Families across Gedling struggling with the cost of living can save money on services including free stay and play sessions for babies and young children, as a number of new Best Start Family Hubs open in the borough, building on the legacy of Sure Start.
Parents will be able to access help with infant feeding, parenting advice and early support for children with SEND, in one place, reducing the need to pay for private classes or specialist support.
On top of savings of up to £200 a year through free stay and play sessions, many hubs will also provide access to debt advice and welfare guidance, which could help families access support they may otherwise miss and improve their financial position.
The following three family hubs are to be set up in the borough:
The programme builds on the legacy of Sure Start, while updating family services for the modern world – combining face-to-face and digital support, strong partnerships with early years settings, and better use of existing community partners and spaces.
Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson said: “Children growing up in our country deserve the best start in life, but for too long, too many families have been navigating the pressures of parenthood without the support they need.
“Best Start Family Hubs will revitalise family services – bringing together health, parenting support and practical advice in one place, free and close to home, so that parents can get the help they need, when they need it.
“I’ve seen the difference Sure Start made in my community, and why it’s so important that we bring that support back today, reimagined for a new generation of families.
“Whether it’s advice on child development, help with additional needs, or simply a friendly face in the community, this government is putting the support so many families used to rely on, back into each and every community.”
Every Best Start Family Hub will include dedicated outreach workers to reach families, alongside a practitioner to help identify additional needs early – particularly those who might otherwise fall through the cracks – helping them access the right support sooner without being passed between services.
Alongside this, Healthy Babies support will be delivered through Best Start Family Hubs – bringing together health and early support such as midwifery, health visiting, infant feeding and perinatal mental health support.
A developer has promised hundreds of thousands of pounds in improvements to a village in Nottinghamshire after concerns were raised over its plans for almost 100 homes.
Gedling Borough Council’s planning committee approved a 93-home development on land east of Westhouse Farm, in Moor Road, Bestwood Village, at a meeting on Wednesday (March 25).
They have been tabled by developer Langridge Homes.
To the west of the site is Hawthorne Primary and Nursery School, and 101 homes have already been built in the wider area, following its allocation for housing under a council plan.
“The scheme would provide a wide range of house types from one to five bedroom, the majority of which would be two-storey, along with two bungalows,” planning documents said.
“The majority of properties would be detached or semi-detached, along with a terrace of three two-bed properties.”
Several concerns were raised during the meeting before plans were approved, including a loss of privacy, poor transport links, and the impact on the area’s amenities and facilities.
Cllr Darren Maltby (Con), who represents Bestwood St Albans, raised issue with the potential for flooding, as well as “horrific” traffic, and poor public transport links.
“Bestwood St Albans is increasingly growing, particularly around the village area, we have no pub, no doctors, no dentist, it has got one convenience store,” he said.
“What consideration has been given towards helping getting a few more facilities locally?”
A council planning officer said there was nothing the council could do in terms of the pub, but emphasised there was a significant amount of money pledged for local improvements by the developer; under what’s known as a Section 106 contribution.
He said the development shouldn’t impact the wider flood risk and there has been no objection from the statutory consultees, including the lead flood authority and the Environment Agency.
Eight objections were received by the council, with concerns ranging from Bestwood being turned into a town due to development, and a shortage of frontline health services and other facilities within the village.
A resident of Keepers Close, which borders the site, spoke during the meeting to highlight her concerns over the impact on her street which is comprised mostly of bungalows.
“Most of the residents are elderly, so a five-bedroom detached house at the bottom of the plot is going to constitute a massive invasion of our privacy ”
Councillors imposed an amendment to the plans that requires any windows facing the bungalows on one particular plot, where a five-bedroom house will be built, to be frosted.
The developer’s planned financial contributions were praised.
In total £777,850 will go toward education provision, £3,278 to be used by Nottinghamshire County Council as a contribution towards enhancing library provision at Arnold Library, a primary healthcare contribution of £50,394.37 and £41,400 for bus stop improvements.
