The BNP last night lost another councillor when Amber Valley member Cliff Roper resigned from the party whip and became an Independent.
In his resignation statement he said:
"It is with sadness that I have this evening resigned the British National Party whip on Amber Valley Borough Council. I will now sit as an Independent Member of the Council, though I retain my membership of the British National Party and, of course, my nationalist views.
This change will make no difference to the way I assist and deal with enquiries from my constituents, but is a symbolic protest at recent events within the British National Party, both at a national and local level."
Hope not hate
Showing posts with label Amber Valley Borough Council. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Amber Valley Borough Council. Show all posts
June 15, 2011
October 21, 2009
Council distances itself from BNP's blog
A right-wing blog has been criticised by the borough council, which has warned people not to be misled about the regeneration of Heanor town centre.Amber Valley Borough Council has issued an official statement distancing itself from the British National Party's Amber Valley Matters blog, which it says is falsly claiming credit for regeneration in the town. Lewis Allsebrook, BNP member for Heanor West, laughed off the council's suggestion and said the authority was worried about being challenged by his party.
Writing on the blog on October 11, Cllr Allsebrook had said he was delighted to hear a new floral display would be installed on the Tesco roundabout and hoped his online 'Heanor in bloom' campaign had had something to do with it.
A spokesman for the council said: "Amber Valley Borough Council would like to make it clear that an internet blog by the local BNP group has nothing whatsoever to do with the council and has issued a warning to local residents and businesses, not to be misled by the story on the blog. The council believes the story could give the wrong impression about who is responsible for the positive developments, and says anyone interested in this project should refer to official council news sources.
"In particular the BNP, and its councillors, do not have any authority or permission from the council to seek sponsorship for council initiatives such as the improvements to the 'Tesco roundabout' in Heanor. Local businesses that are interested in supporting such initiatives should contact the council directly."
In response, Cllr Allsebrook said: "Initially when I saw the statement it did make me laugh. On the website we ran a campaign when the council was struggling to get corporate sponsors and all we were doing was claiming credit for that. It is quite clear on the blog, the operative word is 'if' our campaign helped in any way then we are delighted. We are delighted to see improvements being made to Heanor regardless. I think the council may be a little uncomfortable with the BNP doing a blog that challenges them. None of the other political parties do that."
Ripley and Heanor News
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Lewis Allsebrook
October 07, 2009
BNP legal bid cost taxpayers £5,000
The borough council spent almost £5,000 in taxpayers' money pursuing a legal injunction to stop caravans being parked at the British National Party's annual festival in Denby, it has been revealed.
The right wing party held its controversial Red, White and Blue bash on land owned by party member Alan Warner off Codnor Denby Lane in August.
Amber Valley Borough Council wrote to Mr Warner in July warning him that using his land as a temporary caravan park for the weekend was contrary to the Town and County Planning Act and obtained an injunction. Mr Warner says he refused to sign the injunction as it did not specifically say how many caravans would be allowed and as soon as the number was confirmed as three he agreed. However in the meantime the council pursued a case in the High Court against him.
Now a freedom of information request by the BNP has revealed council solicitors' fees amounted to £4,373 plus VAT of £626.25 for the case.
Mr Warner said: "The only reason I didn't sign their injunction was because it said a 'small number' of caravans would be allowed. That could be ten, it could be 20. When the police confirmed it was three I signed up straight away but Amber Valley jumped the gun. It is unbelievable really, costing the ratepayers all this money."
Mr Warner says he has now submitted an application to Amber Valley Borough Council applying for permission to site 40 caravans on his land next summer.
Amber Valley Borough Council has defended its decision to pursue an injunction against the number of caravans permitted at the festival. A spokesman for the council said: "Do we feel the costs of the High Court injunction were a constructive use of public money? Yes."
More than 1,000 people marched in protest against the festival on August 15 and police made 19 arrests as well as issuing two cautions and two fixed penalty notices. In September, a BNP member, 66-year-old John Jones, was fined £146 by Derby magistrates for making a Nazi salute at protesters.
Ripley and Heanor News
The right wing party held its controversial Red, White and Blue bash on land owned by party member Alan Warner off Codnor Denby Lane in August.
Amber Valley Borough Council wrote to Mr Warner in July warning him that using his land as a temporary caravan park for the weekend was contrary to the Town and County Planning Act and obtained an injunction. Mr Warner says he refused to sign the injunction as it did not specifically say how many caravans would be allowed and as soon as the number was confirmed as three he agreed. However in the meantime the council pursued a case in the High Court against him.
Now a freedom of information request by the BNP has revealed council solicitors' fees amounted to £4,373 plus VAT of £626.25 for the case.
