About Richard
Richard Butler has represented the Cotgrave division on Nottinghamshire County Council since June 2001, and is also a Rushcliffe Borough Councillor representing the Cotgrave ward.
When the Conservatives gained overall control of Nottinghamshire County Council in June 2009, he was appointed Cabinet Member for Environment & Sustainability. Previously, in Opposition, he served firstly as the Conservatives' spokesman on Community Safety and then on Adult Social Care & Health issues.
Richard was born in Nottingham and educated at St Peter's Junior in Ruddington, South Wolds School in Keyworth and South Notts College. He works at the Learning & Skills Council as a Marketing & Communications Advisor, but has previously worked in newspaper and TV advertising and in the retail sector. He is interested in wildlife and has a keen concern for the green belt around the county. He says he wants the rest of the country to realise that Nottinghamshire is a fascinating county with many attractive areas.
Richard regularly attends the meetings of Parish Councils in the Cotgrave division and is happy to receive comments, observations and requests. He is available to meet constituents at any convenient time at a suitable venue. His contact details are displayed on the left of this page.
Richard's latest news...
Cotgrave Candleby Lane School's Big Green Adventure
Cotgrave Candleby Lane School recently held a production called "The Great Big Green Adventure". As a governor and supporter of the school, I was very proud of the work that the children, staff and parents had done to make the show successful.
I was especially interested to see how well the children understood the different ways that items can be re-used or recycled, and I hope to be able to help arrange a visit for the children to a waste transfer station so that they can see for real where items such as paper and plastic bottles go after being collected from peoples' homes.
(Posted 9/7/10)
Green Flag for Robert Miles Primary school
I was very pleased to present a cheque for £500 to Robert Miles Primary School in Bingham. This was to recognise their achievement of an environmental Eco-Schools Green Flag award for the second year running. I was very impressed with the children's knowledge and commitment on recycling and environmental issues.
The school is very proud of its work and they are to be congratulated. The children were also pleased to see the green flag raised proudly on their flagpole in the playground.
(Posted 9/7/10)
Cropwell Bishop Primary School Traffic Petition
Children at Cropwell Bishop Primary School work very well with their village and community. They also have a school council who meet up with the Cropwell Bishop Parish Council.
The children and many grown-ups are worried about pedestrian visibility and speeding traffic through the village, so the children decided to organise a petition. Not only did they and their families sign the petition, but they also arranged for shops and businesses to help sign it too.
The School Council then invited me to visit their school so they could present the petition to me, which I shall then present to the full County Council meeting in July. I also entered into a very enjoyable question and answer session at their assembly.
(Posted 9/7/10)
Entry to Employment (e2e) visit
I was asked recently whether I could visit and talk to a group of young adults who are taking an e2e (Entry to Employment) course, to tell them about the work that councils do and discuss ways in which younger people can get involved with their community and other matters of concern. This proved to be very interesting and confirmed that people of all ages have positive thoughts and hopes for the future of their communities.
(Posted 9/7/10)
Willoughby-on-the-Wolds play area
I joined my colleague Cllr John Cottee at the celebratory opening of the new village play area in Willoughby-on-the-Wolds. The play area has been a long-held wish for the village and many residents were involved in its planning and implementation, ranging from the donation of the land to forming a committee and working group to make their ambition come true.
I was pleased that our Local Improvement Scheme (LIS) was able to help with the provision of funding and play equipment.
(Posted 9/7/10)
Local Improvement Scheme (LIS)
I was delighted that around 300 people attended the official launch of the Local Improvement Scheme (LIS)which was held in Newark. Delegates found out about numerous schemes that have already taken place all over Nottinghamshire and were encouraged to consider submitting their own ideas for improvements in their areas.
It was also very pleasing to see and hear from village and parish representatives from around the county who have already benefited from LIS. Often, relatively small projects and improvements can make a major difference to communities.
(Posted 9/7/10)
County Council Budget 2010/11
At the Nottinghamshire County Council Annual Budget meeting on Thursday 25th February 2010 I joined my Conservative colleagues in voting for a freeze in council tax for the forthcoming financial year 2010/11.
