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Decisions, decisions, decisions! Throughout the years of the town's development, many decisions have been made; some good, some bad, some indifferent. Several forms of local government have been tried, including various local boards, followed by the Long Eaton Urban District Council (later to merge into Erewash Borough Council). Below are a selection of proposals and decisions taken from minutes of meetings from when the first recorded Parish Council meeting took place on March 28th 1853, up until 1949. They are taken from the book "Sketches Of Long Eaton and District" By Arthur Hooper. We hope this might give an insight into what went on behind the closed doors of the Council Chambers, and how the proposals and decisions made then, influenced present day Long Eaton.

DateComments
1853 The earliest records of Local Government in Long Eaton. The first recorded Parish Council Meeting, March 28th 1853. Present committee: Thos. Clifford, S. J. Claye, Wm. Kilby, W. E. Brown, Sam Bennett, John Parker, Thos. Burton, Thos. Smith, J. Austin, Hy. Brown, John Marshall, Wm. Bush, John Tebbutt, Sam Smith, and J. Burton. Mr. Bush was given permission to lay gas pipes in any part of the village, and that a sough be made opposite Mr. Frank Bonsall's, Tythe Barn Lane connecting to the main sough opposite Miss Vickers. There were 18 signatures to the Minute Book.
1854 Election of constable. Cleansing of the River Erewash.
1855 Purchase of a fire engine. The forming of a Fire Brigade. Alteration of the brook by Mr Claye. Sewerage of the village. New road to Breaston by taking possession of land on the East side of Haycob Close (Haycroft Close) and plans for eight houses in Tythe Barn Lane for F. Bonsall.
1856 Proposal to remove almshouses. Plans for five new houses in Tythe Barn Lane to be occupied by Benjamin Carter and others.
1857 Fire engine overhaul.
1858 Rebuilding of almshouses.
1859 A pump and causeway provided for almshouses. Election of Sanitary Board.
1860 Removal of old pinfold on Main Street. Mr. Claye be allowed to pull down old houses next to church yard, and that he be allowed to lay down rails across Rossells Lane.
1862 Trent Station and Erewash Valley Railway to be rated. Huss's Lane to be straightened.
1863 Three pounds to be paid to the committee for the old school site, out of Highway funds.
1864 The Gas Company given permission to lay down gas pipes.
1865 Election of three constables. Wilsthorpe Footpath to be closed.
1867 Mr. Blythen appointed Rate Collector.
1868 Mr. F. Bonsall appointed Surveyor.
1869 Poors Close, a new line of division.
1870 Three constables appointed. Allocation of vacant almshouses decided by stroke.
1871 Notice to Mr. Austin re: causeway obstruction. S. J. Claye's attempt to stop the Twitchell by Mrs. Bonsall's.
1872 Proposal to have streets lit up by gas. Main Street sewer considered.
1873 Additional Guardians appointed due to increase of population. Samuel Bennett Snr., John Marshall Snr., and Rev. Frederick Atkinson.
1875 First meeting of the newly constituted Local Board in the National School on Friday April 16th. Chairman Mr. Samuel Claye. Members elected were: Robert Hill, Joseph Austin, Joseph Fletcher, Sam Smith, Evington Dalby, William Beckwith Carr, Thos. Fletcher, Thos. Maltby, Frederick Atkinson, Samuel Claye, John Shepherd and Thos. Smith. Collector Mr. Jas. Heaps. M.O.H. Mr. James Butler. Tender applied for lamps by Mr. S. Farmer and that they be placed 80 yards apart from Mr. Hooley's property in Wilsthorpe Lane. A lamp to be fixed at Gas Street corner and two lamps to be placed at equal distance from the finger post to Toton Station. One lamp opposite Mr. Aked. Claye's gateway, and one opposite Mrs. Bonsall's farm.
1876 Fire engine shed to be repaired. A request to widen the bridge on Wilsthorpe Lane. The Shoulder Of Mutton Close purchased from Mr. Bennett at 2/6d per yard. Death of William Beckwith Carr.
