A community group has appealed for people to get behind their bid for cash to buy table tennis tables for a park they recently saved from closure.
Friends of Onchan Park, a community group which develop and promote Oakdale Rd Park, hope to win funding as part of the Aviva Community Fund. The group need votes from people in the local community to increase their chances of winning funding of £7,500- which they hope will provide two table tennis tables and a secure base. Only projects with the most votes will become finalists, so additional support is vital.
Research by the group showed that the nearest outdoor table tennis facility is at the National Ice Arena, 2.2 miles away from Onchan Park. The Friends group now hope that having an outdoor table tennis area with two tables and a supply of bats and balls would allow a large population to access this inclusive and enjoyable sport.
Alison Pritchard, chair of Friends of Onchan Park, said: “This year, local schoolchildren children helped to save the park with their colourful artwork on the pavilion. Now it is time for the adults to help develop the facilities on the park to create a space worth visiting, by voting for our funding bid.”
A Gedling wedding car and limousine hire firm is hoping to be named as the best in the region after being nominated for a top industry award.
Premier Limos have made the shortlist for ‘Wedding Transport Supplier of the Year’ in the Wedding industry Awards regional finals.
The winners are due to be announced tomorrow night at a glitzy awards evening being held at the National Space Centre in Leicester.
The Wedding Industry Awards are the only regional and national client-voted awards in the wedding industry. They were set up to recognise excellent wedding suppliers and to help anyone organising a wedding to find the best suppliers.
SUCCESS: Premier Limos chauffeur Chris Donnerly-Williams collecting his award at last year’s event
The firm took home the regional prize last year and made it all the way to the national finals, but sadly came home empty handed.
Company director and chauffeur Chris Donnerly-Williams is hoping the firm can repeat the success of 2016..
He said: “Last year we won this amazing award and I really hope we can retain the title.
“It was great to go to the national event last year. Sadly, we didnt win the national award but to be part of the evening and get that far in the competition was an amazing feeling.”
If the firm win the regional prize tomorrow, they will again make it through to the national finals.
A swooping mass of starlings above Netherfield Lagoons nature reserve is enthralling local wildlife lovers.
Murmerations – the official term for the mass aerial stunt – are known to happen at this time of year as starlings gather together to roost.
The birds look to roost in sheltered places which protect against the harsh winter weather.
During the day the starlings disperse as they go in search of food, but return in the late afternoon to their roosting areas when murmurations are sometimes seen.
Those visiting Netherfield Lagoons have been able to witness the aerial event each evening. The flying performances have been happening at the site just before dusk.
Mark Glover from Gedling Conservation Trust, who manage the lagoons, said: The starling murmuration is taking place most evenings at this time of year at the Netherfield Lagoons – a designated Local Nature Reserve.
“Up to 10,000 starlings are estimated to take part as they gather to settle in the reedbeds to roost.
He added: “The murmuration takes place at around 4pm at this time of year but it is recommended that if people want to see the display they are in position for 3.30 pm.
A game of two halves was clouded by a controversial red card for Millers’ Riece Bertram.
The game opened with several chances for the away team, Josh Riley finding gaps in the Carlton defence, feeding Karl Demidh and Tolani Omotola. The latter opened the scoring in the 21st minute following a speedy break, slotting home into the right corner.
A 50/50 ball between Bertram and Demidh which the Millers midfielder reached first, saw the away striker go to ground writhing in pain. After the away team surrounded the referee, he pulled out a red card with many disagreeing with the dismissal which may see appeal.
The second half was then tough for the home side down to ten men, but half time substitute Mamoke Akaunu created chance after chance for the Millers. After withstanding the pressure, Dynamo settled and grabbed a second in the 76th minute to seal three points on the road.
They had chances late on to make it three but the home defence saw out the dying minutes. A tough result to take in a game that many have labelled: ‘what if?’
Pet-lovers in Gedling borough are being warned about a number of rogue websites set-up to promote a fake premium number which they claim belongs to the RSPCA.
Anyone calling the premium rate 0844 numbers wanting to report incidents of animal cruelty will quickly rack up a heavy phone bill.
The RSPCA said when a member of the public dials the fake number they’ll be charged a premium rate and are then diverted to their National Control Centre. This means the caller may not be immediately aware of the scam.
