A YEAR IN REVIEW: Gedling Eye looks back at 2023 – January to March

Gedling Eye looks back at the highs and lows of 2023 across the borough, starting with January to March…

JANUARY

CARLTON le Willows Academy announced plans to install CCTV cameras in its school toilets after “inappropriate” use and vandalism by pupils.

A spokesperson said at the time: “The inappropriate use of these spaces and significant damage caused has led to a significant minority of students unwilling to use the toilets during the school day. To address the situation we are installing CCTV cameras in each of the single sex toilet spaces. These cameras will be strategically located so they look along the line of cubicles, along the top of the cubicles and along the line of sinks.

They added: “They will not focus inside toilet cubicles when doors are shut or into the urinals in the boys’ toilets.”

GEDLING Borough Council announced plans for the relocated Arnold Market to stay in Eagle Square until the end of the year (2023), subject to a consultation.

Traders were moved to the square from their original town centre location after 50 years while the works were carried out on the AMP development, which opened in 2022.

A TAXI driver who left a blind couple from Arnold stranded because they had guide dogs with them was fined by magistrates.

Gavin and Mel Griffiths had booked a taxi to pick them up from the town back in July 2021 however when the taxi arrived, Mr and Mrs Griffiths were waiting on the pavement with their guide dogs and the vehicle turned around and drove off, leaving the couple stranded.

The judge ruled that the reason Mr Anwar failed to fulfil the booking was due to the presence of the guide dogs and despite pleading not guilty, Rajan Anwar, 52, was convicted by a district judge after hearing evidence from Mr Griffiths’ himself and considering evidence obtained from his phone and Uber which supported the prosecution’s case.

LOCAL protestors from Extinction Rebellion unveiled a satirical blue plaque (28) claiming Gedling MP Tom Randall “voted to block a law requiring water companies to dump less raw sewage into our waterways and seas 20 Oct ‘21”.

The blue plaques by the River Trent in Stoke Bardolph were unveiled in a spoof ceremony as part of a national day of action called ‘Dirty Water’ designed to highlight the shocking state of our waterways. 

THE LAMBLEY pub based on Main Street in Lambley village closed its doors suddenly to customers.

A spokesperson for Star Pubs & Bars, who own The Lambley, told Gedling Eye back in January they hadn’t been informed that the pub would be closing.

They said: “The Lambley was leased to an independent operator to run as their own business. They closed the pub on Tuesday without notice. We are keen for it to reopen as quickly as possible.”

A PAINTER and decorator from Calverton who slashed a colleague in the face with a knife during a workplace row was jailed.

Steven Brett punched the victim and bit him on the neck before pulling out a blade during the violent attack at a building site in Grantham Road, Bingham. Brett, aged 35, of Ramsdale Avenue, was jailed for two years when he appeared at Nottingham Crown Court for sentencing on Tuesday, January 24, 2023.

A NEW £18,500 CCTV Camera was installed by Gedling Borough Council to offer reassurance to users of an Arnold park.

The camera was installed at Killisick Recreation Ground, to hopefully reassure users of the recently refurbished play area and local schools, as well as to users of the nearby community centre and children’s centre.

FEBRUARY

A DECISION not to re-open ‘Woodies’ in Netherfield was taken following the death of Netherfield legend Chris Woodward, who lived until he was 92.

Chris was a much loved member of the Netherfield Community and many will remember him from the famous ‘Woodies’ sign on Victoria Road that directed customers to his premises to the rear of the Heron foodstore in the town. Chris operated his business for over 50 years.

A GEDLING burglar was caught and jailed after leaving his fingerprints at the scene of a break-in.

Dean Holm, 33, left his mark after removing his gloves to prise open a jewellery box he’d plundered from inside of a locked filing cabinet. Further damning evidence was found on his mobile phone, which showed he had researched several stolen watches to gauge their value and placed a call to a local pawn broker. Holm, of Burton Road, Gedling, pleaded guilty to burglary.

A PETITION to save Ravenshead‘s sorting office received more than 600 signatures.

Residents were very concerned that they may lose the Royal Mail sorting office that forms a major part of the village Post Office.

Gedling Borough Councillor (Con) and Chairman of Ravenshead Parish Council, Martin Smith was really concerned about the impact the closure could have on the community telling Gedling Eye: “Residents, particularly the elderly ones, are concerned that if letters or parcels need to be collected from the sorting office after a missed delivery, they will be faced with a long journey to collect their post.”

