Amber Valley Borough Council

Six cemeteries in Derbyshire have been closed after a local council said it had seen a rise in visits which were "not considered essential".

Amber Valley Borough Council said it had noticed "an above normal" number of residents visiting its sites during the lockdown which posed a risk to maintenance staff.

"Access is only permitted for funerals, essential staffing and emergency or urgent works on site," it said.

“Tending to graves or memorials at cemeteries is not considered essential, but council staff will continue to manage the maintenance of cemeteries and their grounds."

GoogleCopyright: Google

The cemeteries closed are:

• Rodgers Lane, Alfreton
• Cemetery Road, Leabrooks
• Matlock Road, Belper
• Ilkeston Road, Heanor
• Cemetery Lane, Ripley
• Crosshill, Codnor

The council added: "We appreciate this may cause disruption and distress, but the decision has been taken with the safety of residents in mind and to ensure government advice is followed."

Only five family members are currently allowed to attend funerals and the installation of plaques has been suspended.

Amber Valley Borough Council is facing an "extremely serious" financial crunch which could see it effectively run out of money in two years.

The authority's chief finance officer said "urgent action" was required to plug a budget gap equivalent to a fifth of the council's annual revenue spending.

GoogleCopyright: Google

The council is forecast to spend millions of pounds more in a year than it brings in, despite major savings over the past few years.

It leaves the council needing to find further spending cuts or a way to significantly boost its income.

A Conservative Derbyshire councillor said he is "in no way racist" after calling for a ban on the burka and saying there are an "excessive amount" of mosques.

Cllr Henry Thompson, who represents Heanor East on Amber Valley Borough Council, made the comments on a recent Facebook post underneath a national newspaper story about banning the head covering.

He has since been suspended from the party, pending an investigation.

Amber Valley Borough CouncilCopyright: Amber Valley Borough Council

After the post came to light, he told the LDRS that “in no way am I racist" and that his comments were in relation to security concerns.

"None of this was me taking a jab at Islam, because I have nothing against people from different backgrounds wanting to be part of a chosen religion," he added.

He apologised for any offence caused but added he was writing in a personal capacity and stood by what he said.

The borough council's Labour leader has called for him to resign.

All the results are in from Amber Valley and with 24 seats, Labour have taken control of the council from the Conservatives.

Duffield has officially gone green - Dave Wells has snatched the seat off the Conservatives.

The authority now has three parties and an independent. Crikey.

The Tories have lost their grip on Amber Valley - they have held it for all but one year this side of the Millennium.

A school's plan to build an extension to its sixth form block have been rejected.

Ecclesbourne School, in Wirksworth Road, Duffield, had hoped to build the extension to free up more study, teaching, and cafe space - along with five extra parking spaces.

CPMGCopyright: CPMG

The school said that existing space was "inadequate and overcrowded" because of rising pupil numbers which are due to increase from 1,420 to 1,625.

However, Amber Valley Borough Council voted last night to refuse the application, saying the plan would see an unacceptable reduction in recreational space at the school and did not take into account car ownership levels.

Planning officers warned the committee it would be difficult to defend an appeal on highways grounds if the school appealed the decision but the plan was rejected anyway.

Permission to build 200 houses near a former landfill site in Derbyshire was granted last night despite objections from residents.

The chairman of Amber Valley Borough Council's planning committee had the casting vote after six councillors voted for and six were against the development on land off Birchwood Lane in Somercotes, according to the Local Democracy Reporter Service.

PACopyright: PA

Resident Troy Smith said that the proposal presented a "clear and present danger to all living near to the site" and that it was "widely known to be contaminated".

An agent for the applicant said: "Hats off to the residents for wanting to make sure that the application is sufficiently examined and those who even asked Public Health England to look over the proposals."

However, she said the site could be made usable and work would be carried out to ensure this.

A borough council has seized an "historically important" railway station after its owner neglected the site, leaving it requiring extensive repairs.

Today, Amber Valley Borough Council served the owner of Wingfield Station in South Wingfield with a Compulsory Purchase Order.

It was opened in 1840, one of the first railway stations built in England and closed in 1967.

Peter Barr, via Wikimedia CommonsCopyright: Peter Barr, via Wikimedia Commons

Councillor Trevor Ainsworth, said: "Compulsory purchase is not something we take lightly, but in this case we were left with no other option if we wished to preserve this historically-valuable building."

The council said it would ensure the site was sufficiently repaired.

Labour's leader in Amber Valley has expressed his disappointment at the outcome of the election, but says he remains optimistic about his party's chances next year.

The Conservatives took three seats from Labour to retain control of the borough council.

Councillor Chris Emmas-Williams, who represents Codnor and Waingroves, said next year's election will feature 14 seats held by the Conservatives and just one held by Labour, which he feels gives them scope for a comeback.

BBCCopyright: BBC

He said: "It's a really gutting result. I am very disappointed. I thought that the electorate would see that we had put forward a solid plan for the future and good proposals, but clearly they don't think so.

"It was always going to be difficult, but we'll be back next year to take control, definitely."

Amber Valley's Conservative MP has heralded his party's borough council success as "very positive".

The Tories gained three wards from their Labour rivals to increase their number of councillors to 25, while Labour has 20.

Nigel Mills said: "It was an up and down night. We lost a seat in Belper but gained two back in Heanor and one in Ripley, so overall it was a very positive night for us.

BBCCopyright: BBC

"The fact that we our gaining new ground is a positive situation, it shows the good work that the individual councillors and candidates have done.

"I think it is a trend we are seeing across the country to a certain extent, in Leave (EU referendum) supporting areas."

The Conservatives have increased their majority on Amber Valley Borough Council by two.

Fifteen of the 45 seats on the authority were up for election with the Tories taking seven and Labour winning eight of the 10 they were defending.

BBCCopyright: BBC

It means the Conservatives now have 25 councillors to Labour's 20.

The former Labour leader of the council, Paul Jones, lost his seat by 28 votes - one for every year he had held the ward.

His response was simply: "C'est la vie".

Labour has failed to gain control of either Walsall or Amber Valley, where the party only needed a small swing in order to win an overall majority. Yet it is clear on the results declared so far that it is not going to achieve either objective in these predominantly Remain voting areas.