The charity conducted a search on Google and found eight different scam sites with the incorrect 0844 premium rate numbers in the first 10 pages of the popular search engine.
Dave Allen, the RSPCA’s head of education and advice, said: “The amount of sites out there advertising incorrect contact numbers for our charity is very worrying.
“We’re urging people to watch out for websites with fake numbers and information that doesn’t sound quite right. Some of the sites can be quite convincing with unauthorised feeds from our official Twitter and Facebook page which makes them look all the more real”.
“Unfortunately it can be difficult to get these sites shut down, but we’ve been trying to solve this issue by reporting the problem to Google so that the sites aren’t ranked highly in searches. We’ve also lodged a complaint to the UK’s communications regulator OFCOM and now we’re trying to raise awareness of this scam with the general public.”
“Not only can these numbers leave people with a hefty phone bill, but it also means members of the public may be put off contacting us when an animal is in desperate need of care.”
If you need to report cruelty, or a sick or injured animal, contact the RSPCA’S 24-hour cruelty line on 0300 1234 999.
The off-season proved to be one of ups and downs for Mapperley Park Badminton club, writes Andy Shaw.
The downs: losing 10 ladies players across the board, meaning a reshuffle of the ladies and mixed teams and the removal of two teams.
The ups: acquiring a second venue, Arnold Hill Academy, for extra club nights and matches. This has enabled us to use the traditional Monday evenings as a training night.
Despite the heavy losses on the ladies side, the club did pick up seven new male players, allowing us to field a 4th men’s team.
The opening month of the season has been a mixed bag, as is usually the case with new players being integrated into teams.
In the men’s, the 1st team were without captain Andy Shaw due to illness. They lost 7-2 in the Premier League to defending champions Bingham. Craig Day and Steve Smith taking the two rubbers in a result that flattered the visitors. The 2nd men’s, back in division 1 for the first time in three years, started their campaign with a comfortable 9-0 victory over Southwell. The team had two debutants in Simon Cattermole and Zayd Sheikh.
The 3rd men’s, also promoted last season, have been right into the thick of the action. They opened with a tough loss to Rolls Royce, but followed up with back to back wins V Boots and Chilwell.
Another promoted team, 2nd ladies, faced Mansfield Oaktree in their division 1 opener. The 7-2 loss slightly undeserved after several close games.
In the mixed, the 1st team and 2nd team faced each other in division 1. The 1st team recording a hard fought 9-0 victory. The 1st team then went on to beat last season’s division 2 champions, Bingham, 7-2. The 3rd mixed, after storming to the title last season, faced a strong Carlton 2nd team at Arnold Academy. The highlight in an 8-1 loss was Rhia Simmonds making her 3rd team debut. Harry and Kath taking the solitary rubber.
A Colwick-based packaging firm are today celebrating after scooping a major award at an event celebrating family-run businesses in the region.
The Wilkins Group, which has its headquarters on Colwick Industrial Estate, were named as winners of the International Trade Award at the Midlands Family Business Awards last night (Nov 9).
Staff from the family owned business of three generations were among 300 guests at a glittering black-tie ceremony at The Velodrome, Derby Arena
They beat off competition from five other businesses at the awards which recognise and reward success across ten categories.
Sales director, Justin Wilkins, said: “We are absolutely thrilled to have won the award for international trade at the Family Business Awards. The Wilkins Group continues to go from strength-to-strength and this is a result of our brilliant and hard-working team. It is great to be recognised in this way and has given the team a real boost. Hopefully it is the start of things to come.”
WINNERS: The team from The Wilkins Group in Colwick
For more than ten years The Wilkins Group, which was founded in 1963 by graphic designer Ken Wilkins and his son Andre, has become integrated overseas with manufacturing hubs covering Eastern Europe, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, India and China with the infrastructure to service many surrounding countries.
Today The Wilkins Group is focused on bringing progression to Sri Lanka and its other offshore sites.
This year has seen the company invest in a state-of the-art machine for its new Fuse division, to enable it to cater for the luxury packaging market. It has also purchased new machines for its Romania division.
The awards are run by The Wilson Organisation. MD Charlotte Perkins, said: “This is the eighth year for the awards and once again the awards team, our panel of judges and each of our sponsors has been bowled over by the exceptional quality, pedigree, innovation and performance of each and every one of the finalists.”
