About Stephen
Stephen Garner was elected to represent Mansfield South division in June 2009. Mansfield South Division consists of Berry Hill, Eakring, Ravensdale and Portland wards with over 10,000 homes in the area. He is a member of the Independent group at County Hall. He is also a District Councillor at Mansfield District Council.
Born in Newark on Trent, Stephen moved to Mansfield in 1957 and as a child attended Windmill Ridge, Carter Lane and Ravensdale Secondary schools which have all changed names now. He has worked as a plumber since leaving school and was self employed from 1983 until 2008.
Outside of politics he has been involved with the Mansfield Harriers & AC for 17 years and has achieved his level 2 coaching award with the club. He promotes cross-country events with athletes county-wide, serves as the Mansfield Harriers & AC schools liaison officer and represents Mansfield Harriers at the Nottinghamshire Schools Athletic Committee.
Stephen is always willing to meet members of the public to discuss issues arising at any convenient time and place. His contact details are displayed on the left hand side of this page.
My latest news...
April 2012
Councillor's Divisional Fund
Following a decision taken by Cabinet on 19th of May 2011, each County Councillor has an annual fund of £10,000 to support worthy initiatives in the division they represent.
The Councillor’s Divisional Fund aims to make use of each councillor's 'grass roots' knowledge to identify projects, events, people and clubs that work hard to benefit and promote their local area, but often lack access to resources. Even a small amount of funding can sometimes make a huge difference.
If you know of a deserving initiative in the South Mansfield division that may be eligible to receive a CDF grant, please contact me.
Below are some of the projects I have been able to help so far this year- you can also download a full list of grants awarded in 20111/12[PDF 12.50KB].
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Sport Excellence has received a grant to facilitate Athletics Training in the Mansfield area.
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Resident "Grit Guardians" have received stocks of grit to keep communities moving over the winter period.
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Mansfield Folk Festival received a contribution to their annual festival.
Are you a young carer
Do you look after someone in your family? Are you a young carer? Caring can mean lots of different things. For more information, please see www.nottinghamshire.gov.uk/youngcarers or you could request a young carers' assessment by contact the County Council on 0300 500 80 80 or email enquiries@nottscc.gov.uk
Frustrated by slow broadband
Join the campaign for superfast broadband in Nottinghamshire!
Help us lobby the telecoms providers to prioritise hundreds of broadband 'slow spots' and 'no spots' in Nottinghamshire by pledging your support.
Pledge online at www.nottinghamshire.gov.uk/broadband
Don't slip up this winter
Use a Trading Standards approved trader for all your winter repairs. Call the Citizens Advice Consumer Service on 08454 04 05 06 or visit www.buywithconfidence.gov.uk
Remember remember the 5th of November
When our Customer Service number changes from 08449 80 80 80 to 0300 500 80 80. Same great support and advice on our services but at lower call rate for you.
Could you foster or adopt
To foster 0845 301 8899
To adopt 0845 301 2288
www.nottinghamshire.gov.uk/adoptionandfostering
March 2012
Independent Budget Amendment
At the 2012 Budget Meeting, the Independent Group tabled an amendment to the Majority Group’s budget proposals. The amendment included:
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A re-investment of £1 million each year to fund a larger Supporting People programme. This would have allowed 1000 more elderly residents to access a low level support service within their own home.
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A one off investment of £600,000 to refurbish remaining County Council Care Homes. The Conservative administration had originally intended to sell all 12 of the County Council’s care homes to private sector care providers. Due to the quality and set up of the buildings, 6 care homes could not secure buyers and remain unsold. The Independent Group proposed a total of £100,000 be allocated to each care home to reverse the deterioration to the material fabric, furnishings and decoration of these care homes, that has occurred over many years.
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Investment in Waste Recycling. The Independent Group proposed a Waste Recycling Scheme, whereby, District Councils would be rewarded for increasing the level of waste collected for recycling. Payments made to District Councils under the scheme would then provide the much needed funds to increase recycling collection further.
While, ultimately, the amendment was not passed, we did secure an undertaking from Council Leader, Councillor Kay Cutts and the Portfolio Holder for Finance and Property, Councillor Reg Adair, that they would find money from within existing budgets to carry out our proposed care home refurbishment scheme.
For further information, please see the Independent Group Budget Amendment [PDF 17.29KB] and the Independent Group Budget Report [PDF 20.57KB], that were presented to the County Council on the 23rd of February 2012.
March 2012
New number to report Highways Problems
From Monday 2 April, Mansfield residents will join the rest of Nottinghamshire in being able to call just one number - 0300 500 80 80.
Currently Mansfield residents contact their district council to report problems with roads in the area. As of Monday the 2nd of April, Mansfield's highway services will be returning to Nottinghamshire County Council, along with the staff, who will now be based at the new Bilsthorpe depot.
Requests or fault reports can also be logged on the Nottinghamshire County Council Public Website at:
http://www3.nottinghamshire.gov.uk/travelling/roads/road-design-and-maintenance/report-road-problems/
March 2012
Local Improvement Scheme
On the 14th of March 2012, Cabinet approved the Local Improvement Scheme Programme for 2012/13.
