West Lindsey District Council

THE INTERNAL NEWSLETTER FOR MEMBERS OF WEST LINDSEY DISTRICT COUNCIL

The Councillor

Meg’s a real championMember who took the lid off gas storagepresents book containing her work to Council

Campaigning councillor MegDavidson has had a paper about aburning issue close to her ward

published in a prestigious special scientificpublication.

Underground gas storage: worldwideexperiences and future development in theUK and Europe is now on sale andamongst all the technical papers written byleading geologists and experts from the oiland gas industry, is a chapter written byMeg about the local issues around the pro-posed gas storage project at the Weltonoilfield.

Cllr Davidson’s 12-page contribution fol-lows research by Meg and her fellow dis-trict councillor Sue Rawlins into proposedunderground gas storage and the implica-tions for the local community.

Cllr Davidson presented a copy of thebook to the Council when she was con-gratulated by fellow members on her‘labour of love’ which was the result ofhours and hours of dedicated research.

Chairman of the Council, Cllr JessieMilne said: “This is a wonderful example of

a local councillor taking hold of an issue ofmajor concern in her community and fol-lowing it through to find out the facts andthen making those facts known for the ben-efit of all who might have been affected.”

Explaining how the chapter came intobeing, Cllr Davidson said: “It goes back tocontacts made at an international confer-ence in Aberdeen back in 2004. It was sug-gested that I might be a contributor to

Making a Difference � Continued on page 2

Cllr Davidson pictured with a copy ofthe book she presented to Council

Welcome toYOUR newsletterWelcome to the first edition ofThe Councillor.

Our aim is to publish bi-monthlyand to feature issues that affect youas elected Members.

A suggestion for a future editionincludes putting the spotlight oninteresting activities from aparticular ward which might have awider application.

We would also like to hear fromcouncillors who attend conferencesor seminars so that news of what’sgoing on nationally or regionally canbe shared with everyone.

The newsletter will be yourforum to share ideas and informationwith other councillors.

And we also want The Councillorto be read by as many Members aspossible so do please let us know ifyou have been awarded an OpenUniversity degree or are planning toclimb Mount Everest!

And if you’ve got any social newsto pass on - births, marriages,deaths of former councillors - pleaselet us know.

The Councillor will be compiled byCommunications Manager, GeoffO’Neill, so please send yourcontribution or idea to:geoff.oneill@west-lindsey.gov.uk

AUGUST 2009

� From page 1this special publication andalthough it took a huge amountof work and research, I man-aged to produce a paper whichgot through the peer reviewprocess at the BritishGeological Survey and wasaccepted for publication.

“It is almost unheard of for alay person to have a paperaccepted for a scientific publi-cation of this calibre andalthough at times I wondered ifit would ever happen, it is nowon sale at the bookshops. Ittook an incredibly long time butnow it all seems worthwhile,”said Meg.

Her interest in the gas stor-age proposal – eventuallyturned down by the countycouncil – was stimulated by

strong local concern about theplans to store 56 million cubicmetres of gas underground atthe Welton oilfield.

“The research carried out bymyself and Cllr Rawlinsuncovered that not enoughattention had been given tocommunity safety issues andthat a full and thorough assess-ment of all potential risks asso-ciated with this type of activityneeded to be undertaken andsafeguards put in place to pro-tect the local community,” saidMeg.

In her paper, Meg recalls thatoriginally public awarenesswas centred on part of the pro-posal which included wind tur-bines but few people knew theplan also included gas storage.

But the mood changed whena member of an action groupwith 30 years experience in theoil and gas industry said thatusing a depleted onshore oil-field for underground gas stor-

age was an untried and untest-ed technique in the UK and thathe had serious concerns aboutthe proposed scheme.

Residents living in the areaaround the oilfields mostlyreacted with horror at thethought of vast quantities ofgas being stored under theirhomes. ‘How will they knowexactly where the gas will go?’and ‘Isn’t there a risk of leaksand explosions?’ were com-mon concerns.

“These were not unreason-able questions,” said Meg.

Cllr Rawlins and CllrDavidson decided that theapplication ‘had a case toanswer’ and began a meticu-lous investigation into safetyissues, experiences in otherparts of the world, and viewsfrom the United States whichincluded : ‘The important ques-tion is not if the storage facilitywill leak, but rather when.’

