A new branch of a popular travel agent is set to open its doors in Arnold town centre next week.
Holidaymakers will be able to book a holiday to remember with the help of a team of six travel experts that have more than 165 years of experience between them at The Midcounties Co-operative Travel, which opens on Front Street this Wednesday (August 29).
PICTURED: Enjoy this beach in Kefalonia
The new 1,126 sq ft branch, which has created six new jobs will be holding an official launch event on Saturday, September 22, from 10.30am, featuring a special celebrity guest.
The independent travel agent, which was named ‘Central England Large Agency of the Year’ for the sixth time at the 2018 Agent Achievement Awards, will offer a huge range of holidays and will be the only agent in Arnold to offer Jet2holidays, with frequent flights from both East Midlands and Birmingham Airports.
Nick McCree, who has more than 25 years of experience in the travel industry and has spent most of his career with the Midlands Co-operative, will be leading the new team as Branch Manager.
Former Ilkeston Co-op colleague and local Arnold resident Sarah Decosteras will be joining him as Assistant Branch Manager with 36 years of travel experience under her belt.
Natalie Turner, Head of Branches at The Midcounties Co-operative Travel, said: “Our six new colleagues are already well-known in Arnold, having worked in the town for most of their careers. Each bring with them at least 12 years of experience in the travel industry and we’re pleased to be welcoming them to our new branch to help local residents book their dream holidays.”
Nick McCree, Arnold branch manager, said: “We’ve worked with many customers in Arnold for numerous years now and hope to see some familiar faces through the doors of the new branch this month.
“We’ll be offering a broad range of holiday options for local holidaymakers, all underpinned by our commitment to ensure we make a positive impact in the communities we serve.”
Gedling Eye now has a Whatsapp group so you can keep up to date with the latest news from across the borough. We will send you one message a day with our main headlines, as well as the big breaking news alerts. To sign up text NEWS to 07958532672. Make sure you add the number to your contacts as ‘Gedling Eye’. We won’t share your phone number or use it anywhere else.
The popular Haunted magazine recently ran a feature on Gedling Woods which has been home to paranormal activity for centuries…
Gedling Woods were originally part of the ancient Sherwood Forest, home to Robin Hood. However, today Gedling Woods is but a fraction of its original size, and is a nature reserve close to Shearing Hill.
There is full public access to Gedling Woods and it is a very popular destination for dog walkers and hikers.
Most people have no idea of the many hauntings associated with it.
There have been many reported cases of paranormal activity over the centuries, including a ghostly nun and also of a White Lady – both of which have been seen to glide along the many tracks which criss-cross the woodland.
PICTURED: Gedling House and WoodsPICTURED: Haunted Magazine issue 20 is out now
Both of these hauntings are not known by name and do not seem to notice the living.
The most infamous haunting at Gedling Woods though is a haunting which has no visual aspect to it, only an audio aspect – that of disembodied screaming. This horrific screaming has been reported several times but when people investigate (assuming a human being is in trouble) they find nothing. It is not known if this screaming is linked to either of the other two known hauntings, either the ghostly nun or White lady, but many people have reported hearing this horrific, blood curdling screaming ring out across the woodland.
In the daytime it is a peaceful little oasis of calm, but as darkness falls it becomes a more sinister place
Issue 20 of Haunted Magazine is full of ghost stories, stories about ghosts, stories about locations with ghosts and stories about films and TV shows that feature ghosts and is available now online HERE. #dontbenormal – be PARANORMAL!
Gedling Eye now has a Whatsapp group so you can keep up to date with the latest news from across the borough. We will send you one message a day with our main headlines, as well as the big breaking news alerts. To sign up text NEWS to 07958532672. Make sure you add the number to your contacts as ‘Gedling Eye’. We won’t share your phone number or use it anywhere else.
A public consultation has been launched over plans to build hundreds of new homes using land on the Arnold and Mapperley border.