There will also be an open space contribution – in the absence of a play area – of £261,607.20, and maintenance contribution of £119,320.00.
In addition, a contribution of £31,400 is sought for the maintenance of the identified local play area.
Of the properties, 28 are planned to be made affordable, including 20 for social rent and eight shared-ownership properties.
Cllr Catherine Pope (Lab) added: “It is actually quite refreshing somebody is coming along and they are actually going to give all of the allocations for a change, and the right amount of social affordable housing.
Another major step has been taken on plans for £20m community-led investment in Carlton and the surrounding area over the next 10 years.
The Government has signed off on Carlton’s Pride in Place submission plans for the framework for how it will use the investment, which includes using it as effectively a starting point to attract more investment in the town.
The programme will now move into delivery – marking a significant milestone in a once-in-a-generation plan shaped directly by local people.
David S Stewart OBE, Chair of the Greater Carlton Neighbourhood Board, said: “This is a hugely positive moment for Greater Carlton. This programme has been shaped by our communities, and this endorsement means we can now move forward with confidence and purpose.
“We are committed to ensuring residents remain at the heart of delivery, with visible progress that makes a real difference to people’s lives.”
“The Pride in Place programme is driven by a commitment to putting residents first, ensuring that investment reflects the real needs, ambitions and voices of the community. The plan will deliver targeted improvements across Greater Carlton, supporting safer neighbourhoods, stronger local economies, better health outcomes and increased opportunities for people of all ages.
“The approval of this plan is a clear vote of confidence in Greater Carlton and its future.
“We’ve listened carefully to what our communities have told us, and this investment will help deliver safer neighbourhoods, more opportunities for young people, stronger local centres and improved wellbeing across the borough.”
The programme will begin delivering benefits from Year 1, including support for community organisations, improvements to green spaces, investment in sports facilities, and initiatives to strengthen local retail centres and high streets.
Over time, the programme will expand to include skills development, business support, heritage investment and community-led initiatives, ensuring long-term, sustainable change across the area.
The plan forms part of a wider 10-year vision to transform Greater Carlton, improving quality of life for more than 53,000 residents who live across the area, and creating a stronger, more resilient local economy.
The programme represents a £20 million investment over 10 years and replaces the previous Long-Term Plan for Towns (LTPfT) and Plan for Neighbourhoods programmes, which have been reformed and rebranded by Government since 2024.
The NHS is advising people in Gedling borough to order any repeat prescriptions ahead of the Easter holidays and check pharmacy opening times over the long bank holiday weekend.
Pharmacies are extra busy on the run-up to and during bank holidays and opening hours may be different, so it is recommended that any repeat prescriptions should be ordered by Wednesday, March 25 at the very latest.
The NHS app can be used to request urgent repeat prescriptions and view the status of your order. If you’re on an Easter break or day out in another part of the country, you can even arrange to collect your prescription at a different pharmacy while you’re away.
Your regular pharmacy may be operating reduced hours over the bank holiday, but some pharmacies will be open on Good Friday, Easter Sunday and Easter Bank Holiday Monday. You can check opening hours on the NHS Nottingham and Nottinghamshire website: notts.icb.nhs.uk/your-health/pharmacy
Nottinghamshire County Council is set to embark on a “record-breaking” multi-million-pound project to start fixing the county’s roads – but the leader says it is still “not enough”.
The Reform-led authority has announced this March it will be investing £122.5 million into the area’s highways network in the 2026/27 financial year as part of the first phase of a “record-breaking” roads programme.
Reform has come up with a six-point plan to tackle the county’s strained and crumbling roads, focusing on prevention, permanent first-time repairs, longer-lasting materials, better value from crews and equipment, extra crews during the winter period, and lobbying for more long-term government funding.
A September 2025 survey found about 38 per cent of Nottinghamshire’s roads are in ‘poor condition’ along with more than half of all road markings being in ‘poor’ or ‘very poor’ condition. The multi-million-pound investment will resurface and patch about 16 per cent of roads.