Mr Warner said: "The only reason I didn't sign their injunction was because it said a 'small number' of caravans would be allowed. That could be ten, it could be 20. When the police confirmed it was three I signed up straight away but Amber Valley jumped the gun. It is unbelievable really, costing the ratepayers all this money."
Mr Warner says he has now submitted an application to Amber Valley Borough Council applying for permission to site 40 caravans on his land next summer.
Amber Valley Borough Council has defended its decision to pursue an injunction against the number of caravans permitted at the festival. A spokesman for the council said: "Do we feel the costs of the High Court injunction were a constructive use of public money? Yes."
More than 1,000 people marched in protest against the festival on August 15 and police made 19 arrests as well as issuing two cautions and two fixed penalty notices. In September, a BNP member, 66-year-old John Jones, was fined £146 by Derby magistrates for making a Nazi salute at protesters.
Ripley and Heanor News
August 11, 2009
Restrictions on protests near BNP festival
Derbyshire Constabulary, in conjunction with Amber Valley Borough Council, is placing Restrictions have been placed on any protests planned in the vicinity of the British National Party's Red, White and Blue event this weekend.
The BNP is staging the event at a site on Codnor-Denby Lane on Friday, Saturday and Sunday and a number of groups have indicated their plans to stage a protest in response to the event on Saturday.
After talks between Derbyshire Police and Amber Valley Borough Council this has been agreed to but with certain safeguards. But, as part of this process the police and council have invoked a number of sections of the Public Order Act 1986 to help prevent serious disorder, serious damage to property and serious disruption to the local community.
Section 14 of the act has been utilised to identify Codnor Market Place as a designated area for public assembly prior to and following the procession between 9am and 5pm for all those attending the demonstration. Section 12 of the act has been used to impose conditions on the public procession, which will take place between Codnor Market Place and Codnor Denby Lane.
The protestors will set off from the Market Place no earlier than 11.30am. They will follow a route along the A6007 Heanor Road, Codnor to its junction with Codnor Denby Lane where it will turn right into Codnor Denby Lane adjacent to Crosshill Church. It will then continue along Codnor Denby Lane, to the area identified as the designated protest point, where it will halt. At this point, a further public assembly may take place until 2pm, at which time the procession will turn around and return to the Market Place in Codnor via the same route.
Those who have participated in the public procession may then rejoin the designated protest point at Codnor Market Place for the remainder of the period specified in the notice. The procession will be marshalled by the event organisers and accompanied by police officers.
Finally section 14a of the act has been invoked to prevent trespassory assemblies around the area known as The Bungalow in Codnor Denby Lane and the adjacent lands to an area that does not exceed a radius of five miles. This part of the act prevents anyone trespassing on private land because of police fears that there may be disruption to the event and disruption caused to the community.
All the orders run from 9am on Friday, August 14, to 4pm on Sunday, August 16. Anyone not abiding by the legislation may be liable to arrest.
Acting Assistant Chief Constable Steve Cotterill said: "We are trying to find a balance between allowing legitimate assembly and maintaining public safety and minimising inconvenience to people who live or work in the affected area. We hope that people will abide by the law in order to voice their opinions in safety."
Derbyshire Times
The BNP is staging the event at a site on Codnor-Denby Lane on Friday, Saturday and Sunday and a number of groups have indicated their plans to stage a protest in response to the event on Saturday.
After talks between Derbyshire Police and Amber Valley Borough Council this has been agreed to but with certain safeguards. But, as part of this process the police and council have invoked a number of sections of the Public Order Act 1986 to help prevent serious disorder, serious damage to property and serious disruption to the local community.
Section 14 of the act has been utilised to identify Codnor Market Place as a designated area for public assembly prior to and following the procession between 9am and 5pm for all those attending the demonstration. Section 12 of the act has been used to impose conditions on the public procession, which will take place between Codnor Market Place and Codnor Denby Lane.
The protestors will set off from the Market Place no earlier than 11.30am. They will follow a route along the A6007 Heanor Road, Codnor to its junction with Codnor Denby Lane where it will turn right into Codnor Denby Lane adjacent to Crosshill Church. It will then continue along Codnor Denby Lane, to the area identified as the designated protest point, where it will halt. At this point, a further public assembly may take place until 2pm, at which time the procession will turn around and return to the Market Place in Codnor via the same route.
Those who have participated in the public procession may then rejoin the designated protest point at Codnor Market Place for the remainder of the period specified in the notice. The procession will be marshalled by the event organisers and accompanied by police officers.