1877 Board to build a police station subject to certain terms of tenancy. Plans for Primitive Methodist School in Orchard Street. Cleansing of wells.
1878 Plans for house for Mr. Dalby on Wilsthorpe Lane. Resignation of Rev. Atkinson. The Shoulder Of Mutton Close to be fenced with wagon soles, and provision of stable and shed on this field.
1879 Removal of snow from footpaths. Plans for new houses in Wilsthorpe Lane. Plan for a house for Mr. Houghton in Hunt Street. Design for a pump in the Market Place, also draining of the Market Place.
1880 New market pump cost £14.8s.0d, and that the market to be established to be held every week throughout the year. Plans for six houses in Whitworth Street. Plans for main sewer on College Road (later College Street). Death of Mr. Thos. Fletcher. Plans adopted for draining Wilsthorpe Lane, Toton Lane, Sawley Lane and Brook Street.
1881 Market tolls accepted by the Board. Purchase of land on Wilsthorpe Lane for a cemetery. Building of a bridge over Brown Brook on Whites Lane.
1882 Formation of Finance, Highways and Lighting Committies. Telephone posts to be fixed. Offer of the Gas Company to install a lamp in the Market Place was accepted.
1883 Tenders for new bridges on Sawley Road and Wilsthorpe Lane. Board urged to provide a recreation ground. Gates or slip-styles to be provided on Haycroft Close, and repair of clapper gates in Singleton's Field.
1884 New manual fire engine. Additional telephone poles. Two lodging houses registered. Two houses to be built at the sewerage farm.
1885 Death of Mr. John Black. Dr. Butler's report on wells - 83 bad, some very bad. Square culvert in Meadow Lane from Mr. Smith's and Mr. Adam's fields. 13 pairs of cottages in Recreation Street (Conway Street) for Mr. Orchard. Wells in The Nook and Claye's Row condemned.
1887 Dr. A. Chambers appointed M.O.H. Death of Mr. S. Claye. 23 plans for houses. Market to be closed at 11:00pm on Saturday nights. Railway to be asked to light up Trent Path.
1888 Smallpox outbreak. Proposed road to Trent Station from the end of Main Street. A three-armed guidepost to be erected at The Green - showing routes to Nottingham, Derby and Sawley. Closing of the church yard. Major fire at Claye's works, fire engine delayed owing to the horses being out in the field.
1889 Forty acres of land off College Street for allotments. Death of Dr. Mackern. 365 ashpits still exist in the town.
1890 The Twitchell is claimed a nuisance, and the old barn in Huss's Lane dangerous. Footbridge to be provided over Huss's Lane crossing. Footbridges over the brook to be replaced. Infectious Diseases Prevention Act adopted. New Tythe Street made by the railway company. New fire engine acquired.
1892 Footbridge to be provided over the River Erewash. Telephone Exchange re-located from Market Place to Union Street. William Sole appointed Water Bailiff. The Green to be fenced with cast iron posts and spiked chains, leaving a 30 foot road.
1893 Tythe Barn Lane sewer extended to the Hollows. Plans for Clifford Street factory alterations. Brown Brook bridge has collapsed, Surveyor to inspect. Post Office site next to the almshouses. Unsanitary condition of Temperance Place. Manor Park - to be laid out in grass and fenced with spiked chains. Smallpox hospital (Isoblation Hospital) built on Meadow Lane.
1894 Proposed footbridge over railway at Long Eaton station. Plans for 22 houses in Co-operative Street. Diversion of Brown Brook in Whites Lane. S. Claye's extension of workshops, and South Street footbridge to be made full road width. Long Eaton Urban District Council formed, members were: Mr. S. Butler, Mr. S. Claye, Mr. Wm. Holland, Mr. A. Marriott, Mr. J . Marshall, Mr. W. Newsum, Mr. J. Orchard, Mr. E. Ridgeway, Mr. T. Smith, Mr. E. Williams, Mr. J. Winfield, and Mr. W. Woodforth. First meeting held in the Bell Hotel, on December 31st.
