Developers want to convert the empty Netherfield Methodist Church on Victoria Road into flats with accompanying internal and external communal spaces, a secure bin store, cycle store and parking spaces.
DECISION: Gedling Borough Council will now consider the plans
Planning documents submitted with the application state: “The existing property was unaffordable for the previous owners due to high maintenance costs.
“Despite a long marketing period by local estate agents, there was no demand from potential buyers to buy and maintain as a church or community centre due to the cost to maintain, and upgrade.”
They go on to state: The proposals will provide much needed dwelling units for local residents, requiring and waiting for Supported Living accommodation. The application proposals do not adversely affect residential amenity either for the proposed residents or in the local neighbourhood, are in keeping with the local area, and will not create any highway or parking issues.”
The transformation of the building will require a new floor which will be inserted in the former Church and Church Hall. There will be no structural changes to the existing windows, though new glazing will be inserted to meet modern thermal and residential standards.
The six proposed car parking spaces would be for the use of staff and any other operational car parking requirements that may be needed for contractors.
The plans have been submitted by Hockley Developments Ltd and are currently being considered by Gedling Borough Council.
A much-loved café on Carlton Hill has been put up for sale.
A Facebook message revealed that Albies is now on the market – but it’s still business as usual until the establishment, popular for its Tapas nights, is sold on.
The message posted by the owners on Facebook read: “With a heavy heart we wanted to let you know that we have decided to put Albie’s up for sale.
“It’s been a hard decision to come to and there are many reasons why, but the main reason is to spend more time with our young family.
“We have the best team of staff who have handled this news like the true professionals and amazing humans they really are. We also have you, the loyalist following of customers we could have just ever wished for
They added: “We cannot express how truly grateful we are for the support we have received.
For now it’s business as usual. We are still operating and if you have an event booked in do not panic we are still very much open.
“We are still open on Wed-Sunday and will be running tapas Fri & Sat evenings until it’s sold- do not panic
They urged anyone interested in buying the business to get in touch.
Work to construct the AMP at Arnold Market Place is continuing at pace and the latest additions to the site are 51 solar panels as part of the scheme’s plans to be more sustainable and use renewable energy sources.
The building has been designed to use less energy, use more renewable energy and help reduce its CO2 emissions.
The two-storey building will have a number of energy efficient designs including the solar panels, natural ventilation points, high efficiency LED lighting and systems that are more sustainable such as air source heat pumps.
The 51 solar panels on the roof of the building will help generate an estimated annual yield of 14,924 kWh of power to the units, saving energy costs for the tenants while providing clean, renewable energy.
The building will also be fitted with rainwater retention tanks that will be used to reduce flood risks and feed the semi-mature trees that will be planted around the public realm to offset carbon emissions.
Gedling Borough Council has made a commitment to be carbon neutral by 2030 and some of the measures in the council’s action plan include installing more solar panels on council buildings and promoting more sustainable energy options to developers when approving planning applications.
The AMP is being constructed by developers G F Tomlinson, the company, who previously built the council’s iconic Café 1899 at Gedling Country Park.
Up to £4 million has been allocated to the project as part of the council’s plan to revitalise the centre and create a new space that will help boost visitors to the town centre and support local businesses.
A new public space will be created as a central focal point for The AMP. The new building will provide seven small outlets for local independent businesses with flexible space above, which could be used for a variety of commercial options.
Gedling Borough Councillors launched the new AMP site last year
The council say they have received a number of enquiries from local start ups and enterprises – with more details about the new tenants will be announced in the coming weeks.
Funding for this project is coming from the council’s capital programme budget, boosted by a successful bid for £1.25 million from the D2N2 Local Enterprise Partnership’s Local Growth Fund that supports town centre improvements.
The project will create around 40 new jobs through business employment and through the construction of the new buildings.
Craig Stopper, Regional Construction framework Manager at G F Tomlinson, said: “The installation of solar panels as the latest stage of The AMP project is wonderful to see – and will significantly reduce energy costs for the building’s tenants as well as contribute towards Gedling Borough Council’s pledge to decrease its CO2 emissions.
