Nottingham auction house John Pye Auctions has announced it will be sponsoring Gedling‘s world champion boxer, Leigh Wood, as he defends his title on home soil in March.
John Pye will be supporting local lad Wood on his upcoming tour as he guards his WBA ‘Regular’ world featherweight belt from Irish opponent, Michael Conlan.
While Wood had hoped to bring the battle to a roaring crowd of fans at the City Ground – home of Wood’s much-loved Nottingham Forest – the pair will be clashing at the city’s Motorpoint Arena on Saturday, March 12.
The firm is sponsoring Wood in partnership with eco-conscious clothing brand, Manava, which utilises recycled fabrics.
Adam Pye, managing director at John Pye Auctions, said: “All of us at John Pye are so pleased to be supporting Leigh Wood in the run up to this major fight that will see him defend his world title in his hometown – and John Pye’s headquarters – in Nottingham.
“As longstanding sponsors of Nottingham Forest, among many other local, professional and grassroots level sports teams and personalities, we are proud to show our commitment to Leigh.
“I know the Nottingham fans will turn up for him and ensure he enters the ring to a fantastic atmosphere. We wish him all the best for the fight and hope to see him safekeep his belt.”
John Pye, which is the UK’s largest auction house network, offers the biggest volume and widest variety of stock and assets to the secondary market.
Matchroom Boxing, promoters for Leigh Wood, said: “On behalf of Leigh, we’d like to thank John Pye Auctions for its support, and we are delighted to welcome the firm as an official sponsor for this milestone moment in Leigh’s fighting career.
“It’s great to have a top, national business supporting Leigh, particularly as there is also a shared pride in Nottingham, so we are very much looking forward to working with the firm.”
To find out more about John Pye Auctions and the comprehensive services it offers please visit: www.johnpye.co.uk or join the conversation on Twitter @John_Pye.
£15,000 has now been invested to improve CCTV equipment in a bid to help tackle crime in Arnold town centre.
Four new digital cameras have been installed on Front Street using existing CCTV infrastructure and upgrading the cameras themselves.
Gedling Borough Council, who have invested the cash, say the improved cameras can provide high quality images to help improve facial recognition and identify number plates, which will help assist the police investigating criminal activities taking place in or around the town centre.
The cameras have been installed as part of the council’s commitment to reduce crime and anti-social behaviour and to invest in new and existing CCTV in priority hot spots such as Arnold Town Centre.
Deputy leader of Gedling Borough Council, Councillor Michael Payne said: “Keeping our borough safe and reducing crime is one of our key priorities, and that’s exactly why we’re making this investment. We’ve already installed, and seen the benefits of additional CCTV elsewhere in the borough and we’re committed to continuing these improvements.
We work closely with the Police, local businesses and other authorities to keep our residents and businesses safe, and these new cameras will only strengthen the tools we have at our disposal to tackle crime and antisocial behaviour.”
Plans to invest an extra £15 million to improve the state of Nottinghamshire’s roads have been approved by councillors.
Nottinghamshire County Council will allocate the funding as it moves towards permanent solutions to road repairs and addresses more than 50 recommendations from its recent highways review.
The funding includes spending £12 million more over the next three years to double ‘patching teams’ from four to eight as it shifts towards a “right repair, right-first-time” approach.
An additional £2 million will be used to improve street lighting, with £1 million to address “climate emergency” issues.
It follows the cross-party highways review panel conducted last year to address what many councillors described as the “biggest issue on the doorstep” in last May’s election.
The panel sought independent reviews from highways consultant WSP and the Local Government Association (LGA), with both organisations recommending the authority move away from temporary pothole fixes.
At present, the authority’s contractor Via East Midlands frequently uses Viafix – a form of asphalt repair which temporarily fills potholes when they are identified.
The authority now plans to scale back its use but has insisted it will not be stopped completely – and is needed when emergency pothole repairs emerge.
The changes will couple a shift to a three-year rather than a one-year investment plan, to give residents “clarity” over when their roads will be repaired.
And it will also tackle pavements and smaller residential roads within the improvement plan.
Speaking before the funding was approved on Thursday (February 24), Councillor Neil Clarke (Con), chairman of the transport and environment committee, said: “It’s good news. The additional £15 million shows the administration is delivering on manifesto commitments.
“For residents, the state of the roads is their priority and for them, we listened. The review was cross-party and intensive, and I thank all the members who contributed.