When all the evidence had

been weighed, the ward coun-cillors concluded that theirresearch had identified a rangeof planning and safety issueswhich needed further attentionand assessment before UK gasstorage was increased in linewith government proposals.

Cllr Davidson wrote: “Theward councillors do not believethat there has been sufficientrecognition of the difficulties ofmaintaining well integrity inunderground gas storage facili-ties so far. There is no sign yetof a sufficiently robust and rig-orous system being put inplace in the UK to monitor,detect and deal with leakingwells and gas migration.

“No matter how urgent theneed for additional gas storagecapacity in the UK, this doesnot absolve the relevantauthorities from addressingthese vital issues before press-ing ahead with new UGSschemes.”

Members’Newsletter2

Book writes new chapter in community champion role

Countdown to Triple Bin roll out

The countdown to the district-wide rollout of Triple Bin refuse collections isnow well and truly underway.

Following successful pilot schemes inCaistor, Keelby, and Cherry Willingham thescheme goes live for the rest of the districtfrom September 7.

In preparation for the big day, residentshave received a booklet explaining thechanges, a calendar of collection days, andfour pages of the current issue of WestLindsey News are devoted to how the systemworks and the benefits we will all receivefrom it.

Chairman of the Community and WasteServices Committee, Cllr Irmgard Parrottadded: “If anyone is still in any doubt aboutwhich bins will be collected on which day

they can go to www.west-lindsey.gov.uk/mybinday on our website andif they type in their postcode an electronicdiary specific to their property will appear onthe screen.”

As can be expected on a project of thissize there have been some teething prob-lems but these have been sorted out veryquickly - in most cases within 24 hours.

“We are well-prepared for the district widelaunch and I am confident that we will beable to maintain a recycling rate in excess of50% when all areas are taking part,” said CllrParrott.

� If you have any questions about theTriple Bin scheme in your area please con-tact Project Manager Alex Reeks on ext 175

Don’t missjobs fairAll Members are invited toan Employment and SkillsFair on September 8.

The venue is The StateClub in Church Street,Gainsborough, and busi-ness hours are 10am - 2pm.

The event has deliberatelybeen organised on aTuesday when more peoplefrom the rural area are intown for the market.

Director of Strategy andRegeneration Rachel Northsaid: “The event is open toanyone in West Lindsey butit will be particularly rele-vant to people out of work,those looking for a careerchange or others in need ofnew skills to increase theirprospects in the jobmarket.”

Twenty businesses or ser-vice providers have alreadyconfirmed their attendanceand it is hoped that up to200 people will seek advice.

The event is being adver-tised through fliers andposters, on the WestLindsey page to be pub-lished in the Target onAugust 28, in our newnewsletter to parish coun-cils and on our website.

The local radio stationsare also being invited to theevent.

See you there!

Ninety new jobs are being created in West Lindseythanks to £600,000 drawn down from the FutureJobs Fund operated by the Department for

Work and Pensions.West Lindsey is the only council in Lincolnshire

to have made a successful bid which will seethe first jobs up and running by October 1.

Partners in the project are Hill Holt Wood atNorton Disney who will employ the peoplerecruited and West Lindsey District Councilwill administer the fund.

Chairman of the Council’s Economic andRegeneration Committee, Cllr Malcolm Parishsaid: “The jobs will offer the opportunity for peo-ple to learn countryside and construction skills.The idea is that the jobs are either sustainable oroffer the ability to develop skills which will helppeople into other employment.”

The jobs are for a minimum of six months, for 25hours a week, and are paid at minimum wage.

Co-owner of Hill Holt Wood, Nigel Lowthrop said: “Theemphasis is on green jobs, and all jobs must deliver a

clear community benefit. The work will initially focuson countryside management and garden mainte-

nance including minor construction projects. “We are going to concentrate on areas such

as growing food, maintaining footpaths, cuttinghedges and other green jobs.

“We then want to develop gradually intoeco-buildings and train people to retro-fithousing stock.”Those eligible for the jobs will primarily beaged between 18-24 and have been out ofwork for between nine months and a year.

In addition, people from Gainsborough canalso be recruited from outside the guidelines as

some areas of the town have been identified asunemployment black spots.The Government’s strategy in creating the one

billion pound scheme is to fund 150,000 new jobs.

90 new jobs for our district

WestLindsey

onlycouncil in

Lincolnshireto make asuccessful

bid