More than 600 people have signed a petition against proposals to remove much-loved green belt land around Stoke Bardolph to extend a housing development. Residents are urging the council to save the land around the village.
Gedling Borough Council is proposing, as part of the Greater Nottingham Strategic Plan, that protection is removed from green belt land so it could be used for around 300 new homes.
Villagers have been angered by proposals and recently held a meeting where they vowed to campaign to save the land from developers.
A petition has now been created, with hundreds voicing their concerns around proposals.
Petition organisers posted a plea to those visiting the petition site.
They wrote: “Stoke Bardolph village is a free open green space for all. Visitors come to walk, run, watch wildlife and enjoy the positive well-being provided by being in the countryside environment. If the Green Belt protection is removed in Stoke Bardolph, where will it end? Will it just be the start of the erosion of all Nottinghamshire’s green belt land?”
Gedling Borough Council issued a response when approached by Gedling Eye after the village meeting a fortnight ago.
Gedling Borough Council’s Portfolio Holder for Sustainable Growth and Economy, Councillor Jenny Hollingsworth said:“Government has set a housing target for at least 7,950 homes to be built in Gedling Borough by 2038 and The Greater Nottingham Strategic Plan Preferred Approach sets out how and where these houses will be built.
“Most of the houses allocated are being built on brownfield sites across the borough, however, in order to meet the Government’s target, we have to look at other suitable sustainable locations near built up areas, such as extending the development at Teal Close.
“The Preferred Approach is due to be considered by Cabinet Members in December and if approved, will be followed by an eight-week public consultation, where residents can have their say.”
A nineteen-year-old has appeared in court in connection to a suspected County Lines operation.
Leo Roberts-Barton, of Stanhope Road, Gedling, appeared before Nottingham Magistrates’ Court on Friday 25 November.
The teen was charged with concern in the supply of Class A drugs.
Officers search properties in Gedling and Mapperley, and found suspected drugs, drug paraphernalia, cash and mobile phones believed to be involved in criminal activity.
Three people were arrested on suspicion of being concerned in the supply of Class A drugs, however an 18-year-old woman and a 19-year-old man were released on bail.
County Lines refer to the transportation of illegal drugs across the UK, of which children or vulnerable people who are coerced by gangs are usually used.
Detective Inspector Nikki Smith, of Nottinghamshire Police, said: “This was a great joined-up team effort across the force with an excellent outcome.
“I’d like to thank the officers in the County Lines team who have worked tirelessly to bring the case to this stage and also the other policing teams who helped us to carry out these raids.
“The exploitation of minors on County Lines and of those at risk of child criminal exploitation is of huge concern and we will take all steps necessary to safeguard those who are forced or coerced to work in this criminality.”
A volunteer cop from Arnold has won special praise at an awards ceremony after saving a man’s life.
Nottinghamshire Police’s longest-serving volunteer cop Special Constable Alan Marwood MBE, has been commended for his quick actions which saved a man’s life.
Marwood, who has just celebrated his 52nd year with the force, was on patrol in Newark town centre, just off Market Place, when he came across a collapsed man.
PICTURED: Alan Marwood
The 70-year-old, said: “A lady thought there was a man being robbed but the minute I got there I realised it wasn’t an attack, it was a man in cardiac arrest.
“He was unresponsive but fortunately I had a defibrillator in the back of my car which I got out straight away. I gave him two shocks with it and he returned to spontaneous breathing.
“Ambulance crew colleagues turned up very quickly as did my colleagues from the force’s Operational Support department. The man was talking as they got him into the ambulance.
“His relatives were distraught when they arrived at the scene and I ensured they were transported to the hospital.”
Alan kept in touch with them following the incident which happened at around 10.30pm on January 22, 2022.
Alan, who joined the force in 1970, was among those honoured at a recent Nottinghamshire Police local awards evening held at Mansfield Town Football Club.
He added: “It’s very nice to receive recognition for your actions but the biggest reward for me is knowing what you have done has made a real difference.
“What I did was instinctive and just proves the benefit of having defibrillators close by and people being trained how to use them.”
Alan has policed many different areas across Nottinghamshire. He is currently based in Ollerton, concentrating on policing in the north of the county.
In 2020 he received an MBE in her late Majesty’s Birthday Honours List for services to policing.
