WORK to put up a 130-metre wind turbine in Derby has been finished and another is nearing completion.
Severn Trent Water has built one structure at Derby Sewage Treatment Works, in Megaloughton Lane, after permission was granted last year. The gearbox for the second turbine was being put in place today.
Spondon resident Derek Hathaway, who has lived in the village for 43 years, was among residents who said he was happy the turbines were being built.
He said: "We were warned a few years ago and have had different presentations about it.
"I'm sympathetic to it because Severn Trent have to put turbines somewhere.
"It's out of the way and will not be intrusive."
Jon Beeson, renewable-energy specialist at Severn Trent Water, said the turbines would become operational in the next couple of months.
They measure 130 metres to the tips of their blades – more than twice the height of Derby Cathedral's tower.
IF you've ever dreamed of opening your own café bistro then you need to get to the auction room next month where Graham Penny Auctions is putting Godfreys in Town Street, Duffield, under the hammer.
In a prominent position in the heart of the village, this freehold period property is being offered for sale on Thursday, April 10 with a guide price of £175,000+ including the successful licensed café bistro business on two floors with a courtyard.
Viewings are available by appointment with Graham Penny Auctions on 01332 242880 or visit www.grahampenny.com.
MARRIED couples often argue and make up – but Fred and Vera Lamb have one disagreement on which neither will back down.
That quarrel is politics.
"I'm a true blue and she's a true red," says Fred, 87. "We say things like, 'you're not putting that poster up in the window'."
Despite this, the couple today celebrate 60 years of what they say has been a wonderfully happy marriage.
The couple, of Ridgeway, near Ambergate, met at a dance at Belper Assembly Rooms in 1949.
Fred said it was love at first sight.
He said: "She looked a bit lonely and I was attracted to her.
"I asked her to dance and she said yes. I thought I must make arrangements to meet her again and it took on from there."
Vera, 81, added: "I looked across the room and I said that is the man I'm going to marry."
The pair wed at St Luke's Church, Heage, on March 27, 1954, and had their honeymoon in the south of France.
They went on to have two daughters, Deena and Jay, and now have three granddaughters and one grandson.
After marrying, the couple lived in Sunny Hill, Derby.
Ten years later, they moved to a house that overlooks the countryside in Crich Lane, Ridgeway – where they have lived for nearly 50 years.
Fred said they have been very lucky. He said: "We've had a very good social life and we've travelled well.
"We've covered most of Europe and have been to countries like Australia, America and Russia three times.
"We've been blessed with good health, too."
Two years into their marriage, Fred left his role as assistant power controller on the railways for a job at Rolls-Royce.
He joined the rocket division and later became a draughtsman, working on the RB2-11 engine that led Rolls Royce into a crisis and receivership in 1971.
The project's spiralling costs meant only a Government bailout saved the company from extinction.
Fred recalled: "It was an anxious time. A lot of my friends lost their job but I kept mine.
"The parts were too expensive. Rolls-Royce was losing thousands of dollars on each engine.
"It was kept hush-hush so it was quite a shock when the company went into liquidation."
Vera spent the bulk of her working life at Litchfield Bros, where she worked as a machinist.
She has also been a committed member of the Heage Women's Institute and the Royal British Legion.
AS I went through Derwent ward the day after the Chancellor's Budget, the joy was unconfined.
Couples were celebrating their newfound freedom to invest their £30,000 in ISAs without having to put £15,000 into a cash ISA and the other £15,000 into a stocks and shares ISA – at last it is their choice.
Perhaps the only flaw in this idyllic picture is the fact that very few (if any) of the people in Derwent have that kind of cash available for savings. To have £30,000 to invest from earned income, one would have to have earned £50,000, assuming 40% tax and a joint income of over £100,000. I guess there are not too many people in Derby who are able to make savings of that magnitude.
It seems a cruel irony to me that whilst we are seeing an increase in people having to rely on food banks and the iniquitous payday loan companies, the Chancellor is yet again giving to those that have, and not to those that have need.
Of course there is the penny off beer and the 10% reduction on bingo tax but as most of the pubs in Derwent are now closed and it means a trip into town for either bingo or a drink, then the recent rise in the bus fares will put paid to any returns on that astonishingly generous giveaway.
Coun Dave Roberts (Labour)
Derwent Ward
A FLORIST from Derby is to appear in a Morrisons advert that will be featured on ITV's Saturday Night Takeaway this weekend.
Kokob Girmay Gerenciel will encourage viewers to tweet in their answer to a conundrum question that she will present during the programme, hosted by Ant & Dec.
The 28-year-old, who works at Flower World, in Sinfin Lane, will appear on TV screens before and after an advert break to pose the challenge and reveal the answer.
Kokob said: "It was great to be chosen to star in a national TV campaign, especially one that was so much fun to film.
