Somercotes Parish Council

Let us know !

We would like to include any interesting stories or photographs you have about your community or any local events, which you would like advertising.

If you have anything that you would like to share with other readers please contact Catherine on 01773 603810 or call into the Parish Council Office at the Village Hall between 10:30 am to 2:30 pm Tuesday to Friday.

Dispose of Needles Safely

Modern Living involves many hazards. One problem can be needles and syringes that have been discarded without care.

If you find a needle, DO NOT PICK IT UP. Please call Amber Valley Borough Council’s needle hotline 0800 092 51 31 free anytime day or night. Their aim is to collect a needle within two hours of any reported incident.

Poop Scoop Bags

Since the Borough Council decided to stop providing Poop Scoop Bags, the Parish Council has been providing them completely free of charge.

So many people have called into the office for these bags that we have been impressed that so many people in the community are concerned about keeping the parish free from dog mess. There is, however, still a problem with dog fouling and it is hoped that those people who have not bothered in the past to clear up after their dogs will now do so using the free poop scoop bags.

These are available from your Parish Wardens, Colin and Les, or you can call into the Parish Hall Office between 10.30 am and 2.30 pm Tuesday to Friday, and ask for a supply.

Stop N Shop on Nottingham Road also have a supply of bags.

Visit your Local Nature Reserve

The four ponds are balancing ponds for the drainage of the surrounding land. Moorhens, Coots and Mallards can be seen on the ponds and regularly breed. Mayfly, Damselfly and Dragonflies are seen throughout the summer and 25 species of water beetle have been recorded on the site. If you are lucky you may see Kingfishers flying low over the water and grass snakes during the summer.

Pennytown Ponds was once part of a large parkland known as Cotes Park as early as the 14th century. At the beginning of the 19th century the park was sold off in smaller parcels of land. Cotes park hall once stood in the centre of the park but this disappeared with the development of the industrial estate. A reminder of its existence is the stone outbuilding at the top of the bridlepath.

The ponds became isolated and forgotten as the industrial estate was developed during the 1970s, however, the site was designated as a County Wildlife site in the 1980s. Investment in the 1990s and the works of the Pennytown Ponds group and Groundwork has given the area a new lease of life, with the site becoming a Local Nature Reserve in 2002.