He is no stranger to giving his time in the service of others having spent his career working for the East Midlands Ambulance Service (EMAS) and volunteering as a paramedic.
Alan retired as Operations Manager for EMAS in 2019 but still serves the public as a ‘bank paramedic’.
He added: “I still enjoy my policing role and we have a brilliant team up here at Ollerton and in North Nottinghamshire. We have great leadership and they are very motivated to protect their communities. That gives me the motivation to keep going as a special constable, I tend to work mostly on Saturdays nowadays.
“I still enjoy the physical challenge. As long as you’re mentally and physically fit and capable, age is no barrier.”
Temporary Superintendent Amy Styles-Jones, who leads the Citizens in Policing at Nottinghamshire Police, said: “We’re hugely proud of Alan who has selflessly given up his time for the police service to serve and protect members of the community for over five decades.
“He is truly an inspiration to others, he behaves with the utmost professionalism and colleagues look to him for advice. I’d like to thank him for his outstanding contribution to policing and congratulate him on his well-deserved commendation.”
Special Constables have the same power, uniform and responsibilities as regular (paid) police officers but volunteer on a part-time basis.
Specials – as they are known – come from all walks of life and backgrounds and bring a diverse range of skills and experience to the role. They volunteer a minimum of 16 hours per month to support local policing.
Nottingham Fire and Rescue service have issued a warning imploring people not to partake in ‘explosion’ trend on TikTok which has led to false fire service calls.
The trend on social media platform ‘TikTok’ uses a filter to make the persons surroundings look as though they are exploding, which they then send to their family and friends.
This caution comes after the fire service were called out to a residence in Nottingham after a man called 999 when his partner sent him a video that appeared to show their air fryer explode.
Dan Palmer, Station Manager for Prevention at Nottinghamshire Fire and Rescue Service, said: “This week we’ve noticed a viral TikTok trend, where people film their electrical appliances with an ‘explosion filter’ and send the video to family and friends.
“This trend has the potential to be incredibly dangerous and distressing and has already resulted in at least one false alarm (good intent) call for the Service, on Top Sandy Lane in Market Warsop.
“Crews from Warsop and Edwinstowe attended, after a call at 10:48am on Wednesday 30 November, from a partner who believed there was a genuine fire at the property.
“Although there was nothing malicious about that 999 call itself, there are consequences to false alarms.
“Please don’t engage in this trend. We will always be there for our communities when you are in need, but not only do dangerous trends drain emergency service resources, they take us away from other genuine emergencies.”
Two Carlton GPs have sent a heartfelt letter to patients apologising for being unable to prevent unnecessary suffering due to NHS cuts.
Dr Ian Campbell, MBE and Dr Claire Hatton of Jubilee Park Medical Partnership wrote to their patients following the British Medical Association’s report explaining unavoidable increased delays across the NHS.
The letter acknowledges the harsh reality that they can no longer deliver the same service, with routine appointments taking up to four weeks now compared to two to three days five years ago.
PICTURED: Dr Ian Campbell
Dr Campbell said: “It is really difficult to get access to the NHS, we know that. We wish it was different but actually it upsets us too.”
The letter, dated December 1, reads: ‘Within our practice and more widely, we have numerous examples of patients experiencing unnecessary dangerous delays to treatment.’
These delays are leading to greatly increased death rates.
The Nottingham based GP’s acknowledge how dangerous the situation is and understand the frustration it is causing.
Dr Campbell added: “The situation is getting worse, not better. It will continue to get worse into the winter and next year.”
The pair explain that due to irritation ‘our staff are subject to ever increasing daily abuse and aggression from patients’ which causes high numbers of NHS workers suffering with mental health issues.
There is difficulty in retaining staff due to the pressures they face with the NHS as a whole missing 130,000 staff members.
Dr Campbell explained that more investment is needed to recruit more staff so that more efficient and greater care can be given.
Their writing ends with a promise: ‘We will continue to do our best and strive to make things better: to see you sooner and try to deliver an even higher standard of care with the scarce resources with which we operate.’
The partnership have received comments from people that they were moved by the letter emphasising that these issues do resonate with many.
The GP letter in full
To all our patients of the Jubilee Park Medical Practice,
When we qualified as doctors we solemnly swore the Hippocratic Oath, to do our best for our patients, and especially that we would do no harm.