Three plots have been identified for the new homes, which includes land at Brookfields Garden Centre in Mapperley, a field in Killisick Lane in Arnold and a plot between Mapperley Plains and Howbeck Road.
203 homes will be built on the plot between Mapperley Plains and Howbeck Road, with 62 of these being low-cost homes.
90 homes are planned for land which was being used by occupied by Brookfields; 31 of these will be low-cost homes.
230 homes and 43 low-cost properties have been earmarked for land on Killisick Lane.
People are now being invited to comment on the draft development brief which covers these sites and is now available for viewing.
PICTURED: The map showing the locations of the planned development
This document sets out how interconnected issues associated with these sites (such as the provision of a new primary school, drainage issues and the provision of open space) should be addressed to ensure the sites are developed in a sustainable manner.
But people are being reminded that the consultation is being held to gather opinions around the nature of the development and not the use of the land itself, as this has already been earmarked for housing.
A spokesman for Gedling Borough Council said: “We would welcome your comments on the draft development brief. Please note the principle of development has already been agreed and so comments relating to this will not be considered.
Those wanting to find out more can attend a drop-in session at The Beacon on Birchfield Road, Arnold (NG5 8BY) on Monday, September 10 between 3pm and 7pm.
The draft document can be viewed online HERE or viewed at the Civic Centre in Arnot Hill Park, or at Arnold Library in Front Street.
People have until Friday, September 28 to comment on the proposals.
This can be done via email to planningpolicy@gedling.gov.uk or by post to Planning Policy, Civic Centre, Arnot Hill Park, Arnold, Nottingham, NG5 6LU.
What are your thoughts on these latest plans? Let us know in the comments section below.
Gedling Eye now has a Whatsapp group so you can keep up to date with the latest news from across the borough. We will send you one message a day with our main headlines, as well as the big breaking news alerts. To sign up text NEWS to 07958532672. Make sure you add the number to your contacts as ‘Gedling Eye’. We won’t share your phone number or use it anywhere else.
Confronted by a rat in their house, a local resident decided to ring police in Nottinghamshire to ask for help in dealing with the roaming rodent.
Another member of the public was eager to get advice from police over the phone about dealing with a noisy boiler.
These were just two examples of timewasting pleas calls fielded by operators working for Nottinghamshire Police over the past few weeks.
This latest flurry of non-emergency calls to 999 has now prompted Nottinghamshire Police launch an appeal urging people across Gedling borough to use the emergency number responsibly.
In the past year, Nottinghamshire Police revealed they have received around 180,000 calls to its 999 emergency number and a further 425,000 to its non-emergency 101 number.
They say that while the majority of emergency calls are made to request police support in genuine emergencies, 999 call handlers are having to deal with a fresh wave of spurious and misplaced calls which delay them from dealing with the most urgent request for help.
In the last few weeks alone, the force has received 999 emergency calls from members of the public asking the force to:
Give advice on dealing with a rat in their home
Book a taxi
Share information about train timetables
Send-out officers to give advice on a noisy boiler
Advise the caller when their car insurance is due to expire
Explain why a power cut has happened
Explain why they’d been woken up by the police helicopter
Provide the telephone number for another police force
On a Bank Holiday weekend when Nottinghamshire Police officers, staff and volunteers will be attending a number of events on top of responding to calls from members of the public, the force is making a fresh plea for the public to think before calling 999 so it can be on-hand to respond to genuine emergencies.
Superintendent Paul Burrows, from Nottinghamshire Police’s Contact Management department, said: “The summer holidays and the August Bank Holiday weekend are typically one of the busiest times of year in our Control Room. We’re expecting a similar trend this year, which is why it’s so important that we know we’re prepared so that we can be there for when the public really do need us the most.
“While some of the misplaced emergency calls we receive range from honest errors of judgement to the more unusual, there is a serious point to be made here as every misplaced call our emergency call handlers receive has the potential to delay us from responding to genuine emergencies.
“All we’re asking is that people only call 999 in genuine emergencies and remember that there are other ways to contact us for less urgent enquiries, with the Nottinghamshire Police website offering advice on hundreds of policing and non-policing issues and the 101 non-emergency number also available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.”
