Ballantrae Close, off Howbeck Road, was one of a number of streets in the area having its sign replaced due to it being old and worn, with a revised, modern one in its place.
But while intentions were good, it was not the replacement itself that grabbed people’s attention.
Instead, it is the fact that the letters at the end of the street name have been swapped around.
Instead of reading Ballantrae, it says ‘Ballantrea Close’ – at odds with the sign directly opposite on the other side of the road.
PICTURED: Gedling Borough Council blamed ‘an insight’ for the spelling error
A passer-by spotted the blunder and posted it on Facebook, to which it garnered a large response from those in a local group.
Residents of the street itself found it more funny than frustrating.
“Somebody needs to go to Specsavers, whoever’s done that,” said NHS worker Elaine Higgins. “It’s not like delivery drivers find houses easily. So they can’t use that as an excuse.
“It looks all nice and clean and shiny but it’s spelt wrong.”
“It’s just unusual,” said engineer Harry Blach. “Google Maps is free. And you’ve got another sign with exactly the same spelling next to it to look at.
“Where’s my £150 (council tax) going? Because I’ll tell you, it’s not going on proofreaders. I just wonder how many channels, how many meetings with tea and biscuits it went through before they clocked it.”
Supposedly, Ballantrae Close is not the only street sign that has been spelt wrong in Arnold in recent years.
Glen Parva Avenue, which is accessed from Monsell Drive, is currently spelt ‘Glen Pava Avenue’ on its sign.
It was spotted and reported to the council in November, but still has not been replaced.
Ballantrae is a village at the bottom of the River Stinchar in South Ayrshire, Scotland.
A Gedling Borough Council spokesperson said: “We were made aware of the issue over the weekend, and the council has already contacted the manufacturer to arrange a replacement.
“While we ask contractors to carry out full checks before installation, on this occasion an oversight meant the verification step was missed.
“The replacement is currently being manufactured and will be installed as a priority within the next four weeks. The cost of the replacement sign is £75.”
Police are investigating after a taxi driver reported being threatened at knifepoint by a man who fled without paying his fare in Carlton.
Neighbourhood officers were on patrol in Gedling Road at 2.35pm on Wednesday (January 28) when they were flagged down by the victim.
He reported an altercation had taken place inside his taxi and he had been threatened with a knife.
It is believed the offender exited the taxi at the junction of Main Road and Hardy’s Drive and then ran towards Duncroft Avenue.
Inspector Steven King is hoping people can help with police enquiries
The victim was not injured but was left shaken by the incident.
Officers have conducted a trawl of CCTV and doorbell footage, and are also asking for the public’s help.
Inspector Steven King, local area commander for Gedling, said: “We know this incident took place in a busy location with a large number of potential witnesses.
“I’d urge people who were in the area at the time to think if they noticed anything which could assist with our inquiries.
“Likewise, if you have any relevant dashcam, CCTV, mobile phone or doorbell footage please get in touch with officers.
“Although incidents of this nature are concerning we do not believe there was any wider risk.”
A Carlton-based developer has unveiled a £4M plan to create what it claims will be the best padel court and social facility in the UK – complete with world class courts, co-working spaces and dining led by one of the city’s top hospitality talents.
Carlton-based ALB Group, which has been credited with breathing new life into Nottingham’s Bridlesmith Gate, has submitted a planning application for the 30,000 sqft venue to be called Swing, on Electric Avenue, next to its Riverleen House residential project.
If approved, work is expected to begin immediately, with the centre opening within just seven months of construction starting.
The project will feature eight indoor and three outdoor covered padel courts, a show court with arena-style seating, plus wellness and leisure facilities including a sauna, physiotherapy, sports massage rooms and a reformer pilates studio.
It will also boast coworking spaces, an outdoor events area, a purpose built pickle court, and a range of unique eateries and bars, all concepts being brought to life by the creative force behind Public and Peter’s Pizza.
If approved, work is expected to begin immediately, with the centre opening within just seven months of construction starting.
A spokesperson for Public, said: “This centre will be more than just first-class courts. We’re building a community founded on connection, conversation and energy. Yes, we want people to come and play, but also to stay to share a drink, work, network and make new connections.”