NINE-year-old Matilda Handy came up with an idea for a new ‘postbox to heaven’ at Gedling Crematorium allowing grieving people to send letters to their lost loved ones.

More crematoriums across the UK announced they were also planning to install a ‘postbox to heaven’ after the heartwarming idea proved popular in Gedling.

IT WAS decided that a new primary school at Gedling’s 1,050-home Chase Farm development would no longer be built due to a lack of demand for places.

Nottinghamshire County Council said the cash allocated for the 210-place school would instead be used to tackle pressure in secondary education, including support for an academy’s expansion.

The new primary school was promised during the planning process for the major housing development at the old Gedling Colliery site. Developer Keepmoat Homes pledged to provide £3.6m in contributions towards the school, which would have been based on the development itself.

GEDLING fighter Leigh Wood lost his WBA featherweight world title after being knocked out by Mexico’s Mauricio Lara at the Motorpoint Arena.

Wood was dropped by a brutal left hook in the seventh round at the Motorpoint Arena in Nottingham. Although he bravely got back to his feet to fight on, his trainer Ben Davison immediately threw in the towel with Wood in no position to continue – much to the fighter’s disappointment. Wood had been fighting with a cut by his left eye following an accidental clash of heads in the first round.

CHILDREN at All Hallows Primary School in Gedling enjoyed a new set of percussion instruments thanks to a kind donation from the Carlton Male Voice Choir.

The gifts were a thank you to the All Hallows Primary School choir Children’s Choir who shared the stage with the renowned Carlton Male Voice Choir in front of a packed audience at their Christmas Concert (2022).

HSBC confirmed that it’s Arnold branch would close on May 9 despite pre-tax profits rising at the banking giant.

HSBC had previously announced that Arnold was one of 114 branches across the UK that would close from April after blaming the Covid pandemic for a decline in footfall.

HSBC said that the selected branches were serving fewer than 250 people a week.

MARCH

BIZARRE single and double yellow lines appeared in Gedling, leaving residents flabbergasted.

The new lines were added to Wood Lane and residents said they looked like they’d been painted on ‘by schoolchildren’.

They were introduced to address parking issues caused by visitors to Carlton-le-Willows Academy and those visiting Gedling Woods.

The quality of the double and single lining works attracted a large number of derogatory comments on Facebook with one resident writing: “I thought my child was at nursery but it seems they got the chance to do drawing on the roads around Gedling village instead’

A POPULAR Colwick play area reopened after six weeks of renovation work.

Almost £100k was spent on Colwick Rectory Play Area to improve the site and add new and inclusive facilities. The refurbishment included a wheelchair-accessible roundabout, zip wire, trampoline, a multi-play unit with 17 different features, new swings and more. Funding for the facilities were thanks to FCC Communities Foundation, a not-for-profit business that awards grants for community, conservation and heritage projects.

LAMBLEY WI celebrated its 70th birthday in the way they do best – they decorated their village bus stop.

Alison Moss, secretary of Lambley WI said: “Today was a very cold day and there were lots of numb fingers and toes, but we battled through and it looks as fabulous as ever.”

CARLTON Post Office finally re-opened after having been closed for over seven weeks.

The post office, which had been based within the old McColls store, had been shut since Thursday, January 19 – but finally reopened its doors, contained within a new Premier store under new management with an independent Postmaster..

A NEW £45,000 Holocaust memorial garden was officially opened at Gedling Country Park.

The memorial garden commemorates the millions of people who lost their lives in the Holocaust and other genocide atrocities that followed across the world.

The focal point of the memorial garden is a sculpture of a flame to represent the Holocaust Memorial, surrounded by a circular footpath, lined with cherry trees and native wildflowers, as well as several benches.

The garden has been designed to offer visitors a peaceful place to reflect and remember the millions of men, women and children murdered during the Holocaust.

GEDLING Borough Council announced that it’s fleet of bin lorries would be using greener, biofuel instead of diesel.

The move was part of a pioneering initiative that aims to reduce the CO2 emissions of the fleet by 90% and promote environmental sustainability.

They said that the change of fuel use will provide a cleaner working environment for staff, reduce fuel usage and minimise pollution and waste. The scheme is expected to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by up to 90%, Nitrous Oxide emissions by up to 27% and Particulate Matter emissions by up to 84%.