode lottery leaving patients without urgent eye care

From Derbyshire to The Royal Albert Hall – the story behind Derwent Brass’s journey to the National Finals

New Erewash M1 junction plans under consideration

Plans for large gnome statue on Ilkeston traffic island take a diminutive step forward

Police officer sacked for sexual assault

Derbyshire charity receives nearly £900k from The National Lottery Community Fund

Cricket, gymnastics and football get borough council boost

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