I am writing with regards to the issues raised at Aldi Supermarket car park in Syston, in your last issue.
I would also like to make you aware of the problem I encountered with the company, ParkingEye.
After travelling through Syston town on a Saturday morning I realised I had left something at home and needed to return to collect it, so therefore had to turn my car around. As the road was clear, I used the front of Aldi Supermarket car park to complete my turn in the road. About two weeks later, I received a parking fine of £70 from ParkingEye. The letter stated that I had parked my car in Aldi car park on a Saturday night and hadn’t returned until Sunday morning to collect it.
I knew this wasn’t my car as it is needed at all times and wouldn’t be parked anywhere else but my house at night time. I requested they send me a picture of the car to prove it was mine. A week later, I received a picture that was of my car. After investigating the photo further, I noticed that the wheels of my car were turned and it wasn’t actually parked in a bay! I came to the conclusion that they had taken my photo when I completed my turn in the road!
I wrote back to the company stating this and asked them to provide actual photos of my car parked in a bay at the times they had stated in their letter. If they could not do this then I would take the matter further.
A week later I received a letter of apology telling me the fine had been retracted and the case closed. I would like to inform the public that this is not a trustworthy company who in my case made the whole scenario up. They are just trying to con Aldi customers into paying out money for a fine, when they have probably done nothing wrong in the first place. Please do be aware if you receive one of these letters from ParkingEye…
Yours sincerely
Syston resident

Dear Editor

Re December/January issue of the Syston Town News, may I congratulate M. Aherne for successfully challenging the false, inconsiderate and worrying assertion that their car had been parked in the Syston Aldi car park from 9.24am to 6.55pm in September. Aldi should remember shoppers have plenty of choices and they need to get their contractors, ParkingEye, to update their faulty CCTV equipment.

Another point that shoppers should be aware of is that in their original planning application, Aldi indicated that the use of the car park would not be limited solely to people shopping at Aldi. I personally asked for this to be made a written planning condition, just in case Aldi did not honour their promise.

The planning consent that was issued on 23rd February 2006 came with conditions and my request that use of the car park would not be limited solely to people shopping at Aldi was supported by the planning committee, and condition 23 states:

The car parking area shall thereafter be retained as car park in connection with the store and as short stay parking for shoppers visiting the district centre.

REASON: To ensure that adequate off-street parking provision is made to reduce the possibilities of the proposed development leading to on-street parking problems in the area, and to maintain the vitality and viability of the district centre.

Having looked on the Charnwood Borough website it appears this condition still applies so the notices they display in their car park are disingenuous. The fact that Aldi willingly agreed to this condition greatly influenced the planning committee in deciding to grant planning permission. It’s questionable if the present notice is legally enforceable as it states ‘Free parking for Aldi Customers only.’
Many of us like the range, quality and price of Aldi products and appreciate how well trained, polite and hard working the staff are. So come on Aldi honour your planning conditions and remove the words ‘Free parking for Aldi Customers only.’
County Councillor Dave Houseman

Bah Humbug Syston!
After unfortunately being unable to attend the last two years carols in the square, we decided to make an extra effort this year to attend. Well what a let down, we wish we had not bothered. Where were the lights around the square, the Christmas tree and traditional carols? The square looked very drab and uninviting. Who decided on the carols that no one knew, even the band struggled with one and the singing was poor due to no one knowing the carols? Did we want to sing Calypso Carol, Coventry Carol, ll est ne and changed words to the every popular Silent Night? No we did not, we wanted the good old traditional carols we have known over the years throughout our childhood, not modern interpretations or around the world carols. Come on Syston get your act together for next year and bring some colour and Christmas cheer back into the square and Syston!
From a disappointed older resident of Syston.

Fireworks for private use, and from a registered seller, can only be sold:
between 15th October and 10th November – around Bonfire Night.
between 26th December and 31st December, for New Year’s Eve.
three days before Diwali and Chinese New Year.