1895 Whites Lane improvement. S. Codlin's house - The Holmes - said to be unsafe. Plans for Baptist schoolrooms and classrooms, Station Street. Captain Ball resigns his post in the Fire Brigade. Proposed closure of the Black Path from Orchard Street.
1896 Request increase of members from 12 to 15. Presentation of Long Service Medal to Captain Ball and four other firemen at the Pavilion. Plans for the Railway Mission. Mr. E. Williams appointed Clerk to the Council. Trent Cycle Works in Peel Street and Union Street. Plans for 19 houses in Trafalgar Road and Main Street. Plans for 65 pairs of houses off Derby Road.
1897 Arrangements to acquire land for allotments. The Jubilee Bonfire to be 12 feet wide and 18 feet high, and to be lit at 10 o'clock by the committee. John Sheldon resigns after 20 years service. Mr. Frank Worrall appointed out of 70 applicants. Corrugated iron theatre in Queen Street, approved after inspection (Tin Trunk).
1898 A suitable new sign post to be provided at The Green. Proposed footpath from Toton Gates to Long Eaton station. Death of W. E. Gladstone. Proposed subway at Long Eaton station.
1899 Death of Canon Dolphin. Plans for 40 houses. 218 wet ash pits reported.
1900 Mr. F. R. Claye's resignation. High level railway over Station Road. Plan for Oaklea Mills factory.
1901 Plan for Salvation Army Barracks. Extensions to Cranmer Street and Walton Street. Sawley Road canal bridge called unsafe. Proposed electric railway, Nottingham to Long Eaton. Gas Company to supply 1000 candle power lamp for the Market Place.
1902 Light railway proposal from Nottingham to Derby. Death of Mr. J. Orchard. Andrew Carnegie pledges £3,000 for a library. Public Libraries Act 1892, adopted.
1903 Public Library Committee appointed. Sawley Road bridge unsafe.. Brown Brook to be culverted from the council yard. The Green and Manor Park to be provided with seats. Fatal accident at the waterworks. Seats provided on Sawley Road.
1904 New bridge plans on Sawley Road. Nottingham Road to be widened.
1905 Diversion of Lover's Walk proposed. Notice to rebuild the Harrington Bridge. Meadow Lane footpath closed. Proposal for feeding needy children. 30 privy middens still in existence.
1906 Mr. Sheldon's land in the Market Place considered for new Public Offices. Zion Hall used for council meetings. Specimen trees and four more seats provided on Sawley Road.
1907 Diversion of Lover's Walk. Mr. J . Tomlinson appointed Sanitary Inspector.
1908 Market Stall holders to finish operating at 11:00pm. Tar spraying experiments. First pocket guide for Long Eaton. Police to control traffic for school children on Derby Road.
1909 Twitchell widening scheme.
1910 New bridges for Derby Road and Sawley Road. Music concerts held on The Green. King's Ground changed name to West Park. Extension to the boundary line.
1911 Cobden Street and Sandford Avenue widening proposal. Laying out and fencing of land next to the library. Informal opening of Sawley Road canal bridge.
1912 Division of town into two wards. West Park footbridge on Broad Street approved.
1913 West Park band concerts. Flood wall fencing to cost 8/4d per yard.
1914 Two lamps to be fixed at Trent Lock. More trees planted on Sawley Road. Access provided to West Park through Leopold Street.
1915 221 unoccupied houses, and 206 unemployment applications for benefit. First Zeppelin raid over the town.
1916 Housing scarcity due to influx of munition workers for Chilwell Munitions Factory.
1917 Library bowling green for season ticket holders only. Long Eaton to be included in South Derbyshire. A Mr. Palmer's claim for damage through walking into the brook at the end of Gibb Street.
1918 Posts in the Twitchell to be removed. Application for cinema in Broad Street.
1919 Footpath to Trent Station closed. 296 houses with two or more families living in each. Market set to close at 9:00pm. A flagpole to be provided at The Green. Plans submitted for the Empire Cinema.
