Spondon Traders Association Chairman, Mark Davis, discusses the changes to the Spondon Neighbourhood Board and pledges to continue working with local groups to organise great events like Spondon Day and Spondon Alight:
"The last Neighbourhood Forum in its present form will have been and gone very soon. Derby City Council in its wisdom have done away with both the Neighbourhood Board and the Forum.
I think that this is a great shame. The Forum was such a great place for everyone to hear what was going on and say what they thought of it, knowing that their thoughts would get straight back to the heart of the Council and its officers. The same happened at the Board; people with local knowledge and skills would be able to influence what happened in Spondon, so that we were able to make a real difference to our village. It can never be the same when decisions are imposed from the outside, no matter how well intentioned they are.
The Spondon Traders Association cares about the Village. This should not come as a surprise - after all we make our living serving our customers, most of whom live in our Village. We believe that some form of Forum should continue, even if it hasn't got the same ability to directly influence the authorities. People's opinion and thoughts about our area should matter, and a group voice is always louder than just one persons.
We believe that some form of Neighbourhood Board should continue, where groups and individuals can sit down on a regular basis with our local Councillors, discuss the problems that are affecting our Village, ideas on what can be done to make the Village better and use our voices to help the Councillors and officers influence Derby City Council. The Traders Association knows that the more people that get involved, the more effective the voice will be.
The next major event that we will be running is Spondon Day, which will be on Saturday June 25th, and, looking at the plans so far, it is going to be a great day. There are also some ideas being developed for some other events: special charity days, Village decorations, Village safety, as always we try to make Spondon special. If you would like to get involved, even if you aren't a Trader, you would be more than welcome. You can easily get in touch with us through the Facebook page - just search for Spondon Traders. Our Facebook page has always got the latest news and gossip about all our members. "Like" the page and you can hear about any special offers, read more about the individual businesses and what they offer, and you can find out about all the latest events that are happening.
Finally, have you seen our new logo? It will be appearing in the windows of our members in the next few weeks, so keep looking for the signs. These Traders support your Village, working hard to make Spondon an even better place. Let them know that their efforts are appreciated!