My colleague Councillor Reg Adair, Cabinet Member for Finance & Property, presented the first budget of the new Conservative administration which included a range of management and efficiency measures to save £30 million. This money will be re-directed into front line services including key priority care services: -
In Councillor Adair's speech introducing the budget proposals he pointed out that even with a council tax freeze, Nottinghamshire County Council will still be spending £11 million more in 2010/11 than in the previous year.
(Posted 8/3/10)
Improvement Programme
Like every council in the country, Nottinghamshire County Council faces ongoing, significant and unavoidable increases in demand for key services. At the same time, it faces an unprecedented and long-term reduction in the resources available to it. Present forecasts are that the Council must reduce its current expenditure by at least £88m, or 18% of its revenue budget, over the next three financial years. Most of this reduction will be used to fund increased demand in other service areas. £30m of reductions have already been identified for 2010/11, leaving a further £58m to be found in 2011/12 and 2012/13.
In the past, reductions have been achieved through a process of allocating savings targets across departments. However, the scale of the financial challenge is now such that a more strategic approach is needed to achieve reductions in a structured and consistent way.
At the County Council meeting on 25th February 2010 the Deputy Leader of the Council, Cllr Martin Suthers gained approval for a new Improvement Programme to deliver these aims, called ‘One Council - One Business - One Plan’. This will involve an estimated investment of £21 million over five years to deliver total aggregated savings of over £200m over a five year period.
The Improvement Programme will include: -
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a complete overhaul of the Council’s approach to procurement
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implementation of an integrated Business Management System and changes in processes
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rationalisation of the Council’s property portfolio and improvement in flexible ways of working
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a fundamental review of all services followed by a comprehensive programme of organisational redesign
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departmental improvement programmes that deliver service-specific developments and
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the Chief Executive’s own programme to deliver improvements in partnership working, communications and organisational development.
The aim of ‘One Council-One Business-One Plan’ is to drive out inefficiency, target resources, minimise the impact on service delivery and create an organisation that is fit for purpose and financially sustainable in the long term.
(Posted 8/3/10)
New Strategic Plan
Nottinghamshire County Council's new Strategic Plan 2010-2014 sets out our promise to the people of Nottinghamshire; our priorities for the next four years; and how we aim to support the people of our county to be aspirational, independent and to share with us responsibility for the future.
This Plan complements the wider Nottinghamshire Sustainable Community Strategy which is the collective plan that outlines how organisations in the county will work together to promote and deliver a better Nottinghamshire.
Our plan is ambitious. It is a plan based on what local people tell us they want, and what they want to see happen. The success of our plan relies on us working well together with local people and organisations. Whilst we face challenging financial times, nevertheless we have opportunities to promote and deliver a better future for Nottinghamshire.
(Posted 8/3/10)
Gritting
The exceptionally cold weather which affected Nottinghamshire and most other parts of the UK between December and February led to unprecedented pressures on local authority gritting supplies. Nottinghamshire County Council possessed stockpiles far exceeding Government recommendations and was able to keep its priority routes gritted even when other councils had exhausted their supplies. The biggest difficulty was obtaining replacement supplies, given the exceptional pressure on the two national companies who supply the country’s salt.
Taking these events into account, it was agreed at the recent County Council budget meeting to increase the gritting budget by £50,000 for 2010/11. It is also intended to use 6mm rather than 10mm salt, which will improve spread rate and increase our gritting capacity still further.
(Posted 8/3/10)
Tram
On 24th September 2009 Nottinghamshire County Council voted to withdraw its financial support for the NET Phase Two transport scheme. As a Conservative County Councillor I was elected on a manifesto which stated: "We will avoid spending a small fortune on tram extensions which few people in the county will be able to use."
During the Council debate, several Conservative Members presented the argument for this change of policy. Some referred to the increasing costs of the scheme, whilst others supported the Cabinet Member for Transport & Highways' assertion that flexible bus services, rather than a fixed tram line, represent the most suitable public transport solution to serve the whole of Nottinghamshire.