1920 New Sawley ward instigated. Palace Theatre additions. Wilsthorpe Lane improvements.
1921 United Mission reconstruction. Death of Mr. Frank Worrall. Mr. Howitt's Bequest of pictures to be handed over and hung in The Hall.
1922 A motor ambulance to be provided. Broad Street classed as a nuisance area. A bus service to be provided.
1923 Barton bus service offered to the council.
1924 Cockayne's Bridge to cost £5,000. West Park extended, and entrance provided from Wilsthorpe Lane. Market Place land sold to the Long Eaton Co-operative Society.
1925 Open access for the library. Death of Mr. E. Williams. Death of Councillor J. Webb.
1927 Pump over the brook on Tamworth Road (Sawley Road) removed to Claye's Works. Plans for a Greyhound racing track.
1928 Trees to be planted on the West side of West Gate. The Official Guide to Long Eaton completed. Mr J. Pattison appointed Park Keeper.
1929 Councillor W. R. C. Gregory's resignation. Diversion and culverting of the brook from Tamworth Road. Entrance provided to Town Hall from Derby Road. Fire station extension. Plans and estimate for new swimming baths. Sawley Parish Council look to be incorporated with Long Eaton.
1930 Death of Mr. Samuel Clegg. Proposal to purchase the Palace Theatre. Carnegie Trust gives grant of £350 for new books in library.
1931 Electra House offered to the council. Plans for Woolworths and Josiah Brown approved. Four tennis courts on West Park approved. Carnival week discussed.
1932 National Schools transferred to Derby County Council. Entrance gates for West Park purchased from Aston-On-Trent. Claye Street and Orchard Street made one way for traffic.
1933 Samuel Clegg Scholarship. Plans for Co-operative Emporium. Old Sawley added to Long Eaton. Trade Exhibition.
1934 Town Hall grounds completed at a cost of £311. The Green made one way for traffic.
1936 Councillor W. R. Tucker retires after 26 years service. Death of Councillors C. H. Cunniffe, J. B. Maskell, F. R. Turton, Wm. Johnson, and W. R. C. Gregory. Mr. W. P. Fleming appointed accountant. Mr. A. Oakes resignation.
1937 Hangman's Bridge reconstruction. New Nottingham Road bridge scheme. Death of Mr. John Crowe. Committee formed for air raid precautions.
1938 Arthur Hooper retires after 32 years as librarian. Mr. J. F. Sherwood appointed replacement. Nottingham Road bridge opening. Five small pictures are missing from the Howitt Bequest. Oldham Street to be closed.
1940 Resignation of Councillors Morton Smith and H. L. Burton. First Citizen's Advice Bureau.
1941 Nottingham Road bridge declared ordinary highway, not a county road. Death of Mr. W. Davies and Mr. H. F. Lowe. Librarian called to military service. Arthur Hooper asked to take charge during his absence.
1942 Clifford Street made one way to traffic. Salvage of iron railings and books by the government. Gift to the library of a 200 year old muzzle-loading rifle by Mr. Gilbert.
1943 The deaths of Mr. J. Turner, G. M. Pegg, Mr. A. Yates, and Mr. L. B. Lewis.
1944 Coun J. T. Osticks resigns. Death of W. R. Tucker. Mr. T. Walton appointed Secondary Sanitary Inspector. Mr. J. Tomlinson retires after 37 years service. Death of Coun P. B. Austin.
1945 Disbanding of the fire-guard. Diversion of footpath from Midland Street to Stapleford. Ten prefabs to be re-roofed. Death of F. J . Hardy.
1946 Librarian J. F. Sherwood resigns. Mr. R. Davison appointed replacement.
1947 Death of Mr. G. A. Perks, builder. Mr. H . Raven retires after 26 years of service.
1948 Death of Coun J. Pegg.
1949 Death of Coun T. Wilkins. Retirement of Mr. H. Raven after 27 years. Mr. F. Turner appointed Surveyor. Footpath from Dockholme Lock to Willoughby Avenue declared a public footpath. Rent Tribunal to be held in the Zion Hall.

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