Arran Bailey, managing director at ALB Group, said: “We want to create the biggest and best padel court centre in the UK. I’ve been playing for two years now, and it’s changed my life. After visiting courts in New York, Miami and Dubai, I wanted to bring the best bits of all of them back home to Nottingham.
“We’ve got some crazy plans for this site and amazing food offerings, but at the heart of it all is community.”
The purpose built centre, designed by Nottingham based Leonard Design Architects, aims to rival top facilities around the world. Director John Morgan said the team had drawn on international case studies to develop what they hope will be “the best padel centre in Europe.”
He added: “In Spain, padel is second only to football and is seen as a multi-generational social activity. That’s the model we’ve followed to create a space for playing, socialising, working and dining all in one.”
The new venue will also make use of reformer pilates classes, pickleball. full time coaching staff on site and unrivalled facilities, making it the UK’s best padel centre.
Martin Sweeney, Padel Entrepreneur and President of United States Padel Association 2023 & 2024, said: “I have been fortunate in being part of the incredible Padel growth in many parts of the world including the opening of the first padel courts in the middle east at the prestigious Emirates Golf Club and opening of the first Padel Club in the USA. Nottingham is my adopted home City so I am excited to see the introduction of this fantastic facility.
The investment and vision to construct such a venue will put Nottingham on the UK Padel map and I look forward to making new Padel friends and enjoying the camaraderie that this wonderful sport brings.
Arran added: “Our aim is to get both the younger and older generations into padel. We will be looking to make connections with local schools, hosting a wide range of tournaments.”
Padel is a hybrid of tennis and squash, and is one of the fastest-growing sports in the UK. According to the Lawn Tennis Association, more than 400,000 people played the game in 2024, compared to just 15,000 in 2019.
Arran added: “This project is absolutely huge in terms of both scale and ambition. To create something like this in my hometown is simply amazing. This is a building that’s been designed purely for Padel, so there are no compromises with it. We aren’t trying to make padel courts fit into a building, we are building a padel club from the ground up.
“This is a pure passion project that I am going to throw everything into, and I truly believe this is what the East Midlands padel community needs “
Residents at a care home in Stoke Bardolph are enjoying regular visits from a local baby and toddler group, creating heart-warming moments for people of all ages.
Every two weeks, Rivendell View Care Home welcomes Bits and Bobs Playgroup, a baby group that supports new mums to meet others in the community while giving residents the opportunity to interact with babies and toddlers.
The sessions typically last between one hour and an hour and a half and have been growing in popularity, with more families attending each week.
The intergenerational sessions have proved hugely beneficial for residents, who take great delight in playing with the children, watching them explore and hearing their laughter fill the home.
Residents Doris Robertson and Rita B at HC-One’s Rivendell View Care Home enjoying Bits and Bobs Playgroup
Resident Dennis Dutton said: “It is wonderful seeing all the children playing and looking so happy. Seeing them smiling and hearing them laugh is lovely.”
Fellow resident Doris Robertson added: “It’s so nice to see all the children – it really brings joy to my day.”
Home Manager Cara Stockill praised the initiative and its positive impact on residents and the wider community.
She said: “It is great to have the community come together like this. Seeing the joy it brings to our residents’ faces is really special.”
Photograph 1: Resident Dennis Dutton at HC-One’s Rivendell View Care Home enjoying Bits and Bobs Playgroup
Photograph 2: Residents Doris Robertson and Rita B at HC-One’s Rivendell View Care Home enjoying Bits and Bobs Playgroup
Photograph 3: Resident Dennis Dutton at HC-One’s Rivendell View Care Home enjoying Bits and Bobs Playgroup
Photograph 4: HC-One’s Rivendell View Care Home setting up for the Bits and Bobs Playgroup session
Police have issued a photo of a man they wish to speak to after criminal damage was caused in Woodborough.
Officers are seeking the public’s help after receiving reports about the incident at the village hall.
It is believed CCTV cameras at the address were smashed with concrete.
The incident occurred on December 10 between 7 and 7.30pm at the Village Hall on Lingwood Lane.