Gedling Eye now has a Whatsapp group so you can keep up to date with the latest news from across the borough. We will send you one message a day with our main headlines, as well as the big breaking news alerts. To sign up text NEWS to 07958532672. Make sure you add the number to your contacts as ‘Gedling Eye’. We won’t share your phone number or use it anywhere else.
Two families from Nottinghamshire who had to send their children to different schools due to an ‘unfair’ policy will now be paid £500 compensation a year.
It was decided last year that the council’s school admission policy of not giving priority to siblings was ‘unfair’. This policy has since changed.
PICTURED: County Hall (CREDIT:Nottingham Post/Mark Fear)
But now, the Conservative-lead Nottinghamshire County Council has agreed to pay two families £500 a year because their children missed out on places at their preferred schools while the old policy was still in place.
Under the previous Labour administration, the council removed priority school places for families with a child already at a school, meaning the two families were left having to take their younger children to different primary schools.
As their preferred school is full, there is little prospect of the younger siblings of either family being offered a place in the near future.
The council has said it respects the ombudsman’s decision and there was no desire to cause distress, but there are always going to be some families left dissatisfied.
The case was investigated by the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman – an independent person charged with making decisions on the behaviour of councils.
The ombudsman, Michael King, said: “The changes Nottinghamshire County Council made to its admissions arrangements have had a significant impact on daily life for these two families, which could last until the older siblings have moved on to senior school.
“In cases like this we would normally ask the council to offer a fresh appeal to the families. But because the school has now converted to an academy, neither the council nor we have any authority over its admissions arrangements.
“I am therefore pleased the council has accepted my recommendations, and hope these will go some way to help these families with their arrangements over the coming years.”
Under the last administration, councillors in Nottinghamshire decided to remove priority in the oversubscription criteria for children outside the schools’ catchment areas who had siblings, over those outside the catchment area who did not.
This decision affected the two families, who applied for reception places at the same school for entry in September 2016. The two families appealed the decision not to offer their children a place, but these appeals were unsuccessful.
The Office of the Schools Adjudicator ruled in January 2017 that the new admissions arrangements for September 2017 were unfair. The council decided to offer second appeals to families affected by the changes in 2016 who might thereby have lost places.
The two families were offered a second appeal, but because the school was full it could not offer them places for their children.
The families are now having to transport their children to different schools in the morning, and make arrangements for after-school clubs or for friends and relatives to help with collecting in the afternoon.
In this case the council has agreed to apologise to the families and pay them each £500 per school year until either the time their eldest children leave the preferred school or the preferred school has spaces for their younger children.
It will also pay both families £250 for the distress in being denied the remedy they should normally have been entitled to, and a further £250 each for the time and trouble in bringing their cases to the ombudsman.
Councillor Philip Owen is the chairman of the Children and Young People’s Committee, and represents the Nuthall and Kimberley ward for the Conservatives.
He said: “This finding relates to decisions taken under the previous Labour administration, but I do understand why the council took the position it did. It is unfortunately the nature of the school admissions process that there are always going to be some families and children left dissatisfied whichever policy an authority adopts.”
“By restoring priority in the oversubscription criteria for children outside a schools’ catchment area who have siblings already at a particular school, this could mean that children who live nearer and perhaps only just outside that school’s catchment may have to go a much longer distance to get to another school. I am not convinced that the adjudication took their rights into account sufficiently.
“However, Nottinghamshire County Council respects its duty to abide by the ombudsman’s decision. There is certainly no desire by this authority to act unfairly or cause distress to any family.”
Gedling Eye now has a Whatsapp group so you can keep up to date with the latest news from across the borough. We will send you one message a day with our main headlines, as well as the big breaking news alerts. To sign up text NEWS to 07958532672. Make sure you add the number to your contacts as ‘Gedling Eye’. We won’t share your phone number or use it anywhere else.