"It's the first time anyone in my family has done anything like being on television, so everyone is really proud of me."
Morrisons took over Flower World in 2011 and that has led to Kokob being chosen for the supermarket chain's latest advertising campaign, which promotes its fresh food offer and flower range – called Market Street.
Kokob said: "I really enjoy my job as I get to make beautiful bouquets for my customers. We work hard to be the best at what we do and it's great to show off what Morrisons has to offer to millions of people."
The store chain extended its brand endorsement partnership with Ant & Dec earlier this year.
The Geordie duo became the faces of the supermarket at the beginning of last year when they starred as fishermen in the chain's advertising campaign.
The connection led to their ITV show being sponsored by the store group.
Jennifer England, head of advertising at Morrisons, said: "Having our very own colleagues star in the adverts is a great way to highlight Morrisons Market Street as a destination for fresh value in a fun and engaging way.
"It's something the whole country can get involved in."
Kokob's TV appearance will be aired in Saturday's episode, which starts at 7pm.
AN application to serve alcohol from 9pm to 9am for an event at a city venue that has been the scene of brawls and assaults has been rejected.
But the planned 12-hour house-music marathon at Colombo House, Colombo Street, will continue due to a legal loophole, organisers say.
Gavinder Beesla asked Derby City Council for the 12-hour licence to sell alcohol at the event, which is due to start on Saturday night.
But Derbyshire police warned there could be the potential for crime and anti-social behaviour at the event if the licence was granted.
Sergeant Mark Lomas, from the force's licensing department for Derby, said: "At a previous event, a doorman was assaulted by a group of people trying to gatecrash.
"In a separate incident another person was assaulted. Both of these crimes resulted in police investigations. However, at this time, nobody has been arrested.
"It is my belief that, if granted without suitable and adequate safeguards, it could cause unwanted alcohol-fuelled anti-social behaviour and crime and disorder into the morning hours."
The committee was told that previous events, which were not run by Mr Beesla, had resulted in noise complaints from neighbours.
Councillors were told residents living 200 metres away from Colombo House had windows shaken by vibrations from music at one event.
Several other noise complaints had been received and the committee was told that a noise abatement notice was served on the venue.
There are 190 tickets on sale for at £20 per head for the event, which Mr Beesla said would feature nationally-known DJs.
He told the committee: "The licence would allow a lot more control.
"It will prevent crime and disorder because drinking would be in a controlled way."
The committee, however, was not swayed by Mr Beesla's arguments and rejected the application.
However, he said: "The event will go ahead due to an exemption in the law."
A loophole allows for a place of worship to not have to be licensed for an event in the same way that other premises are.
Part of Colombo House is used by the Derby Rastafarian Association as a place of worship.
Residents in nearby streets were worried about the possibility of trouble at the event.
One man claimed said there had been fights outside the venue.
He said: "I am worried about what will happen at this new event."
Sergeant Lomas said: "I urge the local community to get in touch with the police, on 999 if it is an emergency or on 101 if not so we can be made aware and deal with any problems."
DAMAGE caused by a huge fire that tore through Derby's Assembly Rooms car park will cost "millions of pounds" to put right.
City council leader Paul Bayliss said the total cost was still being totted up but he added he was 100% sure it would be a seven-figure sum.
He said: "Fixing the damage will run into millions of pounds. That's the only thing we can say with certainty."
Last week, firefighters confirmed that the blaze on March 14 started in an air-conditioning unit on the top floor of the car park.
The council's chief executive, Adam Wilkinson, said it caused a great deal of damage. He said: "All the mechanical and electrical installation in the roof of the car park was destroyed and will require complete replacement.
"Significant repairs to the structure of the upper level of the car park will also be needed.
"We've got an awful lot of experts in to look at temporary fixes and long-term fixes. Options will then be drawn up and presented to cabinet.
"In around two-and-a-half weeks we should be able to say what we're going to be doing."
Mr Bayliss revealed the cost would only be partly covered by the council's insurance company.
However, he said any costs that would have to be met by the taxpayer would not be achieved through redundancies or cuts to services.
Mr Bayliss said: "Some of the cost will be covered, some of it won't. There will be an excess to start off with. We will need to negotiate a settlement with the insurance company.
"They should cover most of it. When we know how much the council is liable for, we will have to look at the capital budget and say 'instead of doing this we'll use that money to do the Assembly Rooms first'. It might be something slides down the list of priorities.
"That's the way you avoid impacting services."
Last week, the council said it expected the Assembly Rooms would be closed for about two months as a result of the fire.
Mr Bayliss said he was confident that timeframe would not slip.
He said: "The discussions that are taking place are complex. However, we think we put in a reasonably generous timetable to allow us to have those complex discussions and options drawn up."
On Monday, Derby Live announced more shows had been rescheduled or cancelled as a result of the fire.
Full details can be found at www. derbytelegraph.co.uk.