A police spokesman said: “We have exhausted other lines of inquiry and are now releasing an image of a man we would like to speak with in connection with the incident.
“Anyone with information is asked to call 101 quoting occurrence 26000016148 or contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.”
Residents in Calverton have branded plans that could put their popular village leisure centre at risk of closure “bang out of order”.
Gedling Borough Council is reviewing its entire leisure offer as part of a new strategy to make its portfolio more financially sustainable.
It currently provides an annual £1.3 million subsidy to help run all of its leisure centres which the Labour-led authority says is “not sustainable”.
As part of the review, it is looking at how it manages joint-use sites, including Calverton Leisure Centre.
Council documents reveal it is considering withdrawing from the joint agreement to run the facility off Flatts Lane, but residents and some councillors fear this could result in its closure.
Residents in Calverton told the Local Democracy Reporting Service the plans were “bang out of order”.
PICTURED: Inside Calverton Leisure Centre
Ken Leverton, who ran an MOT garage, said he has used the leisure centre for the gym and yoga classes. Both, he says, were very busy, with classes regularly booked up.
“It is bang out of order,” he said, emphasising the news of possible cuts to public services had made him angry.
“It is another facility that people are paying council tax for, so what are people paying their council tax for? The roads are terrible, and now they could withdraw from running this?
“I could understand it if it was not being used, but you have to book the classes weeks in advance. The gym was always busy when I used it.”
Eleanor Hardy has recently moved into the new Forest View housing estate in Calverton.
She said it would be nice for her daughter, nine, to use the centre when she is older.
“It would be a shame to lose a leisure centre as Calverton is a growing little village with the new estates,” she said.
“I know my nephew and brother use the gym. The next closest would be Arnold so you’d have to drive or get the bus.”
Rachael Gill, who has lived in the village for more than 20 years, said: “My son who is 15 uses it. I would have to drive him or he’d have to get the bus to Redhill, so he would only be able to go when I am free.”
Debra Groves, who has lived in Calverton for 27 years says her grandkids use the facility. She added: “It would be a shame, really.
“There is not a lot in the village, and it is getting bigger.”
Calverton Leisure Centre is currently operated and managed by the council, but there are joint-use agreements in place with Redhill Academy Trust, which runs the school site, and Nottinghamshire County Council, which owns the site.
The new strategy recommends the centre is retained for community use “in the short term”.
However, over the long term, the strategy could give the council “the opportunity to transfer management back to the school and Nottinghamshire County Council, or work with another provider to manage to reduce the council’s liability.”
Council documents also cite a condition survey from 2017 that claims £44,000 in repairs are needed at the facility.
However, these claims have been disputed and branded “out of date”, particularly with the pool having undergone a £50,000 refurbishment in 2020.
“They have got all new lighting, new flooring, the plant for the pool is in tip-top condition,” Cllr Andy Meads (Ind) previously said.
“They have got no expectation of any costs coming up. [They say] demand for classes and sessions are in decline, that was another old one and is not true at all. There are waiting lists. If Calverton shut, these people couldn’t be accommodated at the other leisure centres.”
Under the strategy the council is hoping to replace the ageing Richard Herrod Centre and Carlton Forum Leisure Centre with a new purpose-built facility called Carlton Active.
It would be built where Richard Herrod currently stands.
Cllr Meads said the council should focus on investing in existing facilities across the borough, not just those serving people in Carlton and Arnold.
Cllr Henry Wheeler (Lab), portfolio holder for lifestyles, health and wellbeing, said: “I want to make it absolutely clear at the outset no decision has been made about withdrawing the joint-use agreement at Calverton, Redhill or Carlton Forum.
“The council’s leisure portfolio is not financially sustainable in its current form.
“Joint-use sites are also allocated on school sites not owned by the borough council, which significantly limits our ability to invest, to modernise or plan for the long term.
“In September cabinet agreed in light of these pressures consultation should be undertaken on whether the council should continue to directly operate leisure services from joint use sites, and if not what alternative models could reduce financial risk.”
The strategy is expected to be considered again in March.