Pizza fans are getting fired up for a takeaway service in Bestwood Village that offers their favourite Italian dish freshly made and cooked in just under three minutes.
Zenzerros’s sell a range of wide range of delicious pizzas cooked in a wood-fired oven from their takeaway van, which can be found outside the village community centre twice a week.
SMOKING HOT: Zenzerro’s offer pizza cooked in a wood-fired oven in just three minutes
PICTURED: Zenzerro’s owner Adam Melton in action
The takeaway service is already proving a big hit with locals and now others from across the borough are looking to get a pizza the action.
From the meat feast to the Hawaiian, foodies can’t get enough of their delicious offerings, which can be ordered from the van between 5.30pm and 8.30pm.
A pre-order service is also available and customers can contact the firm via Facebook Messenger or by phone with their choices before collecting when convenient.
All pizzas are served on a 9″ thin Italian base. Weekly specials and dessert pizzas are also on offer.
Zenzerro’s owner Adam Melton, who lives in Bestwood Village, said: “We serve freshly made wood fired pizza in under three minutes.”
Do you have an unusual takeaway or food outlet you think people in the borough should know about? If so, we’d like to hear from you. Contact our news team at news@gedlingeye.co.uk
Gedling Eye now has a Whatsapp group so you can keep up to date with the latest news from across the borough. We will send you one message a day with our main headlines, as well as the big breaking news alerts. To sign up text NEWS to 07958532672. Make sure you add the number to your contacts as ‘Gedling Eye’. We won’t share your phone number or use it anywhere else.
Tesco customers in Gedling borough will soon be able to turn Tesco Clubcard points into vouchers within 24 hours – rather than having to wait three months.
The new Faster Vouchers scheme will allow Tesco customers to request the vouchers earned through Clubcard points online or through the supermarket giant’s Clubcard app, instead of having to wait for their quarterly statement to get them.
Those signed up to the scheme will then be able to download and print the vouchers or use them on their phone.
It’s believed shoppers will be able to do most things they would normally do with their Clubcard vouchers – although they will need to have at least 150 Clubcard points (the equivalent of £1.50) to request a Faster Voucher.
When live, customers will not be able to download Faster Vouchers in the two weeks before Clubcard statements are posted out, which happen quarterly.
It’s expected that customers will be able to start downloading their vouchers in the next couple of weeks.
The borough has one Tesco superstore on Carlton Hill and a number of Express stores which are based in Carlton Hill, Woodthorpe and Bestwood.
Gedling Eye now has a Whatsapp group so you can keep up to date with the latest news from across the borough. We will send you one message a day with our main headlines, as well as the big breaking news alerts. To sign up text NEWS to 07958532672. Make sure you add the number to your contacts as ‘Gedling Eye’. We won’t share your phone number or use it anywhere else.
The thin line between success and failure was cruelly exposed at the Lido ground on Tuesday night as Arnold Town suffered their fourth defeat of the season.
A bright start by the home side saw the Eagles, with several changes from Saturday’s line up, on the defensive for the most part but they weathered the storm and took the lead with five minutes of the half remaining. They broke down the left and it was Dillon Bird who lashed the ball into the net to give the visitors a half time lead.
Clipstone continued to press forward in the second half but they had to wait until the seventy-third minute before the leveller came. A cross from the right saw a Thomas Moult header roll agonisingly inside the far post after somewhat wrong footing Elliott in the Arnold goal.
Into the last few minutes and the game could easily have gone either way.
It was the home side who tasted the sweetness of victory after Dean Rick fired home with barely a minute of normal time to go, this after Danny Dixon had unleashed a vicious volley from the edge of the box which almost snapped the cross bar at the other end moments earlier.
A much improved performance from the Eagles but they must wait a little longer for their first points…
The Eagles now turn the attention to the Bank Holiday weekend double header where they face Ingles on Saturday and a big local derby against Gedling Miners Welfare on Monday; both at Eagle Valley with a 3pm kick off, everybody most welcome…
Arnold optometrist Asra Sheikh took an eye-opening trip to Kenya to help provide much-needed eyecare.