“The AMP represents a huge investment for the local area – it will be an exciting new retail and community space for Arnold’s residents and visitors to enjoy.”
Leader of Gedling Borough Council, Councillor John Clarke MBE said: “The AMP is a landmark building for many reasons but an important one is that it is future proof in terms of it being a sustainable, energy efficient operation.
“The solar panels will not only provide clean, renewable energy, it will also reduce the energy costs for the tenants, which could not come at a better time for people who are seeing their bills rise.
“We are committed to reducing our CO2 emissions and we have made a pledge to do everything we can to encourage developers to build smarter and cleaner and so we are very proud that our own building will set a high standard for clean, efficient and renewable energy.”
According to Sky News, the new offer from the supermarket giant will see McColl’s stores and workforce preserved in their entirety.
The pre-pack administration deal will see Morrisons buying McColl’s immediately after it enters insolvency proceedings, which are being overseen by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PWC).
Morrisons and forecourt giant EG Group – run by Adsa owners the Issa brothers – were both in the running to complete a rescue deal for McColl’s.
While Morrisons’ early approach had been rejected by lenders, it is understood that both businesses put forward improved offers prior to the administrators’ Sunday 6pm deadline.
McColl’s lenders – which include Barclays, HSBC and the state-backed NatWest Group – initially preferred the proposal from EG Group, which had said it would instantly repay McColl’s debt of more than £160m.
However, an improved offer from Morrisons would see McColl’s lenders repaid immediately in full, satisfying their principal demand, was key to the grocer’s winning bid. Morrisons’ position as a major creditor is also likely to have been influential in the decision-making process.
McColl’s is an important partner of Morrisons, operating hundreds of smaller shops under the Morrisons Daily brand.
Morrisons’ commitments to the future of McColl’s also include retaining all 1,100 stores and 16,000 workers, as well as honouring all of its outstanding pension obligations.
A full announcement is expected to be made by PwC later on today.
CARLTON: The current service continues with no changes apart from the odd minute. The 06.29 to Nottingham (Mon-Fri) now departs at 06.27. The other odd minutes are trains which leave 1 minute later than now. 2 on weekdays and 3 on Saturdays.
It seems very unlikely that the hourly interval service will be re-instated until December. East Midlands Railway (EMR) are waiting for additional trains from other operators, whilst they in turn are waiting for new trains from the manufacturers, after which staff have to be trained on the new trains. Mostly the consequence of the pandemic and also lower passenger numbers because of this.
One change is that Newark to Crewe and return trains, apart from 3 a day, no longer call at Longport. In consequence, trains arrive in Crewe about 3 minutes earlier and depart 3 minutes later in the new timetable which allows a little more turn round time at Crewe and hopefully improve timekeeping.
NETHERFIELD: The 08.51 to Skegness was reinstated from mid April and there is now a full service from Nottingham every hour. Two extra trains with class 180 units as used on London services run from Derby to Skegness on Saturdays from 23rd July to 10th September, but the 09.59 service we had last Summer does not call this year, meaning no trains from Netherfield.
PICTURED: An EMR train at Carlton Station (PHOTO: Gedling Eye)
OTHER LOCAL LINES. Still no direct trains from Nottingham to Matlock except on Sundays. As a consequence, Spondon has a very sparse peak time only service, some of which are buses. Robin Hood Line. Nottingham-Mansfield-Worksop. A number of changes to train times and stopping patterns.
STATION NEWS: (Carlton) The poster cases have all been replaced and in fact we gain an extra one at the entrance to Platform 2 (Newark direction). This is currently displaying a poster asking how your journey was and that you can get in touch with EMR by visiting eastmidlandsrailway.co.uk/travel survey
(Netherfield) The station was mentioned in 2 items in the May issue of ‘Today’s Railways UK magazine. Firstly there was an article about Nottingham’s Trams where it mentioned that Robin Hood Tickets are valid on EMR to Carlton and Netherfield. On the last page given over to ‘Grumpy Old Man’ (No, not me, although the way Netherfield station has been treated makes me feel this way) was an item about. the Nottingham to Skegness service and it commenced ‘Sometimes you have to wonder how so many wayside stations with a very sparse service have remained open’. The article continued ‘… Swineshead and Hubberts Bridge also only have four or five trains a day, and there are others like Rauceby and Netherfield that are not much better served.’ I sent a letter to the editor regarding Netherfield, and wait to see if it is printed. It runs to 328 words.