The Authority this week announced it will spend £297,000 on improving bus networks on roads in Colwick, Carlton, Gedling and Netherfield under the banner of the Southern Growth Corridor.
These improvements are part of the wider A612 Daleside Road Improvement Scheme, funded through the Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire Local Enterprise Partnership (D2N2) which is providing £6.1m for bus priority measures.
The council’s Communities and Place Committee has carefully considered objections received and will press ahead with the improvements in the new year.
A major purpose of the works is to encourage more people to use the bus by improving service reliability and journey times, and boosting sustainable travel.
The county council, working with Via East Midlands, has already upgraded the three way traffic signal junction at Daleside Road and Vale Road, making the area safer for pedestrians.
Alongside these improvements to bus stops, are plans for an 80m ‘bus only’ lane along Vale Road on the westbound approach to the junction with Colwick Loop Road towards the city, to be in operation weekdays between 7.30am and 9.30am. Also for the introduction of double yellow lines on the north side of Vale Road and around junctions along the route.
Councillor John Cottee, Committee Chairman for Communities and Place, at Nottinghamshire County Council, said: “The county council has listened to objections raised. The new bus only lane will be introduced within existing road widths without compromising existing traffic capacity.
“The improvements will complement the overall scheme and will help cut journey times along the A612 corridor by up to three minutes, while also improving accessibility and facilities at individual bus stops.”
The restrictions aim to strike a reasonable balance between maintaining the safe operation of highways, recognising the demand for on-street parking and the wider objectives to improve the bus corridor.
There was one recommendation to reduce the times of operation of the bus stop clearway at bus stop GE206 on Main Road which was approved.
The overall A612 Daleside Road Improvement Scheme includes work which is being led by the city council along the Colwick Loop Road.
Nottinghamshire County Council’s plans to invest in improving the borough’s transport infrastructure moved a step closer today after funding was agreed in the latest budget.
The £40m Gedling Access Road and a new cycle network in Carlton and Arnold were amongst the local schemes to benefit from the £25m investment.
Today’s approvals signal the go-ahead for planning work to take place on major new schemes, such as design work and consultations. Final sign-off for these plans will be agreed at the Community and Place committee in March 2018.
Among the main infrastructure projects to benefit in Gedling borough are:
Continued investment to create the new £40m Gedling Access Road, which will help deliver proposed local housing. Construction is due to start Autumn 2018 and open to traffic in 2020.
£3.1m to improve the road surface at more than 170 locations across the county.
Six county council-led schemes to help protect homes and businesses from flood risk in Calverton
Improvements to traffic signals on the A60 Nottingham Road in Ravenshead
Plans for a new cycle network in Arnold and Carlton; and the completion of cycling improvements in Beeston to encourage people to cycle – part of D2N2 Local Enterprise Partnership sustainable transport programmes.
Committee Chairman, Cllr John Cottee said: “These plans demonstrate this administration’s commitment to investing and improving our 2,600 miles of highways and transport infrastructure.
“Journey time delays, road safety and condition of our roads are the main issues which residents are telling us about – so these plans aim to help address these priorities.
“We are also following up on our commitment to have extra investment in pothole repairs in 2018/9, with an additional £2.2m, following the extra £3.25m for repairs in 2017/18 which focused on repairing and resurfacing the county’s unclassified roads. Today’s plans also earmark more than 170 locations where our roads are in need of resurfacing and patching, as we know having a good quality road network is important to local people.
“As well as being committed to investing in our roads, our cycling networks are, of course, vital in encouraging people to cycle to help improve health, reduce congestion and improve local air quality. Having secured funding for cycling improvements from the D2N2 Local Enterprise Partnership we are already creating new networks in West Bridgford, Mansfield and Newark which are due to be completed by March 2018; and we are aiming to have a new network for the Arnold and Carlton area in 2018/19.
“Public consultations are due to take place in the coming months as feedback from local residents, businesses and interest groups are vital in shaping transport plans such as the cycling schemes and flood alleviation schemes planned for 2018/19.
“We think this programme makes the best use of budgets as well as offering a sensible balance of schemes to reflect the needs of each district.”