For the rest of the year, you will only be able to buy fireworks from shops that are licensed to supply them.
Syston resident.

Dear Editor
I feel privileged to live in a new home on the Plumtree Grove development, especially with the open countryside aspect. However, I would like to appeal to the army of dog walkers that pass the window each day, to have some respect and clean up after their dogs. Dogs are let off the lead far too early, are allowed to wander in front gardens, urinate up the fences and on the plants, and defecate on the pavement. I have also cleaned two lots of dog vomit from outside my home. Some of those that do clean up leave the bags in heaps at the entry to the field or hang them on trees. Many residents feel aggrieved.
I wonder if the walkers know the public footpath to the field was diverted a little further along the Barkby Road, with a dog waste bin at the entrance. Walking via the houses is not how the development was originally intended. There really is no need to leave the mess or the heaps of bags, when the facility is there. Some walkers do use the public footpath to access the field, as I counted 53 lots of dog mess along the short route. People do have a right to walk which way they choose, but could I ask for some respect. Please clean up properly, children do play out, and if your boots are really muddy, take the diverted route. Also if you arrive by car or bicycle either park on Barkby Road or please be considerate and respect peoples property.
Yours sincerely
B. Ellis.

Dear STN
It is with great regret and sadness that I have to inform you that after some 15 or so years, Syston Youth Project has closed its doors. The Town Council were unable to fund us and with no other funding available we took the decision to close. We are very disappointed that the Council withdrew its funding and feel it will be to the detriment of young people in Syston. Whilst there are other groups in Syston ie Football clubs, Scouts, ATC etc, the young people who attended the Youth Project could not or did not want to participate in those groups and that is where the Youth Project filled the gap.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank all those people who have worked, volunteered and helped in any way at the Youth Project over the years. I would also like to thank the Young People of Syston who have attended over the years you proved sometimes difficult but in the main you made it a rewarding experience.

I and the other staff and volunteers will miss the Youth Project but obviously the Town Council have something else in mind for Youth Provision in Syston, so lets see if they can do better.
Andi Hastie
On behalf of Syston Youth Project.

Dear Editor
My husband and I live on Gamble Close just off the Barkby Road in Syston. We have two cats and recently one of them has been going off for days on end and only briefly coming home. We’re almost certain he’s being fed?by someone?else as he’s not looking any thinner when we do see him. We’re really worried about it because he suffers with a Thyroid problem that has to be treated with medication and a balanced diet. I know it must sound trivial but we just want to get a message around the local area because we’re sure that if he’s not getting food somewhere else then he would come home.
Many Kind Regards
Becky and Luke

Car Parking Concern

I would like to bring to your attention and that of residents in Syston and district of a company acting on behalf of ALDI Supermarket in Syston. I received a fine from the company ParkingEye of Chorley, Lancashire who manage the car park for ALDI here in Syston. They use registration recognition cameras to capture cars entering and leaving the car park, as it has a restricted time limit of two hours to allow shoppers to complete their shopping and leave the car park, to prevent people parking all day. However, on 17th September I entered the ALDI car park at 9.24am to do some shopping and left at 9.47am, I can be precise about the time due to it being shown on a receipt gained on that day. I then returned to the store in the evening at 6.45pm to buy an item that we forgot in the morning and left at 6.55pm. The document I received from ParkingEye only showed me entering the car park in the morning time of 9.24am and allegedly leaving at 6.55pm. Fortunately, I can prove that I was not in the car park all day because I was at the Leicester city football match against Brighton Albion with friends. I have also been able to check with other CCTV cameras in Syston which prove my times of entering and leaving the ALDI car park.
The ParkingEye company have never been able to produce the pictures of me exiting the premises and I would like to alert others members of the public in Syston, as they may have also been subjected to a fine from this company and may have paid the fine which is stated as £70. If paid within 13 days of issue date, then the fee is £40, which is displayed after the line where the fine of £70 is located. The notice comes from a company based in Ilkeston Derby.
I have managed, after some time, to have the fine cancelled but it was only through going into ALDI and speaking to staff there. I would like to take this opportunity to thank them for all their support in this incident and it no way has put me off shopping at the store.
It is the ParkingEye company who had removed a large sign near the entrance of the store and so made it more difficult for people to see that it is restricted parking. This has now been replaced since my complaint. Also their parking fine notice looks very much like it is from the constabulary as it has the black and white border which resembles the police design, this could be misleading to some people.
If you do receive one of these parking charge notices and you have not parked in the car park all day, then I would recommend that you speak to the staff in the store and ask them to assist you.
I am in full agreement with restricted parking so that bone fide customers can shop in Syston, but I think that this company is being dishonest in its methods to gain fines from individuals who are using the store legitimately at different times of the day.
Yours sincerely
M Aherne
Syston