Take a look at the roadworks and closures scheduled for Gedling borough’s roads for the week beginning January 26
Make sure to plan your journey and check before your travel as these planned works could affect you.
Breck Hill Road, Woodthorpe 29 January – 30 January Roadworks and delays likely to install double yellow lines
Burton Road, Gedling 31 January – 01 February Roadworks, Delays likely
Fleming Drive, Carlton 27 January – 28 January Road closure
Oxclose Lane, Arnold 31 January – 01 February Delays likely due to lane closure
Westdale Lane East, Gedling 29 January – 30 January Roadworks and delays likely at junction of Salamander Close and Perlethorpe Avenue Responsibility for works: Nottinghamshire County Council
Wheatley Drive, Carlton 27 January – 28 January Road closure
Boyd Close, Arnold 27 January – 29 January Roadworks and delays possible
Candle Meadow, Colwick 28 January – 30 January Roadworks and delays possible Responsibility for works: Openreach
Caxton Close, Netherfield 29 January – 30 January Roadworks, and delays possible at the junction of Forester Street Responsibility for works: Nottinghamshire County Council
Chedington Avenue, Mapperley 28 January – 30 January Roadworks and delays possible Responsibility for works: Openreach
Elmhurst Avenue, Mapperley 28 January – 30 January Roadworks and delays possible Responsibility for works: Severn Trent Water
Gedling Road, Arnold 29 January Roadworks and delays possible Responsibility for works: Nottinghamshire County Council
Instow Close, Lambley 28 January Roadworks, Delays possible
Moor Road, Bestwood 29 January – 30 January Roadworks, Delays possible Responsibility for works: Virgin Media
Ramsey Drive, Arnold 27 January Roadworks and delays possible Responsibility for works: Severn Trent Water
Regina Crescent, Ravenshead 27 January – 28 January Roadworks, Delays possible Responsibility for works:Openreach
A man who fatally stabbed ‘bright young star’ Steph Irons at her Mapperley address has pleaded guilty to murder.
Adedapo Adegbola, 40, fatally wounded the 23-year-old as he visited her address on the evening of Tuesday, October 21 2025.
Adegbola, a former work colleague, was motivated by their brief relationship ending.
The alarm was raised by coworkers after a series of concerning messages were sent to them on the evening of the attack.
Emergency services were then called to Westdale Lane West, Mapperley, at 10.07pm where they discovered Miss Irons wounded in her living room.
Despite the best efforts of paramedics, she was pronounced dead at the scene a short while later.
By this point, Adegbola had fled to a property in Mansfield, leaving a trail of discarded evidence including blood-stained trainers and a jumper on the streets of Mapperley and Carlton.
He then travelled to Mansfield, Worksop, Sheffield and finally to Hull.
He went on to provide no comment to questions posed by detectives in subsequent police interviews.
Despite this, investigators gathered crucial evidence to charge Adegbola with the murder of Steph Irons that Friday (October 24).
Using CCTV footage, digital evidence, and witness accounts, they tracked the movements of the defendant in the moments before, during and after the incident.
Today (26) the defendant pleaded guilty to murder when he appeared at Nottingham Crown Court.
Steph Irons was found dead at the scene when popliuce attended her address on Westdale Lane
Adegbola, of Westfield Lane, Mansfield will be sentenced on Thursday, February 5.
Detective Inspector Stuart Barson, lead investigator of the case, said: “This is a tragic case in which a caring and compassionate young woman was taken away in horrific circumstances.
“Following the attack on Miss Irons, Adegbola made no attempt to call for an ambulance, and was concerned only with getting away from the scene and attempting to dispose of vital evidence.
“Although he initially turned himself in, he went on to provide no comments to police interviews.
“The evidence compiled against him, though, has left the defendant with no choice but to plead guilty today.
“I want to thank Miss Irons’ family for the incredible strength that they have shown through this process.
“I hope that this outcome assists Steph’s family in coming to terms with such a dreadful loss.”
Steph’s family previously paid tribute to her in a touching statement: “Steph had an infectious smile and laugh which lit up any room she walked into.