Today we are deeply saddened to inform you that, through no fault of our own, the austerity policies of recent years (which have led to severe financial cut-backs, reduced services and delayed treatment across the NHS) are causing our patients harm, causing unnecessary suffering and leading to many dying earlier than they should.
Four years ago, both of our practices at Jubilee Park Medical Practice did well when inspected by the Care Quality Commission (CQC), the NHS standards watchdog, both receiving certification of good quality practice. The harsh reality however is that we are now no longer able to deliver that same standard of service for our patients.
Across the country the NHS is on its knees, and it has become impossible to deliver a service that does no harm.
We understand the utter frustration and despair that you, on the receiving end of these cutbacks, feel. Waiting times for GP appointments are excessively long, telephone lines have never-ending waits, and access to hospital services, with more than 7 million people on waiting lists for treatment, is becoming almost impossible.
None of us works in the NHS for fame and fortune. We do it because we believe in what it is supposed to deliver: high quality, safe, healthcare for everyone, free at the point of delivery, regardless of ability pay.
As the former President of the British Medical Association and Director of the UCL Institute of Heath Equity, Professor Sir Michael Marmot, has evidenced repeatedly: in a rich country such as the UK there is no excuse for not being able to afford the NHS – our health, after all, is a human right.
If, however, we do not fund preventing ill health, of course the NHS is going to be faced with an overwhelming demand. Prevention is better than cure. But there has been a lack of political will since 2010 to address the social causes of ill health.
So what has gone so badly wrong?
During the years of significant financial investment in the NHS, with unprecedented investment in new buildings, new services, and strict standards for all NHS bodies to achieve, working as a GP in Nottingham brought great pride in the service we could offer all our patients.
But that has changed.
Almost three years ago the unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic struck and the NHS began to face its greatest ever challenge. GP practices and hospital staff were celebrated for their resilience and commitment, receiving public applause each Thursday evening. Remember that? But now, instead of weekly applause, our staff are subject to ever increasing and daily abuse and aggression from patients and family members, understandably frustrated by delays to access treatment.
I have never known so many NHS staff to suffer from mental and physical ill health, the effects of years of severe stress. Staff absences are at a record high: 60,000 nursing jobs are currently unfilled; we have vacancies for 7,000 GPs and the NHS as a whole is missing 130,000 staff. Add to this the now unprecedented huge demand for NHS care from millions of patients and it’s not difficult to see why patients are increasingly subjected to a severe lack of access to healthcare.
But it’s not just frustration that results. With seven million people currently on hospital waiting lists for treatment, Accident and Emergency departments bursting at the seams, and 999 ambulances failing to get patients to hospital quickly enough, the facts are clear.
Patients are dying. Within our practice and more widely, we have numerous examples of patients experiencing unnecessary dangerous delays to treatment and current data shows that delays to cancer treatments, as just one example, is leading to greatly increased death rates.
All this could, and should, have been avoided.
Years of financial restraint before COVID-19 meant that the NHS was unprepared and unable to cope. We need massively increased NHS funding, to improve services, attract new staff, reduce waiting times and make sure that we can begin again to deliver a first-class health service fit for the future.
And until then, we at Jubilee Park Medical Practice promise you this. We will continue to do our best and strive to make things better: to see you sooner and try to deliver an even higher standard of care with the scarce resources with which we operate.
We thank you for your understanding, patience, and support as we endeavour to continue the campaign to protect our NHS.
Police have launched an urgent appeal for information after it was reported that an 11-year-old girl was approached by a masked man on her way to school in Gedling.
The youngster was walking along Arnold Lane when a black van pulled over to the side of the road and the man told her to get in.
The incident happened at around 8am on Wednesday (November 30, 2022).
Police are appealing for information
Inspector Mark Stanley, of Nottinghamshire Police, said: “The girl wasn’t harmed and the man did not get out of the van or follow her. She ran to a local shop and police were called.
“Searches are being carried out as we continue to pursue multiple lines of inquiry, including checking CCTV footage, to trace the van and the man. The girl described him as being white and wearing a surgical mask.
“We treat reports of this nature extremely seriously and our work is ongoing to understand the full circumstances of this incident.
“We are currently treating this as an isolated incident but we have increased high visibility reassurance patrols in the area since this incident was reported.
