• 8 months ago
Derbyshire Times news bulletin with editor Phil Bramley
Transcript
00:00 Here's today's Derbyshire Times video bulletin.
00:03 A Chesterfield couple has launched a campaign after their three-week-old baby tragically died.
00:09 Laura Hicklin and her partner Dale Barker, both 31, were devastated to learn that their son Toby would be born with a congenital heart defect.
00:18 After Toby sadly passed away, Laura was given a year-long bereavement leave to grieve for her son,
00:23 but her partner Dale was told that he could only take up to two weeks off and was due back at work before Toby's funeral had even taken place.
00:31 According to UK law, fathers can have up to two weeks to grieve for their child, while mothers can get up to 52 weeks bereavement leave.
00:38 Now Laura and Dale have launched a petition to change the bereavement law in a bid to give other dads the proper time to grieve.
00:45 Laura said, "Dad needs time to process and be able to grieve as well.
00:50 It's time we acknowledge that fathers deserve equal rights when dealing with such profound sorrow.
00:55 This is not just unfair, it undermines the importance of both parents in a child's life and their shared grief when that child is lost."
01:03 A Derbyshire road which closed for two years after significant landslip damage needs to be repaired yet again after further movement was identified, despite substantial investment.
01:15 Derbyshire County Council has discovered signs of further movement on Lee Road between Cromford and Critch.
01:21 This involves cracks which run for several metres on a road which was fully repaired and re-laid just 16 months ago.
01:27 As a result, the Council is closing the road on Sunday, April 21st to make temporary repairs and carry out investigations, with some initial work to take place over the next few days.
01:37 Lee Road had been closed from January 2020 to December 2022 after heavy rainfall caused a 45 metre of the road to slip.
01:45 It led to extensive disruptions for residents who faced two years of lengthy diversions on routes less suitable for regular travel.
01:52 The Council said some movement had been spotted on Lee Road in January, but this development appears to have elevated the level of concern.
01:59 In a letter to residents it said "As you may have noticed, Lee Road, close to the site of the previous landslip, is unfortunately showing some signs of movement.
02:08 We are planning to close the road on Sunday, April 21st, so we can make some temporary repairs and do further investigative work.
02:15 We realise that this closure will cause some inconvenience and we apologise for this.
02:20 We have planned it for a Sunday outside of half term to minimise any disruption.
02:24 In the run up to the work we have put in some temporary traffic lights on the road to allow some investigation works over the next few weeks too.
02:31 It is planned for these to be removed after the work is done on April 22nd.

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