Asra, who works at the Specsavers store on Front Street, traveled to the Thika area of Kenya to take part in the Shah Free Eye and ENT Camp. The annual camp provides free eyecare to some 15,000 people in the area.
PICTURED: Asra carries out eye tests on patients at the Shah Free Eye and ENT Camp (PIC: Specsavers)
While at the camp, Asra worked with a team of optometrists to provide eye tests and screen the patients for any eye conditions that may be affecting them.
Asra also able to refer those she inspected to an on-site volunteer ophthalmologist, so that any conditions she picked up on were referred directly on for further investigation.
During her week-long trip, the Specsavers optometrist also dispensed spectacles for those that needed them, as well as offering eye drops for those suffering from allergies or dry eyes.
For those that required medical treatment, Asra helped to take preliminary scans and biometry readings of their eyes to calculate the appropriate lens power for cataract surgery.
PICTURED: Asra carries out eye tests on patients at the Shah Free Eye and ENT Camp (PIC: Specsavers)
Asra said the trip had been ‘extremely rewarding’.
She said: “The camp is during the school holidays, so a huge volume of patients we saw were families. Many of the people we treated have very limited access to this kind of care, so it was fantastic to be able to offer such a vital health service.”
The charity-run camp, set up and funded by the Shree Jain Youth League, brings together teams of volunteers from across the world to provide free eye care services to people in the Thika area.
Specsavers Arnold store director Vineet Nehra said colleagues were very proud of Asra for using her expertise for such a worthy cause.
He said: “In the UK, we have some of the best healthcare in the world, which we can sometimes take for granted – so it’s good that we can help those who are less fortunate.
“We fully support any members of our team that want to offer their time and skills for charitable causes.’
For more information, please visit Specsavers at 37 Front Street, Arnold, Nottinghamshire NG5 7EA call 0115 967 0856 or visit www.specsavers.co.uk/stores/arnold
Gedling Eye now has a Whatsapp group so you can keep up to date with the latest news from across the borough. We will send you one message a day with our main headlines, as well as the big breaking news alerts. To sign up text NEWS to 07958532672. Make sure you add the number to your contacts as ‘Gedling Eye’. We won’t share your phone number or use it anywhere else.
Gedling Miners Welfare survived a second half comeback to ensure they took home their first points of the new campaign against league newcomers Ingles at Plains Road.
Goals from Joe Harrison, Joe Meakin and Jack Jepson gave Miners a comfortable half time lead before debutant Courtney Hastings rounded things off in the final minute following an in vain fightback from the visitors.
The game was only two minutes old when the lively Laithan Hammond had an opportunity to find strike partner Adam Smith but his pass was under hit and the retreating Liam Corrigan partly annulled the threat. Hammond’s rebounded effort was fired straight at Danny Brown. At the other end, Jack Jepson found himself behind a sleeping defensive line but he never really had control of the ball and the danger was eventually cleared. The match was open and really enticed any attacking football with both sides in no mood to adapt a defensive mind set. Smith then went close to putting his side ahead but his shot was pickings for Brown in the home goal.
Whilst they started brightly, the away defence were extremely nervous, contrary to their opening two fixtures where they didn’t concede and Gedling often found themselves in behind; unexpected prior to the game. Despite this, Ingles continued to threaten and Hammond nearly put his side ahead in spectacular fashion but his audacious volley from all of 30 yards was superbly tipped over the crossbar by the alert Brown who was proving a thorn in the visitors’ attack.
The match continued to provide ample opportunity for an attacking approach and both sets of rear guards were always on the back foot and after 25 minutes played it was Ingles who were exposed first. After Dwayne Brown, starting up front on the day, found himself in acres of space behind a questionable defence, his square pass found the onrushing Joe Harrison who calmly slotted the ball past Oliver Buchanan for the lead. The midfielder’s first goal since joining from Basford United in the summer.