About 45 per cent of the £122.5 million money pot has come from the East Midlands Combined County Authority (EMCCA), with the other 55 per cent provided by the council, through money raised in council tax and secured grants from other funders.
The authority’s leader, Mick Barton (Ref), called the funding and plan “record-breaking” and “game-changing”.
He said: “We’ve had 20 years of underfunding. The EMCCA Mayor has identified and the government’s identified, we are in a mess, but it’s still not enough.
“We’re still only just doing what we should be doing without getting a big way forward, so that’s why we’re coming up with phase two to try and get ahead of the game.
“We’re really grateful to the mayor and EMCCA, but it’s still not enough – though that’s nothing to do with the mayor.”
Councils’ assessment of roads includes something called “steady state” funding – the amount of money needed to maintain the road network in the state it currently is in.
For Nottinghamshire, it is estimated around £101 million of this money is needed per year, with the leader saying around £200 million would be needed to “get ahead of it”.
Cllr Barton clarified if the authority can manage to match the £122.5 million investment going into the county’s roads in 2026/27 over five years then the area’s highway network would be “nearly there”.
David Langford, director of highways at the council, told the LDRS: “The national [highways maintenance] backlog is about £18 billion. The time frame to clear that is estimated to take 12 years.
“We need to be realistic and manage the expectations of the community. We can make a big impact but even if we were spending £100 million, our backlog’s around £400 million, so it’s going to take time to get back on top of it.”
Included in the council’s investment programme is £82 million for road, footway, drainage and other asset maintenance, along with £8 million for transport schemes including pedestrian crossings and road safety improvements.
The county’s roads have been left in a dire state in some parts over the last winter, where part of the investment programme includes 10 winter teams working during the next winter.
Cllr Bert Bingham, cabinet member for highways, added: “We’ll have crews out there permanently, so instead of going around doing temporary fixes, either emergency fixes and dashing around during the winter, they’ll be permanently working year-round to put permanent patching in.”
Mr Langford said a “huge amount of investment” will be put into the summer months, to get the road conditions as best prepared for winter as possible. A pot of reserve money is also being set aside to tackle damage left following the next winter period.
Councillors and officers say they will be lobbying the government for more tax from road users to be pumped back into highway maintenance, where £32 billion in fuel duty and vehicle exercise duty was collected by Westminster in 2024/25 but only around £1.67 billion was allocated to local road maintenance, according to Mr Langford.
Speaking on the much-needed plans, Councillor Barton said: “I’ll start sleeping at night.
“I’ve already burst two tyres myself driving home – which I’m not claiming for – but it’ll all calm down, because that’s all people are talking about at the minute, whether you go into pub, supermarket… in a couple month’s time hopefully nobody will be talking about it.
“It’s exciting. We’ve not just got new ways of working, we’ve got new officers come with fresh ideas which is helping massively.
“We’re getting new JCB machines coming hopefully the end of April which should have a massive difference.”
Cllr Bingham said the authority will be using improved, stronger “put-down-thicker” materials on the roads, adding: “We understand we’ve got to rebuild public trust.”
Mr Langford added: “Most of our staff live in the county, it’s a case of having a bit of pride in the place you live. Staff always want to do a good job and do right by residents.”
Conservative County Councillor, Neil Clarke, who was the previous highways cabinet member, said he welcomed the funding and programme.
He said: “What the Conservatives were previously putting into plan is very similar and they’re basically carrying on what we already started – it’s welcome they’re putting extra winter teams in.
“Everyone gets complaints on the state of the roads, across the whole country. It’s something we are very keen to keep an eye on, and work towards a time where roads aren’t the number one complaint for residents.”
Cllr Clarke said a “close eye” is needed to be kept on how many temporary repairs remain compared to how many are converted into permanent long-term patch repairs and more discretion needs to be given to highway workers fixing potholes in “close vicinity” to one that has been logged.
The council already announced back in February £2 million to go towards ’emergency’ road fixes across 35 sites in the county.