“We are urging anyone who was in the area around the time and who may have information which could help us with our enquiries to please call Nottinghamshire Police on 101, quoting incident 100 of 30 November 2022, or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.”
Big Mike’s Artisan Cheesecake Shop on Carlton Hill has announced it will close for good on Christmas Eve.
The announcement about the store’s future was made last night (1) via the well-known store’s social media channels.
The shop was first opened back in November 2020 by owner Mike Jones, AKA Big Mike, and partner Jess Graham.
PICTURED: Big Mike’s Fat Kitchen cheesecake shop on Carlton Hill
In last night’s social media post he wrote: “We have had so much fun on Carlton Hill over the last two years, but I am sorry to say we have taken the decision to close our little shop for good on Christmas Eve.
“I am afraid that the financial situation of the country over the last year has put so much pressure on our business that we have taken the decision to change the way we operate.
“It is no longer financially viable to operate out of a shop, unfortunately with the cost of literally everything going through the roof it is not something we can carry on absorbing.
“When we started the business two-and-a-half years ago, we couldn’t believe the support we received from all of you! We quickly expanded to keep up with demand; moving into a larger kitchen, opening a second shop, taking on more staff and buying new equipment. Over the last six months we have had to make changes and cut backs to cope with costs rising.”
But he promised the business would return with a new offering.
In the announcement he said: “In the New Year we will be back with a new offering, getting out to events and supplying stockists.
“We have now sold out for Christmas Eve and have limited availability for the 23rd so don’t miss out. Hopefully we will see all of our regulars on the run up to Christmas.”
He added: “Once again I would like to thank all of our customers, any staff that does and has worked with us over the last couple of years.”
A main road in Netherfield will close over the weekend to allow gaspipe repair work to take place.
Meadow Road will be shut to traffic between its junctions with Moor Street and Victoria Road.
The road closure will be in place between 8am on Saturday (3) until 23.59pm on Sunday (4).
An alternative route for vehicles will be will be as follows: Meadow Road – Chaworth Road – Private Road No1 – Colwick Loop Road – Conway Road – Station Road – Victoria Road and vice-versa.
Buses will also be diverted during the works. The Red 44 (in both directions) and N26 (toward Southwell) will divert via Private Road No 1, Colwick Loop Road and Burton Road, with Manor Road/Elm Drive, Victoria Road, Knight Street and Chaworth Road stops unable to be served whilst the road closure is in place.
A woman who lost her husband in a collision caused by a drink-driver has issued an emotional plea to people asking them not to be the person responsible for destroying a family.
Mark Osborne, 48, was killed when his motorbike was clipped by a swerving van on the A60, near Arnold, in July last year.
The driver, who was over the drink-drive limit, is spending this Christmas in prison for causing the tragedy – but that is little comfort to his widow Clair Osborne and their two children.
For them, every Christmas will never be the same.
Clair, of Mansfield Woodhouse, is now supporting a new campaign launched by Nottinghamshire Police to deter people from drink-driving.
Over 2,000 posters and 5,000 beermats educating road users on the consequences of drink-driving have been distributed to pubs all over Nottinghamshire as part of the campaign, with similar messaging running on the back of Nottingham City Transport buses as part of an advertising campaign.
Officers will also hold a series of roadshow events to engage with the public and highlight the dangers of getting behind the wheel when over the limit for alcohol.
Meanwhile, police teams from across the force will be taking part in a widespread crackdown to target those who choose to drink or take drugs and drive in a bid to make our communities and roads safer.
With Christmas parties taking place over the coming weeks, Clair encouraged people to plan how they would get home if drinking alcohol.
She said: “If you’ve got work dos or have got Christmas parties planned, that’s the key word – they are planned. Plan your taxi, plan your lift home. If you’re driving and anybody tries to tempt you to have a drink, just ask yourself is it worth it?
“I have to see what it’s done to my children every day because someone decided to drink-drive.”
Clair, 48, recalled the moment police officers arrived at her house to tell her Mark had been killed.
She said: “I was on the phone to my daughter and there was a knock at the door. It was police officers and they told me Mark had been killed on his motorbike.
“I wouldn’t believe them. I said ‘it can’t be him – you must have it wrong, I was on the phone to him an hour ago’. But they had his driver’s licence and they were absolutely certain it was him. That was it – our whole world just stopped.”