Dear Editor,
I feel that Mr Tinning’s passionate submission in your September edition deserves a response on behalf of Syston Town Council. First I would say that I have always found the reporting of the Town Council meetings to be factually accurate, and, on this occasion I have taken the liberty of checking your reporting against the notes taken of the meeting by our Office Manager, and as usual you are totally accurate.
We are fortunate in Syston that each of our Borough Councillors is also a Town Councillor, and I can say that all work hard for the benefit of Syston. They are privy to a lot of information through their work and, indeed, they report to the Town Council each month about the work they do. As a Town Council we tend to rely much on their contributions, and accept as gospel what we are told. So, yes, Mr Tinning, the Council was misled at the June meeting, and for that I sincerely apologise.
As Chairman of the Town Council I am anxious to have a good relationship with our neighbours, and, indeed, the Chairman of Barkby Parish Council will be attending our next Full Council meeting to give a presentation about BABTAG. I would be only too happy to engage in dialogue with our neighbours about any future consideration concerning a new cemetery, especially because I would like to be able to voice the extreme difficulties that we have been faced with.
I am hurt that you feel that you have been dealt with in a ‘thoroughly discourteous and underhand manner’, and hope that I can in future present the Council in a better light. As far as the wind farm proposal was concerned, again we were led by a Borough Councillor, who is also a Queniborough resident. In March 2010 he persuaded the Town Council that not to support the Queniborough objections was in our best interest. (Minute 397). While I am Chairman, I will continue to ensure that Syston Town Council conducts a meaningful relationship with groups within the Town, and also our immediate neighbours. Only by standing together can we preserve our identities.
Howard Midgeley

Dear Editor
Re-Syston Fair
I would like to say a huge thank you to the people of Syston who made the fair a safe and family friendly event this year.
A multi-agency approach was taken by Charnwood Police, Syston Town Council and organisers Billy Bates, the partnership approach resulted in extra security and dedicated police patrols were conducted. These measures were introduced after the events of last year.
This year’s event was a huge success with very few recorded instances of Anti-Social Behaviour.
Billy Bates has confirmed that more families attended the event and stayed longer than they have previously.
The control of access with the use of perimeter fencing was extremely effective to ensure that Central Park was a safe environment for the benefit of the town.
The Syston fair this year was a credit to all the people that attended, it was safe and there was a warm and friendly feel to it.
Thank you again to all of you that were involved.
Kind Regards
PC 4609 Carly Hall
Beat Manager – Syston

If anyone knows where she is now, or if you are Jane then please contact us here at the Syston Town News and we will pass on the information to Bob.