The Local Improvement Scheme provides funding for local initiatives and projects that will help to regenerate our villages and town centres.
In the coming financial year, funding has been confirmed for the following schemes that I submitted:
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Dropped kerbs on Patchills, Mansfield.
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Parking bays and tree planting on Montague Street, Mansfield.
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Clearance and enhacement of planted area on Alcock Avenue, Mansfield.
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Eradication of Japanese Knotweek and Himalayan Balsam from the River Maun, Mansfield.
If you have any suggestions for future projects in the Mansfield South area, please do not hesitate to contact me or alternatively complete the online scheme suggestion form, which will be forwarded to me.
For further information the sorts of projects that may be eligible for funding, please see the Local Improvement Scheme Guidance Notes[144KB].
November 2011
2012/13 Budget Proposals- Get Involved.
At a meeting on the 9th of November 2011, Cabinet approved a consultation on a range of budget proposals. The total amount the Council has to spend has decreased by £16 million. In order to increase spending on the protection of the children and vulnerable adults of this County, the Council must make savings of £57 million over the next two years.
Very difficult decisions lie ahead and we want to know your views before we make these. You can get involved in the consultation on Nottinghamshire County Council’s public website at:
http://www3.nottinghamshire.gov.uk/thecouncil/democracy/finance/conversation/
All feedback will be considered by councillors and if there is anything you would like to contact me directly regarding, please do not hesitate.
November 2011
Change to Police Non-Emergency Phone Number
Important Information.
From Monday 7 November the Nottinghamshire non-emergency police phone number will be changing to 101.
After this date, people who call the 0300 300 9999 number will hear a message stating that the number has changed to 101.
Calls to 101 will cost 15p per call, no matter how long the call is. This applies to both landlines and mobile phones.
In an emergency you should continue to call 999.
November 2011
Gritter Twitter
For a second year, Nottinghamshire County Council will be advising the public of when the County’s roads will be gritted via Twitter.
To receive the latest gritting alerts, follow Nottinghamshire County Council’s official twitter account at www.twitter.com/nottscc.
October 2011
Priority School Building Programme
On the 12th of October, Nottinghamshire County Council’s Cabinet, agreed proposals to submit an ambitious bid, for funding from Central Government’s Priority School Building Programme, to rebuild 55 of the County’s schools.
Bids have been submitted for all schools where it is considered that outstanding repair costs amount to more than 30% of the cost to rebuild the school.
Within my division, bids have been submitted for Abbey Road Primary School and High Oakham Primary School.
The Council should find out by the end of the year which schools have been selected for rebuilding. I look forward to hearing the outcome of the Nottinghamshire bids, and hope that Abbey Road and High Oakham Primarys will be included within the rebuilding programme.
Scrap Metal/Waste Collection
It is a legal requirement of all Scrap Metal and Waste (Rag and Bone) collectors to be registered as Waste Carriers with the Environment Agency.
It is important that you check with collectors that they are registered before allowing them to take your waste. You remain liable for your waste if an unlicensed carrier disposes of it inappropriately through fly tipping and you may incur a fine.
Registration details can be checked using the Environment Agency’s online Public Register. Unlicensed waste carriers should be reported using the Environment Agency’s 24 hour free phone incident hotline on 0800 80 70 60.
To find a list of licensed waste carriers in your area, use your postcode to search the Environment Agency Public Register.
22 November 2010
Hermitage Mill Partnership
Councillor Garner presented a cheque for £1000.00 from the Councillor's Divisional fund for the Hermitage Mill Partnership to assist with secretarial and funding application costs and enable the group to save the Mill.
Left to Right: David Howard (Chairman of Hermitage Mill Partnership), Bill Taylor (Treasurer), County Councillor Stephen Garner and Bob Crossley (Trustee)
The remit of the Hermitage Mill can be found at www.hermitagemill.org.uk
23 August 2010
Mansfield Public Transport Interchange (MPTI)
The Independents Group have sent a letter to Philip Hammond MP, Secretary of State for Transport and Norman Baker MP, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Transport to urge them to approve the £7.6 million needed to construct Mansfield's Public Transport Interchange.
In the letter we outline why the project is so important for Mansfield and the wider region. We emphasise that it is essential to the redevelopment of Mansfield’s town centre, that it offers an excellent return on investment, that it will improve the environment both locally and globally and that it will help to ease congestion across the region.
To read the full letters please follow the links below.
June 2010
A453 road-widening scheme
Following an Independent-led amendment at the Nottinghamshire County Council meeting on 24 June 2010, councillors from all parties agreed a motion that recognised the importance of the A453 road-widening project in an effort to convince the new coalition Government to reconsider its decision to defer the scheme for at least a year.
The motion read:
"That this council recognises the immense financial challenges this nation faces, but still calls on the Government to fund the widening of the A453 as soon as possible.
We believe that improving the A453 from a single lane to a dual carriageway will enhance access to East Midlands Parkway Station and East Midlands Airport and is essential to ensuring economic growth in Nottingham, Nottinghamshire and the wider East Midlands.