Phase two of its investment programme, centred solely on highways, will be announced in due course.
Police in Gedling borough say they have been made aware of a ‘large scale incident’ that occurred at Trent Lane allotments in Burton Joyce.
It has been reported that a large amount of the sheds have been targeted by thieves with high value items being stolen.
Investigating officers say some of the allotment members have had sheds damaged resulting in financial loss for them.
A police spokesman said: “Unfortunately, some of the allotment members have not reported their sheds to be damaged or if they have had any items stolen from them, so if you are one of those members please ring this in via 101.
“If any residents are aware of any potential people and vehicles that may have been involved or if you have seen anything please get in touch via 101 and quote the current crime reference number of 26000161389.”
Intrepid explorers put their best foot forward as they headed to seven football grounds across Notts in aid of Prostate Cancer UK.
A group of Carlton Town supporters visited the other non league football clubs on foot on Saturday, March 14 before finishing at the club’s home ground, the Bill Stokeld.
The four early risers began at 5am at Gedling Miners Welfare on Plains Road, with sub zero starts possibly contributing to the swift early progress, with the group making it to their first checkpoint, at Arnold Town, ahead of schedule. The team were met by Steve Holland, the Arnold Chairman and his wife, Sharron who provided pastries and coffee as well as an eighty pound contribution collected from their supporters.
Keen to build on the good start, the team headed back into Nottingham, making excellent progress from Basford United to Radford FC and then to Dunkirk FC where the walkers were welcomed with yet more non league hospitality, donations and support during a brief pit stop.
More walkers joined as the second half got underway with running repairs being made to blistered feet at Clifton All Whites before the team of seven remaining walkers pressed on past the gridlocked roads around West Bridgford as they headed for their penultimate stop on Regatta Way and home of West Bridgford Colts.
Then, the final and longest leg of the twenty seven mile route, a five and a half mile trek over Lady Bay Bridge with the hum of the Notts County ground as the Magpies battled Chesterfield, and onto Daleside Road East and Colwick Loop Road.
The whole journey took nine and a half hours. The running fundraising total so far is £2,710 – exceeding the £2000 target.
Prostate cancer is the most common cancer in the UK. One in eight men will get it. Early intervention aids survival rates so the team welcome any more donations over the next few days.
A spokesman for the group said: “A special thank you to the walkers. Whether they did one leg or the whole route, they were part of a fantastic effort. Thanks too goes to the non league community of Nottingham.
From cascading of information on club socials to biscuits and coffee on route on the day, so energising for the team and very much appreciated and also to the support car driver who met the group at key intervals.”
A fleeing driver repeatedly reversed into a pursuing police car during a chase in Arnold.
A police dog handler was on routine patrol shortly after midnight on Wednesday, March 18, when he spotted a Volvo travelling at speed in the Arnold area.
The vehicle was followed along Mapperley Plains before being pursued around the surrounding streets.
During the pursuit, the police car was damaged after the suspect reversed into it on three separate occasions.
Advanced Armed Response officers then joined the chase and brought the vehicle to a tactical stop on Woodborough Road.
A 21-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of dangerous driving, failing to stop, drink driving, theft, and criminal damage.
Inspector Chris Chell, of Nottinghamshire Police, said: “The vehicle he was driving was found to have been stolen and was travelling on false plates.
“The driver of this vehicle put multiple people in danger with his actions, including himself.
“Thanks to the skill and professionalism of all the officers involved, this incident was brought to a swift and safe conclusion.”
Campaigners say they are ‘over the moon’ with a new plan by the council to protect a popular leisure centre in Calverton from closure.
Gedling Borough Council has been reviewing its entire leisure offer as part of a new strategy to make its portfolio more financially sustainable, but residents and councillors feared the new plans had put Calverton Leisure Centre at risk of closure.
PICTURED: Calverton Leisure Centre
The Labour-led council currently provides an annual £1.3 million subsidy to help run all of its leisure centres, which it says is “not sustainable”.
