EVENTS taking place over Easter weekend:
The Mellors Group's Starflyer ride will be premiering at the Market Place in Derby on Friday, April 18. At a towering 223ft in height, the thrilling ride will be open to the public from 10am every day until Sunday, May 11. Tickets will be priced at adults £5, under 12s £4 and they will be available to purchase from an onsite box office.
Cadbury Eggsplorers Easter Egg Trail from April 18 to April 21 at locations including Hardwick Hall, Eyam Hall, Kedleston Hall, Sudbury Hall, Ilam Park, Longshaw and Calke Abbey. For more details visit, www.eastereggtrail.co.uk
About 5,000 toy ducks will take to the River Dove for an Easter Sunday dip for charity. This year's race takes place at Dovedale Stepping Stones on Easter Sunday at 2pm. People can pay £1 for a duck, which will be dropped into the river for a race down the rapids. Fun and games, including an Easter Egg hunt, start at 11am.
Crich Tramway Village: On Sunday and Monday, visitors can expect air-raid warnings and the sound of low-flying aircraft during the Easter 1940s event. It will run from 10am-11pm (last admissions 6pm) on Sunday and 10am-6pm (last admissions 4pm) on Monday. Adults £13, seniors £10.50, children £8, family ticket £35. More details at www.tramway.co.uk.
THE closure of the Assembly Rooms for at least 18 months has become a political hot potato after Derby's Tory opposition leader demanded to know why it had to be shut for so long.
Ahead of next month's city council elections, Councillor Philip Hickson has attacked the decision, calling it "both absurd and unreasonable".
But the Liberal Democrats have branded his comments "electioneering".
Mr Hickson has put up four questions about the closure, which was announced on Tuesday following a fire at the venue's car park four weeks ago. The blaze destroyed the plant room which housed the Assembly Rooms utilities.
Among his questions was one about the Cathedral Quarter, where businesses are concerned about the closure of the car park, which the council says will be shut "until further notice".
Cathedral Quarter bosses say firms depend on visitors who park there.
Mr Hickson asked:
I had previously been told the closure was to be for about six months. Why has that figure jumped to 18?
Why couldn't temporary generators and air conditioning be installed in the building to get it up and running faster?
How will the council make up the cash it will lose from the cancellation of events as only some of those losses are covered by insurance?
What will the council do to back the Cathedral Quarter in these difficult times?
The council has said it is now looking at two options – to refurbish the Assembly Rooms or completely replace the building. Mr Hickson said he would prefer the former.
He said: "I think there's a subtext here – to demolish the Assembly Rooms and use this [damage from the fire] as an excuse to do it.
"My issue with that is not necessarily with the demolition of the building but where the money is going to come from. It can surely only come from the council borrowing a huge amount of money."
The council has said it would not comment beyond what it has said previously.
Council chief executive Adam Wilkinson then said: "The council is committed to a significant cultural facility in the city centre but due to the ongoing assessment of damage after the fire, it has become clear we cannot re-open the building as quickly as we would like.
"We are continuing to work through the various options open to us, based on either refurbishing or replacing the current building."
No one from the Labour party was available to comment yesterday afternoon. But council leader Paul Bayliss previously said that the authority would consider adding new signs for other car parks in the city centre.
He said the authority was covered by insurance for "some income lost from event cancellations" and that the major issue behind the longer-term closure was that the plant room had been completely destroyed.
The room was on top of the car park and would need to be connected to the 36-year-old Assembly Rooms while meeting modern building regulations.
Liberal Democrat councillor Mike Carr said Mr Hickson was "shooting from the hip" and "he wasn't in favour of that sort of thing".
He said: "The time the Assembly Rooms has to close for depends on what the experts say. It's no good waving your hands in the air and saying that's too long.
"I'd like to see all the facts before I make a decision on what I think should happen.
"It was built as a multi-purpose venue and multi-purpose venues are, by their nature, not perfect for any one thing."
Alan Graves, chairman of UKIP in the East Midlands, said he believed the venue should be rebuilt inside so it was more appropriate for variety shows.
He said: "It was really designed for things like bands and orchestras so people can sit round them.
"But over the years it's been used more for different acts, variety, which it wasn't designed for."