She described Mark as a “very kind, very caring and very loving person”.
“If you asked anybody to describe Mark they would say he was a lovely bloke, who just wanted to make everybody laugh,” she said.
“He was a fantastic dad. That has been the biggest impact this has caused – my two children worshiped him and he would do absolutely anything for them.”
The legal alcohol limit in England, Wales and Northern Ireland for driving is 80 milligrams of alcohol per 100 millilitres of blood or 35 micrograms of alcohol per 100 millilitres of breath. It’s impossible to say exactly how many drinks this equals – it’s different for each person – and so Clair is urging people not to drink at all if driving.
“Even if it’s just one drink, that’s too many,” she said. “If you are driving, you don’t have a drink – that should be the approach. There are plenty of alternatives now, such as non-alcohol beers, so don’t be the person who just has the one and then gets in a car and that’s it – you’re responsible for destroying a whole family. Don’t be the person responsible for that.”
To highlight the dangers of drink-driving, Nottinghamshire Police will be staging a series of roadshow events over the coming days.
They will held at Trinity Square in Nottingham city centre on December 9, 10, 17 and 23, between 6pm and 8pm.
During the events, members of the public will be invited to don “beer goggles” that simulate the effects of drunkenness, to show the effect on reaction speeds and the potentially disastrous consequences.
Inspector John Lees, of Nottinghamshire Police, encouraged people to stop by at the roadshows to learn more about why drinking and driving is such a deadly mix.
He said: “Driving after drinking can have devastating consequences and can easily result in a loss of life. All too often we attend road traffic incidents which have life changing impacts on families.
“Please think about your drinking behaviours, particularly over the festive period. Please keep yourself, your family and others safe.
“Please make it your rule: If you have had a drink, don’t drive.”
The owner of an Arnold chip shop has thanked customers after plans were approved to demolish the building.
Blue Circle Fish Bar, at 141 Front Street, will close its doors for good after Gedling Borough Council’s planning committee approved the new plans.
The family-run chippy, alongside three other business units, will make way for nine one or two-bedroom apartments and ground-floor business space.
The applicant, Michael Zucker, told councillors two of the other units are vacant.
DECISION: Gedling Borough Council approved plans to demolish the building housing the Blue Circle Chip Shop in Arnold (PHOTO: Gedling Eye)
The fourth is the existing Front Street Cafe, which Mr Zucker says is to try and “sell on the lease or exit their tenancy early” amidst economic pressures.
But speaking after the plans were approved on Wednesday (November 30), the owner of the chippy expressed his sadness at the decision.
Bambos Charalambous, 50, whose family has run Blue Circle since 1990, said he will contact the council to see if the business can be relocated.
He told the Local Democracy Reporting Service: “What’s done is done, it’s nothing we weren’t expecting.
“I’d just like to thank all the people in Arnold, the customers who have followed us and supported us.
“I’m going to get in touch with the council to see if they can relocate us and put us somewhere else.
“If they do, they do but if they don’t, I don’t know what we will do.
“Hopefully it goes that way but we will see.”
Applicant Mr Zucker spoke in the meeting and said parts of the site have been the target of fly-tipping and anti-social behaviour.
He described his plans as “modern” and “attractive”, urging councillors to grant planning permission.
He said: “Unfortunately, [the properties] are currently not fit for purpose. Two of the four units are empty and are unable to be let.
“The owner of the cafe has contacted us saying they cannot run their business under the current economic circumstances and are looking to try and sell on the lease or exit their tenancy early.
“This means that early next year, two or possibly three units will have to be boarded up for security purposes.
“Far better than the existing state of affairs would be to create modern commercial units that would be attractive to customers and tenants.
“If you approve these plans, the anti-social behaviour and fly-tipping which currently blights this site would be removed by the creation of high-quality commercial and residential units.”
Councillors gave the plans their approval, meaning the four units will be demolished to make way for the apartments and business space.
Councillor Paul Wilkinson (Lab), who represents Carlton, said in the meeting: “I have tremendous sympathy for the existing businesses in this location.
“I’ve been on a number of occasions to both the chip shop and the cafe, and I would be sorry to see both of those go.
“However, this site is in clear need of redevelopment and what’s being put in front of us looks like a very good scheme that will make a big difference to that end of Front Street.
“For that reason, I’m minded to support this application.”