Dear Editor,
In the last issue of Syston Town News, the account of Syston Town Council’s Full Council Meeting of 28th June 2011, on page 30, contained a serious factual inaccuracy, which was a potential cause of great distress to many people living in Queniborough, Barkby, South Croxton and, indeed, Syston itself.
The section entitled ‘Ridgemere Cemetery panel set-up’ stated quite clearly that ‘the wind turbine planning had been passed’. In order to reassure any residents who may have been distressed by this factually incorrect statement I do hope that you will publish a full and frank correction of this error in a prominent place in your next edition. The application for the construction of a four turbine wind farm on land immediately north of Ridgemere Lane was refused by Charnwood Borough Council on 4th February 2011, by an overwhelming majority. The final date for Scottish Power Renewables to appeal against this decision was on Thursday 4th August 2011. In the last few days the company has issued a press release stating that it does not intend to appeal against this decision.
It would be interesting to know who provided the Council with this completely inaccurate information. Perhaps the person involved would be honest enough to stand up in the next Full Meeting of Syston Town Council, disclose the origin of their information, admit that they misled the Council and apologise for their mistake. For almost three years the people of Queniborough have been living under the shadow of this appalling proposal and the discussion and publication of totally inaccurate information confirming that it was to go ahead, could cause nothing but further distress.
The same paragraph goes on to state that ‘a discussion followed about why the previous planning application for a new Syston cemetery on land south of Ridgemere Lane failed’.
No details of that discussion followed in the article, but your readers might be interested in the following points about this proposal:
The proposal was refused permission by Charnwood Borough Council on 6th September 2010, because it failed to demonstrate why it should be located in attractive countryside rather than within Syston itself and it would be an intrusion into a rural area with its own special character and appearance. It would increase the demand for transport, especially by car, and generate additional traffic on narrow rural roads.
Syston Town Council submitted this planning application for an area which lies outside its own boundaries, within Barkby Parish. Ridgemere Lane forms the boundary between Barkby and Queniborough parishes in this area. Syston Town Council did not consult or inform either of the parish councils about their plans. This was discourteous to say the least. How would Syston Town Council react if Queniborough or Barkby submitted a planning application for a cemetery, a supermarket or any other large development in Syston?
The site in question is totally unsuitable for a new Syston cemetery.
It is too far for elderly, young or disabled persons to walk from Syston.
There are no footpaths alongside any of the roads.
The roads are extremely busy.
There is no street lighting for most of the route.
The junction between Ridgemere Lane and the Barkby-Queniborough Road is extremely dangerous.
There is no parking available.
The area is ridge and furrow land which lies within an area of particularly attractive countryside that forms a green wedge between Barkby and Queniborough.
Having just fought a long and protracted campaign to protect The Ridgemere against a totally unsuitable wind farm development, it is somewhat galling to hear through the press that our neighbouring council in Syston is proposing an unsuitable development in the same sensitive area. Syston Town Council has behaved in a thoroughly discourteous and underhand manner.
They have failed to consult their own community on this issue and they have failed to consult their neighbouring parishes either. Nobody denies that there is a pressing problem as the existing cemetery in Syston reaches its maximum capacity, but Syston Town Council have known about this for at least 15 years. They should be looking to find a site within their own area, perhaps making use of one of the pieces of land they have ear-marked for future housing or road development. Over the last 30 years, Syston has seen huge growth. Any one of these areas could have been used for a new cemetery. Cemeteries are important community assets and they need to be located at the heart of the communities they serve.
Syston Town Council should take note that any further proposals to change the nature of the jewel that is Ridgemere Lane will be fought with the same vigour that marked the campaign against Scottish Power Renewables wind turbines.
John Tinning

From Your Editor
We would like to thank John for sending this response to a comment made by a councillor during the Council meeting of Tuesday 28th June reported on by myself. I have also included the press release received from ScottishPower Renewables at the end of July which was too late to go into the August issue which can be found in a separate article headed Queniborough Windfarm.

So the council has finally given up the struggle and closed the public toilets altogether. This continuing inability of the town to maintain decent facilities is a constant wonder. It can’t be lack of money, a glance around seems to indicate that the coffers are fairly full. Valdalism? Melton and Loughborough, with ten times the level of yobbery experienced here, provide consistently excellent toilets. I suspect the reason lies elsewhere, in the Council’s preoccupation with showier affairs. If it could look up, just for five minutes, from planning its Festivals and Galas and Fetes and Processions and Best Kept Cemetery campaigns and concentrate on the bladder problem, we’d all be most, ahem, relieved. I could even suggest a site for temporary facilities: the shrubbery abutting the children’s play park. Why not, everyone ‘goes’ there anyway.
Yours full to the brim.
 Paul Grey, Syston.