A "HEAVILY under-utilised" youth centre in Derby has been taken over by a community association.
Mackworth Youth and Community Centre, in Prince Charles Avenue, was previously run by Derby City Council. But now the keys have been handed over to Mackworth Estate Community Association for a 10-year lease.
Paul Pegg, a city councillor for Mackworth and chairman of the community association, said: "We decided to take it over to ensure it is kept running and to make sure that we still have a youth service from the building.
"It's exceptionally important that the centre stays open. It's a case of if it's not used we could lose it."
In 2010, the community centre was given a £500,000 facelift and extension.
Money to convert and revamp the building came from the Government's Youth Opportunity Fund with the aim of trying to ensure that young people had somewhere to spend their time.
The new facilities included a larger activity hall, new youth club, meeting room, office and disabled toilets.
Mr Pegg said the centre needed to be utilised further.
He said: "The centre is used for youth clubs, bingo, sequence dances, Scouts and Cubs but it is heavily under-utilised during the day and at weekends.
"We've got gaps that could be used for parties and conferences.
"Now our aim is to promote it more. The council cannot promote it like we can. We are going to really get it going."
Mr Pegg said the building would cost approximately £20,000 a year to run.
He said: "This would come from hire charges and Mackworth Estate Community Association will help make the shortfall for at least 12 months.
"We also have funds from the charity shop, in Mackworth, to help as well."
"We feel very excited, simply because we are going to keep it open.
"If there are other centres in the city that could look at what we are doing they could probably do the same as well."
Lynn Ingram, manager of MECA charity shop, in Drayton Avenue – which will be helping to fund the community centre – said it was a "really good idea" that it had been handed over the association.
She said: "We did not want to lose it and the council said they needed someone to lease it.
"The community will benefit enormously from the move. My grandchildren use the youth club at the centre and they really enjoy it.
"We have had a few more groups inquire about using the centre as well, which is great."
Andrew Bunyan, strategic director of children and young people at Derby City Council, said: "Services have for some time worked co-operatively to ensure good use of Mackworth Community Centre and the operation of the centre to the Mackworth Estate Community Association ensures that local people can continue to make the most effective use of this resource for the benefit of the community."
A STUDENT at the University of Derby is attempting to use his gift for making music to help people affected by the crisis in Syria.
Joe Lambert, 24, is in the final year of a music technology and production degree and has recorded a hip-hop single about the effects of war to increase awareness of the Syria crisis and raise money for the victims.
Released under Joe's recording name, Rehmidi, the single is entitled War and contains a sample of legendary reggae singer Bob Marley's track of the same name.
Joe has already sold a number of copies of the song and the video has received more than 500 views on video sharing site YouTube.
"I just want to raise as much money as possible," said Joe. "There's so much injustice and poverty in the world, if I could make a difference then that would be great. I'd like to make a contribution."
Saddened by the increasing trouble in Syria, Joe said he wanted to do something proactive to help and said a big motivating factor when making the track was keeping the story in the public eye.
"I met a man from Syria while working abroad and he told me about the conflict and suffering and that really had an effect on me."
"That's partly why I wanted to do the song – the news changes all the time and unless you're consciously following the story, it's easy to forget."
And Joe said he believes even the smallest of gestures can make a change for good.
"I'm trying to spread awareness as much as possible to raise a significant amount for a cause that I believe is important – it would be great to use this song as a platform to make a bit of a change.
"It's a big situation over there and all people have to do to make a small difference is download a song."
The song is available for 60p from the Rehmidi Bandcamp page at http://rehmidi.bandcamp. com.
All of the proceeds from sales will be donated to Save the Children.
THE economic recovery in Derbyshire is making "great progress", says business leader George Cowcher.
Mr Cowcher, chief executive of the Chamber of Commerce for Derbyshire, was commenting after figures showed that the number of people looking for work fell in Derby and the rest of Derbyshire last month.
After suffering from a Christmas hangover, with job-seeker numbers rising in both January and February, figures for March, released by the Office for National Statistics yesterday, showed that the number of people claiming work-related benefit in the city and county was falling once again.