EMR MESSENGER: EMR Messenger provides personalised journey updates, including – details of realtime disruption, alternative travel routes and busyness alerts to WhatsApp or your Facebook Messenger app. You can opt-in to the service on either channel by visiting the live journey, information page on EMR’s website and clicking ‘Keep Me Updated’ – or you can search for EMR directly on Facebook Messenger. Personalised WhatsApp or Facebook messenger alerts will keep you fully updated about your journey.
SMART CARD KIOSKS: Electric cabinets and machines will be popping up at stations in and around the area. This is for the EMR’s Platform Validator machines and Smart Kiosks which will eventually work like the Oyster offering in London, enabling passengers transport to tap in and out using smart cards and in time work with integrated transport options too.
Government plans to help revive high streets across Gedling borough following the Covid pandemic have been unveiled.
Prime minister Boris Johnson has unveiled plans which would rid high streets of “derelict shopfronts”, and restore neighbourhood pride, with councils given extra powers to force landlords to rent out empty shops.
Other measures will include the ability to make the pavement cafés which sprang up during the Covid-19 pandemic a permanent part of the landscape.
The government plans to revive struggling town centres will form a key part of the Queen’s Speech as Boris Johnson tries to reset his government following damaging local election results.
Under the Levelling up and Regeneration Bill measures to revive England’s high streets, councils will be given powers to take control of buildings for the benefit of their communities.
Compulsory rental auctions will ensure that landlords make shops that have been vacant for more than a year available to prospective tenants.
Authorities will also be given greater powers to use compulsory purchase orders to deliver housing, regeneration schemes and infrastructure.
Mr Johnson said: “High streets up and down the country have long been blighted by derelict shopfronts, because they’ve been neglected, stripping opportunity from local areas.
“We are putting that right by placing power back in the hands of local leaders and the community so our towns can be rejuvenated, levelling up opportunity and restoring neighbourhood pride.”
Shops have been hit by high rental and business rate costs and declining demand as consumers have moved online, a trend exacerbated by the pandemic.
Michael Gove, Levelling Up secretary, said: “By empowering local communities to rent out shops which have been sat empty for a year or longer, we will end the scourge of boarded up shops that have blighted some of our great towns across the country for far too long.”
Measures aimed at making a continental-style cafe culture a permanent feature of England’s towns and cities will also feature in the government’s plans.
During the pandemic, restaurants, pubs and bars were granted temporary powers to serve guests on pavements.
Through new legislation, these powers will be made permanent to expand capacity for businesses in the hope of boosting local economies.
The future of convenience store giant McColl’s took another twist over the weekend after two last-minute bids to take control of the collapsed corner shop chain.
Morrisons and Asda-owner EG Group, run by the billionaire Issa brothers, are battling to takeover the chain after it went in to administration last week.
The chain has two stores in the borough – with one on Carlton Hill and the other in Calverton.
McColl’s lenders had rejected an offer from Morrisons on Friday that would have seen it take on the firm’s debts and repay them over time.
The bid from Morrisons – the sole supplier to McColl’s – would have protected the ‘vast majority’ of staff and stores as well as its £141m pension plan.
But Morrisons returned over the weekend with an improved deal that would see the lenders repaid in full immediately, satisfying one of their key demands, Sky News reported.
Petrol station giant EG Group is thought to have also then followed that up with its own last-ditch bid – including a commitment to honour McColl’s pensions, according to sources.
It is thought that PwC, which is advising McColl’s lenders, is preparing to set up a showdown between the rival bidders in which they will present their best offers for the group.
McColl’s, which has 16,000 staff and more than 1,100 shops, went into administration after it was unable to repay debts of nearly £100m.
A man found carrying weapons in Mapperley Park has now been jailed for carrying out a string of offences – including robbing a man for a bag of chocolates.