As part of the review, it has been looking at how it manages joint-use sites, including Calverton and Redhill leisure centres.
Council documents revealed it was considering withdrawing from the joint agreements, and residents in Calverton set up a petition to prevent such a decision being made for the popular facility off Flatts Lane.
A consultation was also held asking residents for their thoughts.
At a cabinet meeting on March 26, the council has recommended it continues running the leisure centres under current arrangements.
In a statement council leader Cllr John Clarke (Lab) said: “First of all no decision has yet been made.
“What we have been doing is looking carefully at how our leisure centres remain sustainable and affordable for the future. Like many councils across the country our leisure services are heavily subsidised, and we need to make sure we manage them responsibly so residents can continue to enjoy these facilities for many years to come.
“I am pleased to say because of the work we’ve been doing to modernise our leisure offer, particularly through the development of the Carlton Active, we are now in a stronger position. Having a modern, efficient facility in Carlton will make our leisure services more economically sustainable overall, and that means we can continue to support and subsidise our other centres that are important to our communities, including here in Calverton and also in Arnold.
“Next week the council’s cabinet will consider the recent consultation and a recommendation that the Calverton Leisure Centre remains open, operated by Gedling Borough Council. Cabinet will also consider the recommendation Redhill Leisure Centre continues to be operated by the council.”
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 originally recommended the centre is retained for community use “in the short term”.
However, over the long term, the strategy could have given 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.”
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 Andy Meads (Ind), who represents Calverton, has been campaigning to protect the centre.
He told the Local Democracy Reporting Service: “I don’t know what swung it in the end.
“It has all come out exactly how we wanted, possibly the fact you can’t ignore the consultations, or the stuff people have been saying on Facebook, or the petition we did in January.
“I’ve been really giving them a hard time privately with emails and ranting at them. People are over the moon.
“Community engagement in this village is sky-high. The whole thing has been ridiculous. Usage is up and they had been struggling to fit people in.”
Councillor Mike Adams has called for urgent action to tackle poor behaviour on the sidelines and to improve grassroots sports facilities across the county, following a speech delivered at Thursday’s full council meeting.
Cllr Adams, who represents Carlton East on Nottinghamshire County Council, highlighted growing concerns about the treatment of referees – many of whom are young volunteers – and the damaging impact this is having on local sport.
“As a local councillor and youth football coach, this is something I see week in, week out,” said Cllr Adams.
“Although the majority of parents and coaches are fantastic advocates for the sport, too many are losing their temper and directing abuse at referees who are simply trying to do their best.
PICTURED: Cllr Mike Adams
“This behaviour is unacceptable and must stop.”
He warned that such conduct is driving volunteers away from the game and setting a bad example for young players.
He added: “We are supposed to be teaching our children discipline, teamwork and respect. Instead, we risk encouraging poor behaviour from the sidelines,” he added.
Cllr Adams also linked the issue to wider wellbeing, supporting initiatives such as smoke-free and vape-free sidelines while emphasising the importance of protecting the mental health of both players and match officials.
In addition, he raised concerns about the ongoing impact of poor weather on grassroots football, with waterlogged pitches frequently leading to cancelled matches during the winter months.
“Our biggest opponent in grassroots football isn’t another team – it’s the weather,” he said. “Too many games are lost to muddy, unusable pitches, which means fewer opportunities for children to stay active and engaged.”
To address this, Cllr Adams is calling for increased investment in modern 4G all-weather pitches across the district. He argued that such facilities would allow year-round play, improve public health outcomes, and strengthen community cohesion.
“These pitches are not a luxury – they are an investment in our children’s future,” he said. “They will help keep young people active, reduce pressure on the NHS, and support stronger, healthier communities.”
Cllr Adams urged fellow councillors to work collaboratively with district authorities, parish councils and local MPs to prioritise funding for improved sports infrastructure.
“Let’s protect our referees, support our volunteers, and ensure every child has the opportunity to play the sport they love,” he concluded.