Finally section 14a of the act has been invoked to prevent trespassory assemblies around the area known as The Bungalow in Codnor Denby Lane and the adjacent lands to an area that does not exceed a radius of five miles. This part of the act prevents anyone trespassing on private land because of police fears that there may be disruption to the event and disruption caused to the community.
All the orders run from 9am on Friday, August 14, to 4pm on Sunday, August 16. Anyone not abiding by the legislation may be liable to arrest.
Acting Assistant Chief Constable Steve Cotterill said: "We are trying to find a balance between allowing legitimate assembly and maintaining public safety and minimising inconvenience to people who live or work in the affected area. We hope that people will abide by the law in order to voice their opinions in safety."
Derbyshire Times
July 26, 2009
BNP shuts door on white van man
Gipsy-bashing bosses of the British National Party have had to ban the mobile homes and caravans of their OWN supporters from their summer festival.
They had hoped to encourage scores of far-right campers to attend next month’s Red, White and Blue jamboree in the Derbyshire village of Denby. But their plans have been scuppered by local fears about traffic, noise and disruption. So BNP chiefs have had to warn off travelling fans. And that could hit attendance at the event as the party has been particularly keen to bring in supporters from all over Europe.
A spokesman for Amber Valley Council said: “The council’s chief executive is responding to complaints from residents after last year’s event. They were about the number of caravans on the site giving rise to traffic and noise issues. He is asking the council to apply for an injunction to prevent caravans entering the site because of concerns that planning and caravan legislation will be breached.”
Last year, revellers clashed with anti-fascists protesting at the event. Riot police with shields and visors used batons and police dogs to control the mayhem as residents in the quiet village cowered in their homes.
BNP leader Nick Griffin, 50, has described regular travelling people as “anti-social and criminal” – although it has been revealed that he is descended from gipsies himself.
Star
They had hoped to encourage scores of far-right campers to attend next month’s Red, White and Blue jamboree in the Derbyshire village of Denby. But their plans have been scuppered by local fears about traffic, noise and disruption. So BNP chiefs have had to warn off travelling fans. And that could hit attendance at the event as the party has been particularly keen to bring in supporters from all over Europe.
A spokesman for Amber Valley Council said: “The council’s chief executive is responding to complaints from residents after last year’s event. They were about the number of caravans on the site giving rise to traffic and noise issues. He is asking the council to apply for an injunction to prevent caravans entering the site because of concerns that planning and caravan legislation will be breached.”
Last year, revellers clashed with anti-fascists protesting at the event. Riot police with shields and visors used batons and police dogs to control the mayhem as residents in the quiet village cowered in their homes.
BNP leader Nick Griffin, 50, has described regular travelling people as “anti-social and criminal” – although it has been revealed that he is descended from gipsies himself.
Star
July 23, 2009
Police warning to land-owner over BNP rally
Whoops, here comes trouble - the BNP's Red, White and Blue is backAmber Valley Borough Council has written to organiser Alan Warner, who has hosted the event on his land for the past two years, warning him that he risks police intervention by allowing too many caravanners to park on his land during the festival without a licence. Land-owners need a caravan site licence to use their land as a temporary or permanent park for the vehicles and the council says that the excessive number of caravans at last year's festival exceeded the amount allowed without permission.
In a letter to Mr Warner sent earlier this month Amber Valley solicitor Paul Benski said: "Land may not be used as a caravan site, either permanently or temporarily, unless a site licence is held. To do otherwise would constitute a criminal offence. I must ask you to state in clear terms that anyone entering your land with a caravan is a trespasser who does so without your permission. Anyone who then does so is liable to arrest for public order offences."
Alan Warner, whose home was targeted by vandals spraying graffiti again last week, said: "I have told our party to break off all communication with the council. I think it is absolutely ridiculous - talking about coming on site and arresting people in caravans for trespassing. This is clearly victimisation. Other events in the area like the steam rally have many caravans on site with no problems. It looks to me like they have been scouring the legal books looking for something to get us on and this is all they have found. I will simply not allow them on site to do this."
A spokesman for Amber Valley Borough Council said: "Chief Executive Peter Carney is responding to representations from the Chief Constable and complaints after last year's event from residents about the number of caravans on the site giving rise to traffic and noise issues. He is asking the council to make an order prohibiting a trespassory assembly on the land for the event, following a request from the Chief Constable. This is aimed at preventing large numbers of protesters attending the event, and follows the order that was made last year.
"He is also asking the council to apply for an injunction to prevent caravans entering the site because of concerns that planning and caravan legislation will be breached. This is in the event that the landowners do not give an undertaking to comply with this legislation. This is not aimed at stopping the rally itself."
The proposals were to be discussed by the full council yesterday.
Derbyshire Times
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