May/100
Lottery dream comes true for former mining town
The East Midlands town Newstead celebrated a £400,000 cash injection of lottery money to help revive the area.
Former mining town Newstead has been awarded money through a project called Village SOS. The scheme is ran by the Big Lottery Fund and the BBC.
The money will be put towards a ten year community plan which involves creating a country park on the site of a pit slag heap.
The scheme, titled Future Newstead, headed by Mick Leivers stated “It’s exciting times. As a community we worked our socks off to put ourselves in a good position to get lottery funding,” he added.
“Out of the selection process we were one of the most deprived villages in terms of finance and facilities.”
The nationwide scheme is supporting six projects, awarding money across the UK. Future Newstead will offer a variety of facilities including an eco-friendly resource centre, fishing lakes and music festival.
The development will spread across 220 acres of former colliery spoil heaps purchased in autumn last year that had been backed by an East Midlands Development Agency.
Mick Leivers is particularly positive about the development in fishing that could help in several ways.
“This was a really popular choice amongst local villagers.
“We will be providing training for young people interested in angling so we can perhaps professionalise some of the lakes around Nottinghamshire and provide, through fishing, a means for people to learn about their environment.”
A documentary
The Newstead SOS has been surrounded by much media inetrest. The village will be filmed by BBC cameras and a documentary is due to be screened in April 2011 to show how the scheme has changed the area.
Publicity surrounding the award is reaping benefitsWord of the award is already reaping benefits according the Mr Leivers.
“The number of volunteers we’ve had has been phenomenal. We set up a Facebook site and had 1600 members join within a matter of weeks. It’s obviously going to engage a lot of people.
“It’s all about the local community but also about bringing other people into the community to share our village and realise what a fantastic place Newstead really is.”
The community are backing the development 100% and believe it is a positive step towards Newsteads future. Tracey Sabin a local resident said: “The scheme is going to be a lifeline to the village. It’s going to provide Newstead with some level of pride that was taken away when the pit shut down [in 1987]. It’ll get the community alive and kicking again.”
Head of the East Midlands Region for the Big Lottery Fund, Mick McGrath, echoed the locals enthusiasm saying, “This Village SOS award will kick start a revival in the former mining village of Newstead, helping to secure the future of the community by putting power into the hands of the villagers.
“I hope that their innovative ideas, which will bring tourists to the area as well as teach positive activities to disengaged young people, will inspire others across the UK to reinvigorate their rural communities.”
Apr/100
Gravitas Law Holds Miners meeting at Bold Miners welfare Friday 23rd April 2010
Gravitas held its first roadshow at Bold Miners welfare Club (St Helens),the turnout was better then expected and all formers miners left satisfied with the advice given.
Gravitas Laws legal team advised miners on Undersettling of Vibration White Finger Claims and also on Miners Knee Claims Via the DWP and information on the forthcoming test cases for Miners Knee(Osteoarthritis).
Gravitas Laws legal team will be travelling the country hosting events in mining communities.
For additional information please contact Bobby Kennedy on 01744 744090.
Apr/100
Police Investigation into Miners Settlements
The multibillion-pound compensation scheme for Vibration white finger claims and Miners knee claims was set up by the Government in 1999 and has paid out to tens of thousands of miners suffering from chronic lung disease and vibration white finger.
The probe centred on the Union of Democratic Mineworkers (UDM) which broke away from the National Union of Mineworkers during the bitter year-long miners’ strike in 1984.
The Nottinghamshire-based UDM, which had around 1,300 members at the time the probe was launched, was dealing with claims for compensation on behalf of miners whose health suffered from working down pits.
At the time the investigation was announced Labour MP John Mann (Bassetlaw) said he was delighted police were investigating the claims. He had waged a long-running campaign to highlight alleged abuses of the miners’ compensation scheme.
Mr Mann claimed millions of pounds had been paid to solicitors involved in dealing with compensation claims which he believed should have gone to miners.
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Dec/090
The Miners Brass Band Festival 2010
The Butlins Mineworkers National Open Brass Band Festival 2010 is one of the most ‘must visit’ contests in the brass
band calendar. The contest will be taking place at Butlins Skegness. It is the perfect venue for such an event
with everything you could want. With superb accommodation, good food and drink it promises to offer great family entertainment.
The Festival is hugely popular and attracts Brass Bands from all over the UK. All five brass band sections will compete on
Saturday 23rd January. The Championship section bands will compete in an entertainment contest (hosted by
BBC Radio 2’s Frank Renton) on Sunday 24th January determining the Butlins Champion Band for 2010.
Aug/0926
Miner’s Knee claims - New advice on making a claim
The Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, Yvette Cooper, today said that coal miners suffering from miner’s knee should be able to claim the newly available Industrial Disablement Benefit. As the condition is compounded by repetition of a period of time, the criteria for claiming is that the miner has worked as a miner for 10 or more years.
As of 13th July miners who now have osteoarthritis of the knee can now also claim.
However, unlike with Vibration White Finger (VWF) - a common cause for claim and complaint in the 90’s, the DWP are now recommending that claimants contact Jobcentre Plus website directly to find out if they can claim. Consumer Help has reservations over the effectiveness of going through a Government body to make a claim that will ultimately be coming out of the Government kitty.
Would it be wise to trust another Government body? Will they act on your behalf in the same stubborn way as a solicitor would? Will your claim be settled as quickly and efficiently as with a solicitor? These are all the questions we have been asking ourselves since the story broke earlier this month.
At the same time, we can also appreciate why the DWP are recommending going through the Jobcentre Plus. “In 2008 Jim Beresford and Douglas Smith, of Doncaster-based Beresfords Solicitors, were struck off for taking millions of pounds of compensation payouts given to sick miners.” Source: BBC News
Aug/091
Can you make a claim for Osteoarthritis?
Osteoarthritis is a condition affecting the joints. The NHS say it is the most common form of arthritis affecting UK citizens and a reported 8-9 million people in this country are currently suffering with it. Characteristics of osteoarthritis are fairly constant in each case:
- It causes damage to cartilage - the strong, smooth surface that lines the bones and allows joints to move easily and without friction
- It results in bony growths developing around the edge of the joints.
- It causes mild inflammation of the tissues around the joints (synovitis)
- Osteoarthritis mostly occurs in the knees, hips and small joints of the hands, but almost any joint can be affected
Although it is a widespread condition, the Government has recognised that it may be, for some people, a direct consequence of working conditions suffered years ago. For example, ex miners who have worked for 10 or more years as a coal miner would have a good chance of receiving compensation from the Industrial Disablement Benefit fund announced by the Government.
The fund will initially be set up to provide benefits (from July 2009) to people suffering from this condition who can directly relate it to their employment. However, there are reports and rumours that the fund will eventually extend to offering compensation payouts to individuals who meet the criteria.
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