“She was a beautiful, loving and caring daughter, sister, niece, cousin and friend. She had a compassion for others and would always see good in everybody.
“She had a huge heart and wore it on her sleeve.
“Her ambition to be a psychologist was well on the way after gaining both a degree and masters in clinical psychology. After gaining experience, she was about to apply for her doctorate in clinical psychology.
“Our bright young star has had her future taken away and while we can’t comprehend what has happened, she will be forever with us.”
Nottinghamshire’s Police and Crime Commissioner Gary Godden Gary Godden has proposed a rise in council tax which he says will help fund ensure Nottinghamshire Police remains a leading light in efforts to enhance neighbourhood policing.
Nottinghamshire Police already has 13% of its officers dedicated to a neighbourhood policing role – meaning it has one of the highest proportions of ‘bobbies on the beat’ in all forces in England and Wales and more than twice as many as the national average of six per cent.
PCC Godden’s latest policing precept proposal, which includes a £15 rise in council tax to £311.10 annually for Band D properties in 2026/27, will allow Nottinghamshire Police to retain the same number of police officers, PCSOs and staff across the force at a time when many forces nationally have announced they will have to make cuts to staffing and services.
PICTURED: Gary Godden
It also means the force can continue to deliver PCC Godden’s Police and Crime Plan priority to enhance neighbourhood policing, embedding high-visibility officers in the heart of communities to engage with local people and tackle issues of concern.
The proposals are set to be discussed at the next Police and Crime Panel meeting at County Hall on Monday, February 2.
“I absolutely recognise that the rising cost of living is a big issue for many residents across Nottinghamshire and that budgets are stretched,” said PCC Godden.
“Unfortunately, policing budgets are not immune to this pressure, and I’ve had to make the difficult decision to put forward an increase to the policing precept to allow the force to maintain its policing and staffing levels.
“Our public consultation showed that most people are supportive of the need to pay a little bit more. For just 22p a week more for most people, it means we don’t have to make cuts to services or staffing.”
A comprehensive public survey of over 5,400 respondents, carried out door to door and online, showed “significantly” more support for an increase in the policing precept than a freeze.
PCC Godden added: “Around 80% of the policing budget relates to staffing costs, so whilst it is great for the public to maintain high staffing numbers, it does mean things like annual pay increases and pension costs have a big impact on the overall budget.
“However, £3m of savings and efficiencies have been identified over the next year to help reduce the impact on the public and I am continuing national lobbying for a fairer policing grant which would see Nottinghamshire Police receive a more proportionate national funding settlement.”
External auditors published a ‘value for money’ report into the budget in December, which concluded the Police and Crime Commissioner and Chief Constable for Nottinghamshire Police had made proper arrangements for securing economy, efficiency and effectiveness in their use of resources, and did not identify any significant weaknesses in arrangements to secure financial sustainability.
The Government announced in December 2024 a commitment to put 13,000 more policing personnel into neighbourhood policing roles as part of the Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee.
Nottinghamshire Police’s rollout of its new neighbourhood policing model and abstraction policy – to safeguard neighbourhood police officers’ time in the communities they serve – came into effect in late 2024, putting the force ahead of the national curve.
Police are warning Gedling borough residents to be on their guard after receiving recent reports of rogue or bogus traders in the area targeting vulnerable residents in doorstep scams.
Recent examples include cold callers claiming to be from British Gas or Severn Trent Water. These companies have confirmed to police that the callers are not from them.
Now police want to send a simple message to Gedling residents: Say ‘no’ to cold callers.
A spokesman said: “We can’t stress how important it is for customers to check the identity of the person calling to make sure it’s a genuine visit.
“Genuine staff will be more than happy to give their names on visits and they’ll be happy to wait while you carry out the necessary checks.
“Never call the phone number on a salesperson’s ID card to check them out, ask them to wait outside, shut the door, find the company number on the internet, or call the company directly using a number from a bill or directory, not one provided by the caller.
“If they’re genuine, they’ll understand.
“If you’re not happy, don’t let them in.
“Never buy goods or services on the doorstep. if a suspicious person refuses to leave or tries to force entry, call 999 immediately..”
