A village Parish Council saw one of its biggest annual meeting turnouts with more than 100 people in attendance to discuss the future of a Nottinghamshire lake. On Wednesday, 4 May, Balderton Parish Council held its meeting at the Village Centre in Balderton, and due to the turn out more chairs were being added into the hall up until the meeting began at 6:30pm.
This was the first meeting where the possibility of a Friends of Balderton Lake Group and the council’s agreement with the YMCA to undertake kayaking and canoeing at the lake were placed on the agenda. Over the last few months, the Saving Wildlife and Nature (SWAN) group have been campaigning and protesting to keep boats of Balderton Lake, after plans to do so by the YMCA were approved by the Parish Council.
At the start of the meeting Parish Council Chairman, Ronnie White, stated: “I appreciate that a lot of you are here because you all have questions for the YMCA. I expect this meeting to be conducted in a cordial manner, I appreciate that people have different views, but we are not here to scream and shout at each other and I’m not going to tolerate rudeness.”
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Agenda item five of a Friends of Balderton Lake group received cheers from the attendees, with proposed projects the group including planting native flowers at the lake and setting up information and history boards. Balderton resident, Christine Hopkins, was one of the ladies proposing the group and explained she had been in contact with Nicola Jenkins, the mother of Owen Jenkins who drowned in the Beeston Weir in 2017 whilst saving two others.
Since her son’s death Nicola has set up the Open Water Environment Network (OWEN) which provides water safety advice and educational programmes. Throughout the meeting dozens of Balderton residents raised their concerns about the future of Balderton Lake and the dangers to not just the wildlife, but those who would be on the lake if allowed to kayak and canoe.
Many members of the community shared stories of things they had seen being dumped in the lake over the last half a century, as well as the two tragic deaths that had occurred at Balderton Lake, in their arguments against the YMCA’s plans for the lake. Following the meeting, executive director of YMCA Newark and Sherwood, Todd Cauthorn, said: “We really value the concerns of the public and all along we have listened to these concerns, as we are ensuring that anything we do on the lake is done in a safe manner; that everyone is protected and the lake itself is safe to use.
“The last thing we want to do as an organisation is put anyone in harm’s way. We also work very closely with the parish council every step of the way and they have not made their decision based on nothing, they have based it on evidence.”
Previous reports and letters written by people who could not attend the meeting were read by residents, each of whom had to give their name and address to prove they lived in Balderton. However, there was disorder when Chairman White wanted to read a letter provided to her from a resident who could not be at the meeting and did not want their name or address shared due to feeling vulnerable.
Soon after this commotion the meeting ended in shambles after the chairman banged down her hammer to end the meeting at about 8:15pm. Three of the key organizers for the SWAN group, Jane Buxton, Jean Hall and Karen Callingham, were not pleased about how the meeting ended.
Shortly after the meeting they presented the YMCA with two bird pieces of artwork, which express the views of the community on keeping the lake protected.
Jane said: “I was disappointed with the comments the YMCA made as we are still none the wiser; they didn’t really answer the questions we were putting to them.”
Jean added: “But we were extremely pleased with the turnout and the passion to save wildlife.”
Karen said: “Questions that were raised were not answered and we were treated with contempt, it’s about time they started listening to us.”
Councillor Keith Girling attended the meeting as a representative of Nottinghamshire County Council.
He said: “From a personal point of view, I’m in favour of it. They complain about anti-social behaviour with kids, but this is giving kids something to do. My partner’s got young kids and she’s in favour of it as she wants them to learn water skills.”
Several other issues were discussed at the meeting before it was closed, including the conditions of pavements and anti-social behaviour on the playing fields, as well as updates from councillors on other matters, such as the village’s allotments and planning applications.