Town Council response to Letter from Paul Grey – Re Public Conveniences

Dear Sir

The Public Conveniences on the Melton Road Car Park, Syston are owned and maintained by Charnwood Borough Council and not the Town Council. Charnwood Borough Council took the decision to close these facilities, but at great expense Syston Town Council recognised the need for these facilities for such a busy Town. These facilities had regrettably been left in a very unpleasant state and the Town Council needed them to be refurbished before any negotiations to take on a lease for the property were entered into. The delay with the handover is not through any fault of Syston Town Council who have been working very hard to get this concluded as quickly as possible.
Mr Grey’s comments that the Town Council have a preoccupation with showier affairs is not correct. Syston Town Council will continue working tirelessly to make the Town a good place for everyone and this will now include the provision of public conveniences on the Melton Road Car Park.
 Allan Clarke, Town Manager.

Dear Editor

I was shocked to see there are no gates on the Deville park. The old play area was fenced in and gated before the refurbishment.
Who designed the play area layout?  Obviously no one with toddlers or young children.
The area for the youngest is situated just inside from the road, with no secure fencing and no secure gate.  This is a busy road at the start and end of the school day.
The seating arrangements also leave a lot to be desired, with just three bench seats in the youngest play area, and no seating in the older children’s play area. 
When I took my grandsons to the park there were families sitting on blankets having picnics under the trees and dogs running around cocking their legs up the trees.
Why no picnic benches and why are dogs now allowed to run freely all over the park?
I have spoken to a number of parents and grandparents on the park and the general consensus seems to be that the play area is not a safe environment.
The old play area had a safe fenced in area for the play equipment and dogs weren’t allowed in there.
I take my grandkids to a lot of parks during the school holidays and they have all got safe secure areas for children to play with no dogs allowed in the play areas.
Why is Syston second best? We pay council tax but don’t seem to see the benefits!
 Pam Chritchlow, Syston .

 Town Council response to Letter from Pam Chritchlow – Re Deville Park

Dear Madam

The refurbishment of the Play Area on Deville Park was designed by nationally recognised playground architects who adhere religiously with the latest regulations and recommendations pertaining to such areas. The Play Area was also approved and passed fit for purpose by Playground Inspectors.
The provision of seating was included with the original costs. If it is felt that more seats should be provided (picnic benches or otherwise) then I am sure this could be reviewed by the Town Council.
Regrettably the Town as a whole is experiencing problems with very inconsiderate ‘Dog-Owners’ allowing their dogs to foul freely. If only the owners and others who participate with anti-social behaviour would consider what they are doing to others, then the problem would not exist.
I do not believe Syston is second best but as a community we all have a responsibility towards the facilities we have.
 Allan Clarke, Town Manager.

The following Letter was actually sent to Syston Town Council and they wanted to share it with the community.

Dear Mr Midgley

I am writing on behalf of the School Council of The Merton Primary School. Our school is situated in Cherry Drive, right next door to the Deville Park. We would like to say, from all the children who go to our school, a huge thank you for the wonderful play equipment you have given us in the park.
Some of us remember a couple of adults coming to talk and discuss with us our ideas for what we would like in the park. We are amazed that so many of our ideas have been used and we absolutely love the zip wire. It is a dream come true.
We know that everybody is having to be very careful with their money at the moment and save as much as they can, so we are especially grateful that you managed to carry through all your plans.
We will try to look after the park and do our best to play well on all the equipment.
Once again, thank you, very, very much.
Yours faithfully

A. Loke year 6,  Chairperson,  J. Orton year 5,  Secretary,  Miss S Thomson, Headteacher.

In repsonse to the above letter we also received the following letter from the Syston Town Council.