Nottinghamshire Police is supporting a national appeal for people to hand over any unwanted guns with a two-week surrender of firearms and ammunition, starting on Monday (13).
It has been three years since the last national firearms surrender, when forces across the country again asked members of the public to surrender unlawfully held or unwanted guns and ammunition to prevent them from getting into criminal hands.
Many firearms are held in innocence and ignorance of their illegality or are overlooked and forgotten in people’s homes. Others are acquired and distributed by criminal networks to threaten or harm their local communities. The surrender gives members of the public the chance to dispose of a firearm or ammunition by simply taking it to a local designated police station and handing it in. During the last surrender in Nottinghamshire in 2014, a total of 232 firearms were recovered, as well as thousands of pieces of ammunition.
Nottinghamshire Police Assistant Chief Constable Steve Cooper said: “During this Firearms Surrender we want to create an opportunity for people to prevent firearms falling into the wrong hands. If you know where a weapon is being kept illegally, now is your chance to give up the gun, or tell us anonymously where it is. You will not face prosecution at the point of surrender and you could save a life.
“One weapon off the streets is one less that can be used to harm or threaten our communities.
“Whilst the surrender is taking place we will continue to use all of the powers and information available to us to locate the weapons in criminal hands. We are working with partners and our local communities to safeguard, educate and intervene at the earliest opportunity and would urge anyone with information about people involved with illegal firearms to call us on 101 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.”
BACKING: the poster for the new campaign
The surrender initiative is being co-ordinated by the National Ballistics Intelligence Service (NABIS).
The surrender will run for two weeks from Monday, November 13 to Sunday, November 26 and during that period, in Nottinghamshire, guns and ammunition can be handed in at four designated police stations: Mansfield, Newark, Radford Road and Worksop.
Anyone handing in a firearm, ammunition or any other weapon during the surrender in Nottinghamshire is advised to check the opening times of their station in advance by calling 101 or visiting the force website at www.nottinghamshire.police.uk. If you have a firearm to surrender but cannot get to a designated police station during the surrender period, please call 101 for guidance.
Paddy Tipping, Nottinghamshire’s Police and Crime Commissioner, said: “I’m clear that firearms, in the wrong hands, can cause serious injury or worse. This surrender gives people the opportunity to hand firearms over to the police to prevent them from falling into the hands of criminals.
“Thankfully the chances of becoming a victim of gun crime Nottinghamshire remains low, but one incident is one too many. Every firearm that we can take out of circulation is out of harm’s way and I hope that people with old, disused or unwanted firearms, whether they are real, imitation or antique, will take this opportunity to dispose of them responsibly.”
Detective Chief Superintendent Jo Chilton, Head of NABIS, added: “Surrendering unwanted or illegal firearms avoids the risk of them becoming involved in crime and means that members of the community can dispose of them in a safe place.
“Perhaps you have a gun that has been handed down through the family or you have found a firearm in your loft or shed which has been gathering dust and you had forgotten about. During the campaign this November you can contact your local force and hand in any unwanted or illegal firearms. This way you can be confident you have got rid of a firearm safely.”
During that period, those handing over firearms will not face prosecution for the illegal possession, at the point of surrender, and can remain anonymous.
Latest crime figures issued on 19 October 2017 by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) show that crime involving firearms in England & Wales has increased by 27% (to 6,696). This is for year ending June 2017 compared with the previous year (5,269 offences).
Illegal possession of a firearm can mean five years behind bars and if you are found guilty of possession with intent to supply that can lead to a life sentence.
During the last national firearms surrender in 2014 more than 6,000 items were handed in to police forces across the country. These included hand guns, rifles, shotguns, antique (obsolete calibre) guns and imitation firearms, as well as ammunition.
ACC Cooper added: “Gun crime thankfully remains rare, but one gun in the hands of the wrong person can cause huge damage and potentially loss of life. We want to take them off the streets and out of harm’s way.
“Each firearm we retrieve has the potential to save a life so do the right thing and surrender your weapon.”
If you know of anyone involved with illegal firearms call Nottinghamshire Police on 101 or independent charity Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111. If you are a licensed firearm holder who wants advice please contact Nottinghamshire Police on 101. For more information about NABIS visit www.nabis.police.uk or follow on Twitter @NABIS_UK