Last month, the number of people claiming job-seekers' allowance in Derby went down from 5,598 to 5,420 – a fall of 178 or 3.2%. In the rest of the county, the dole queue shrunk in March, falling by 388 to 10,594, a drop of 3.5%.
Throughout 2013, jobseeker numbers in both Derby and Derbyshire fell month-on-month. The positive trend halted in the first two months of 2014 when the figures started rising again.
But business leaders were unperturbed, blaming the rises on temporary seasonal contracts coming to an end.
Now, it would seem the city and county have picked up from where it left off last year. The number of claimants is lower than 12 months ago.
In March last year, the number of people looking for work in Derby was 7,726 – 2,306 more than this March.
In Derbyshire, 12 months ago the figure stood at 15,143, 4,549 more than this March.
Mr Cowcher said: "Following slight increases in January and February, the fact that the number of claimants has fallen significantly in March is great news and provides further evidence the economy is strengthening.
"They reflect the chamber's recent Quarterly Economic Survey which found 30% of local businesses increased the size of their workforce in the first three months of this year, with a third planning to recruit staff."
The trend in Derby and Derbyshire reflects the national scene, where claimants fell by 30,400 to 1.14 million in March.
The UK figures showed that total number of people out of work fell by 77,000 to a five-year low of 2.24 million in three months to February.
In the East Midlands, the total number of people in employment fell by 13,000 compared to the previous three months and the unemployed figure increased by 14,000.
Mr Cowcher said: "The short-term increase in unemployment and decrease in employment is of a slight concern but is an historic seasonal trend.
"The year-on-year figures show we have made good progress and we shouldn't set too much store by short-term variations. Overall the jobs market is still improving and suggests that the recovery is making great progress."
THE family of businessman Keith Poynton say they have been "blown away" by the support they have received since his death – and his legacy will now shape everything they do.
Hundreds of people turned out to pay their final respects to Mr Poynton at a celebration of his life yesterday.
The 57-year-old's son, Adam, paid tribute to his "hard-working" father, who died earlier this month when the Ferrari he was driving left the road and hit a tree.
The celebration was held at Derbyshire County Cricket Club, for whom Mr Poynton's other son, Tom, plays. His funeral had earlier taken place at Bretby Crematorium.
Adam said: "I'm blown away by the support we've had and how many have paid their respects.
"He would have loved it here. The club was his second home.
"We are blessed with the people who have come from the cricketing world, his business, his school and rugby mates."
Adam said the tragedy was a chance for the family to become even stronger.
He said: "The next few months will be very hard but we have had brilliant support. Dad was a big family man and was very loyal.
"Mum and Tom have been very strong and this will inspire me in the business world and Tom in the cricket world."
Adam said he remembers the moment he heard the news of his dad's death.
He said: "It was devastating. It was the end of the world as we know it but Dad would have wanted life to move on. It will make me much stronger and determined.
"I'd like to say a special thank-you to Chris Grant, Simon Storey and the Rev Adam Watkinson, who led the funeral service."
The gathering sang Jerusalem and I Vow To Thee and the poems Death is Nothing at All and Not How Did He Die, But How Did He Live were read.
Many players attended the service, including club captain Wayne Madsen and overseas star Shivnarine Chanderpaul.
Chris Grant, Derbyshire County Cricket Club chairman and Mr Poynton's close friend, described what the past few weeks had been like.
Mr Poynton, of Rosliston, was an engineering director for Briggs of Burton and Mr Grant said he was well respected in the business community.
Mr Grant said: "It has been a fantastic turnout and that is a mark of respect to how well-liked he was. There are people from the club here and his business contacts.
"The past few weeks have been the toughest of my life since the accident happened.
"I've tried to offer comfort to the family, all of whom I absolutely love."
On the order of service, a message from his wife, Sheena, read: "Thank you for joining us to celebrate the life of my beloved husband Keith Poynton. The father of my two wonderful sons, Adam and Tom.
"We would like you to talk about him, laugh about him and share your stories about him. He would have loved that. He was the life and soul of any party.
"He would air guitar with the best!
"We will miss him every single day of our lives. Personally, I have loved him from the very first day we met and will continue to do so for the rest of my life.
"He will live on in our family and his legacy will shape everything we do.
"He may be gone from our sight but he will live on in our hearts forever."