Some of my colleagues took the opportunity to state that, contrary to some media reports, the Conservative position on the proposed tram extensions has not changed. They pointed out that the previous Labour administration had entered into certain legal agreements in relation to NET Phase 2 which must be respected to protect the interests of the County taxpayer, but the new Conservative administration is quite clear that it does not support the proposed tram extension routes.
(Posted 26/10/09)
Workplace Parking Levy (WPL)
Also at the Nottinghamshire County Council meeting on 24th September 2009, the Cabinet Member for Transport & Highways, Councillor Richard Jackson stated that the new Conservative county administration is opposed to Nottingham City Council's proposals for a Workplace Parking Levy (WPL). He expressed concern about the financial impact such a Levy could have on County residents who work in the City and stated his belief that the WPL would be unlikely to cut congestion. Councillor Jackson argued that the scheme could lead to significant parking problems in the County area, frighten off economic investment in the City and County and hit business confidence at a time when it needs to be nurtured.
(Posted 26/10/09)
Richard's latest Councillors' Divisional Fund awards...
Following a decision taken by Cabinet on 8th July 2009, each County Councillor now has an annual fund of £10,000 to support worthy initiatives in the division they represent.
CDF 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 Cotgrave division that might be eligible to receive a CDF grant, please contact me.
Here are some of the projects I've been able to help so far: -
Langar cum Barnstone Parish Council
Contributions from my CDF assisted Langar cum Barnstone Parish Council with preparations for their Village Fête and support for the Parish Council Community Award Scheme.
First Cropwell Bishop Scout Group
I am pleased to have been able to assist with the set-up costs of the First Cropwell Bishop Scout Group.
Cotgrave Bowls Club
In these difficult financial times I was pleased to provide a grant from my CDF to assist the Cotgrave Bowls Club to meet their running costs.
Cruse Bereavement Care
A grant from my CDF is helping to cover the administration costs of the Rushcliffe Branch of the Cruse Bereavement Care project.
Cotgrave & South Notts Art Group
A contribution from my CDF is helping the Cotgrave & South Notts Art Group to pay for room hire for club meetings.
Dogstar Foundation
I was pleased to make a contribution from my CDF to help the Dogstar Foundation organise a charity run through Cotgrave.
Rushcliffe Barn Owl Project
Together with fellow Rushcliffe councillors I am pleased to have contributed some of my CDF to a collective donation to the Rushcliffe Barn Owl Project.
Cotgrave C of E Primary School
I am delighted to have helped Cotgrave C of E Primary School to purchase soft play equipment for their toddler group.
Cropwell Bishop Parish Council
I was pleased to be able to help Cropwell Bishop Parish Council meet the cost of restoring the entrance to the village cemetary.
Ballet
I was pleased to assist a constituent with travel costs to attend a special English Contemporary Ballet project in Edinburgh.
Fun Day
I was able to arrange a grant to Communities Together to pay for transport for young residents to attend the annual Radcliffe, Cotgrave and Shelford Fun Day.
Cropwell Butler & Tythby Village Hall
A grant from my CDF has gone towards refurbishing the toilets at Cropwell Butler & Tythby Village Hall.
Girlguides in Cotgrave
I was pleased to assist Girlguiding UK with the cost of setting up a new girlguides unit in Cotgrave.
Burhill Allotments
I was able to make an award to the Cotgrave Social Welfare Scheme Gardening Section to fund the improvement of Burhill Allotments and therefore encourage more community use of these facilities.
Cotgrave Futures
I am pleased to have been able to assist with the cost of setting up a web site for the Cotgrave Futures Trust.
Bollard in Cotgrave precinct
A grant to Cotgrave Town Council has enabled the installation of a bollard in the main precinct to allow access for maintenance vehicles.
D.A.R.E
I was pleased to secure a grant for Cropwell Bishop Primary School to run the Drug Abuse Resistance Education (DARE) project for their pupils.
Richard's committees...
In addition to being a member of Cabinet I serve on other committees including: -
Joint Planning & Transport
Joint Advisory Board (Planning)
Full details of Nottinghamshire County Council meetings can be found on the Council Diary.