Reece Deville targeted his victim after taking offence to him speaking to him as he walked past in Nottingham city centre.
He then approached the 37-year-old man aggressively and, after asking what he had on him, was told that he had some chocolates in his bag.
Deville then rounded on the man and hit him in the face, before snatching his bag and walking away during the incident in Clumber Street on March 26, 2022.
Just ten minutes after the robbery, officers arrested Deville, who was also found to be carrying a craft knife.
Deville, of no fixed address, was also found to be carrying a knife and a sharpened screwdriver, after being stopped by officers in Mapperley Park.
When confronted with the discovery, the 28-year-old insisted that he was carrying the weapons so that he could cut a carpet at home and repair his mobile phone.
He was also found to be carrying cannabis following the stop-and-search on January 16, 2022.
PICTURED: Nottingham Crown Court
In addition to this, Deville was also charged separately with sending a string of abusive messages to another man on 2 July 2020, in which he threatened to cause him harm.
Deville appeared at Nottingham Crown Court on Friday (May 6, 2022), having pleaded guilty to robbery, two counts of possession of a knife, possession of an offensive weapon, sending malicious communications and possession of a class B drug.
He was sentenced to three-and-a-half years in prison.
Detective Constable Joe Gayton, of Nottinghamshire Police, said: “Robbery is an incredibly serious offence that can leave a mark on people’s lives, both from a physical and emotional standpoint.
“Deville’s actions were completely unacceptable and left his victim very shaken up after he was seemingly targeted for no reason at all.
“He has also on more than one occasion been found to be carrying knives or other offensive weapons on him, which is both very dangerous and irresponsible in the extreme.
“It is important that people understand that carrying a knife actually puts them at a greater risk of harm, while also endangering others around them – for obvious reasons.
“I hope that this sentence shows the public how seriously we take offences of this nature and I hope that Deville uses his time in prison to revaluate how he’s living his life.”
The public are being invited to have their say on how Gedling Borough Council will shape a £2.866m Levelling Up bid which aims to bring investment to the area.
Gedling MP Tom Randall this week announced that the government money had been secured for the area and invited residents to suggest how to spend it.
£2.6 billion of levelling up funding is being awarded to communities across the UK through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund (‘UKSPF’).
£2,866,555 has been awarded to Gedling Borough and £4,255,273 to Nottinghamshire.
The money will be given to local authorities to spend.
Gedling MP Tom Randall said the cash will help residents ‘fulfil their potential’.
He said: “I am incredibly proud of Gedling borough, it is where I was born, went to school and live, and I know that our best days lie ahead. I am determined to work with the Government to ensure that everyone from across Gedling is able to reach their full potential.
“That is why I welcome the investment of £2,866,555 for Gedling Borough and £4,255,273 for Nottinghamshire, which can be used across a range of projects from supporting adults who lack basic numeracy skills, helping young people into good jobs, and regenerating our high streets.
“This investment will help Gedling Borough residents to fulfil their potential, while reducing regional inequalities that have been left untouched for too long.
PICTURED: Gedling MP Tom Randall has invited people to suggest where the funding could be spent
“To secure this investment, Gedling Borough Council have been asked to submit a bid to Government detailing how they will spend the £2,866,555. I am really interested in what residents across Gedling would like to see this money spent on and I therefore encourage constituents to email me with their ideas. I will then share those with the Council”.
Leader of Gedling Borough Council, Councillor John Clarke said he welcomed the additional funding – but reminded the MP that it wasn’t yet guaranteed.
“We always welcome funding that will help improve the lives of our residents but the devil is in the detail. This money has not yet been given to the council and there is an added layer of bureaucracy, as we need to provide an investment plan, which will take officer time and resource and doesn’t guarantee that we will get this much needed money.
“We previously applied for the £20 million Levelling Up fund and did not receive a penny so we hope we can fair better with this £2.6 million pot, that is allocated over a three year period but with no indication if funding will continue after that, something the EU funding was more transparent on.
“We will do everything we can to draw this funding from government to help support our most vulnerable residents, our communities and local businesses and we hope that the MP for Gedling and the government will support our application for the funding.”