Gedling sensed the impetus after going in front and they began to take control of the encounter. Their application to the game was commendable and Ingles found it difficult to combat their physical, yet impressive, approach and things got even better for them 7 minutes after going in front when they doubled their lead. After another superb through ball, supplied this time by Joe Meakin, split the lethargic Ingles defence, Jepson controlled superbly and fired across Buchanan into the far corner to put Miners in a comfortable position.
At this stage, Gedling were dominant and they looked in little danger despite Ingles threatening early on. The away side, on the other hand, were becoming frustrated with how things were panning out and their constant appeals to the officials were starting to fall on deaf ears.
The hosts looked a far cry from their opening fixtures of the season and were starting to look like a team that would find themselves at the higher end of the table come May. They battled well defensively and the midfield rearrangement, implemented after last weekend’s defeat at Eastwood, was beginning to stamp their authority on the game.
Whilst Ingles always looked a worry going forward, with Hammond and winger Sean Woolley looking promising from their perspective, the away back line always looked precarious and Gedling took complete advantage of such when, 9 minutes before the half, they made it 3.
After finding space, Sam Mellor’s delightful over-the-top chip found the clever movement of Brown and the striker volleyed the ball over a stranded Buchanan, after controlling well, to give Gedling an unassailable lead going into the break. A superb effort from Brown that left the away custodian with no chance as his reaction in questioning the whereabouts of his colleagues was more than evidential.
Three up at the break and no doubt Gedling’s best 45 minute performance seen at Plains Road in a long time. Only 2 minutes after the restart and Jepson may have put the game out of sight but, amidst more hesitant defending, his shot was saved well by Buchanan who deflected wide via a knee.
Despite the defensive frailties, Ingles always posed a worthy threat going forward so their frustration in the first period was understandable. Gedling were always aware of ability they had in their attacking ranks but couldn’t do anything to prevent what happened in the 53rd minute. In a game where the long ball approach was paying dividends, Dean Copson’s 40 yard strike into the path of Woolley was collected well and his fierce strike across Brown nestled into the far corner to give his side a sense of hope. A great effort by the winger who deserved to get on the scoresheet.
The visitors sensed a comeback was viable and Woolley’s goal really encouraged them to come out and make a game of it. 10 minutes later and they may have really thought their trip to Nottingham might not have been wasted but Smith’s effort from just outside the area was held well by Brown who got down well. 6 minutes later and an in-swinging corner by Billy Blackshaw managed to travel all the way through a crowded area but Ross McCaughey, defending the far post, headed off the line and the ball was thumped clear.
At the other end in the 74th minute, in a carbon copy to Blackshaw’s effort, McCaughey’s dangerous set piece was cleared off the line at the far stick, this time by substitute Bryce White who kept his side in with a shout and his defensive efforts was rewarded when, 3 minutes later, Ingles pulled within one.
After attempting to find his strike partner, Hammond’s through ball was intercepted but, with fortune, the striker picked up his own loose pieces on the edge of the area but there was nothing lucky about his effort as his thunderous left-footed strike found the top corner much to the delight of the travelling fans and his colleagues.
As the last ten minutes approached, nervousness started to become apparent in a Gedling side that looked more than comfortable for the majority of the afternoon, but Ingles failed to produce any further noteworthy attacks as the game ran toward its conclusion. Pushing for the equaliser, they became more exposed and 2 minutes before the final whistle, the home side added a fourth that put the game to bed.
When Brown collected the ball with time, his delicate round-the-corner pass, aimed for Courtney Hastings, was seemingly dealt with by Dan Tuck but his pass inside to his ‘keeper fell short and Hastings, on his debut, delightfully curled his effort in the far corner via a post that confirmed Gedling would take home all 3 points, their first of the new campaign.
A solid home performance from the Miners saw off a spirited comeback by the Leicestershire side in what was an extremely end-to-end and exciting affair. A thoroughly deserved 3 points should certainly kick start their season and they will look for another victory next week (25th August) when Belper United visit Plains Road, kick off 3pm.