“It’s doubling our patching teams, working hard to improve our roads and make them safer. It will make a major impact on vastly reducing Viafix repairs, and changing the emphasis to long-term, permanent repairs.
“It will never eliminate those urgent repairs completely because there will always be an emergency cropping up somewhere.”
Both the Labour Group and the Independent Alliance tabled amendments that would have altered how the funding is spent.
Labour’s amendment called for the £15 million pot to only be used “subject to review and approval of proposals by members”. The group wanted any expenditure to be costed before the cash could be signed off.
The Independent Group’s amendment called for the funding to be “super-charged” and essentially doubled, by scrapping the planned £15.7 million spending on new offices at Top Wighay Farm.
The group would then use the savings to give each district and borough an additional £2.1 million to improve the state of roads.
Both amendments were not given support by the Conservatives.
Speaking after her group’s amendment was voted down, Cllr Kate Foale, leader of the Labour group, said: “The Conservatives purport to already be doing what we have proposed, delivering a whole-road approach to road repair.
“In reality, they’re throwing good money after bad in their approach to fixing our highways, doing jobs twice which should have been finished correctly the first time.”
Cllr John Wilmott (Ash Ind), of the Independent Alliance, also believed his own group’s amendment should have been supported.
Raising concerns about the condition of Nottinghamshire’s roads, he said: “Our proposal would double this £15 million, and it has been stated that this won’t touch the sites due to the state of our roads and pavements. That’s right.
“The weather recently has decimated our roads with new potholes appearing all over the place.
“They have exposed the poor maintenance of our roads by the highways department, potholes are reappearing where they have just been repaired.”
But Cllr Ben Bradley MP (Con), leader of the council, backed the budget and said it is a “comprehensive plan of action”.
He added: “This will literally double our capacity to deliver better-quality, long-term repairs. It’s a proper, thought-out plan to deliver improvements over the long-term, not just shifting budgets around on a spreadsheet.”
Gedling borough’s very first Nando’s officially opened for business last month, creating 40 new jobs.
Famous for its Portuguese-inspired peri-peri chicken dishes, the restaurant at Victoria Retail Park in Netherfield offers indoor dining as well as collection and delivery.
The restaurant has a total of 114 covers with 20 outside
The new site is the fifth Nando’s restaurant to open in Nottingham.
Work on the restaurant began way back in 2020 after planning permission was granted in 2019 to build on land previously used by Morrisons as car parking space.
PICTURED: Nandos on VIctoria Retail Park in Netherfield (PHOTO: Nandos)
But the work was severely delayed by the pandemic and they weren’t able to open their doors until January this year.
A spokesman for the South African restaurant told Gedling Eye “You can find us at Victoria Retail Park. And we’re in good company with Morrisons, Costa and Starbucks as our neighbours and aren’t too far from Carlton Town Football Club, Nottingham Racecourse and Everlast Gym.
“Available for Eat-in, Collect and Delivery, it’s perfect for enjoying a post-match dinner and debrief, pre-gym fuel or just having a pit-stop from all that shopping.”
All libraries in Gedling borough will be protected from closure “through until 2025”, a leading councillor has confirmed.
However, he says some sites may move to new locations or ‘co-locate’ as the authority looks to cut costs on some expensive, old buildings.
Nottinghamshire County Council figures show visitor numbers for the county’s 60 static libraries hit 112,087 for the period of April 1 to June 30, 2021. This figure is 19.49 per cent of the target set by the council.
It led to concerns some libraries could be due for closure amid cost-saving exercises and less demand due to both the pandemic and more services moving online.
But now a leading council chairman has given residents the assurance they will still have access to a library within their “locality” by the time the next elections arrive in May 2025.
However, he says his assurances do not mean some libraries will remain within the same physical building.
Speaking during the budget meeting on Thursday (February 24), Councillor John Cottee, the authority’s communities chairman, said: “I’m happy to … confirm this administration will maintain Nottinghamshire’s network of 60 libraries and its mobile provision through to 2025.
“The only qualification to that statement is to emphasise I’m talking about libraries rather than buildings.
“That’s because opportunities may – and have – arisen to relocate services to different buildings in the same locality that offer better value for taxpayers’ money.
PICTURED: County Hall
“It may also be that opportunities arise to co-locate libraries with other services to provide a one-stop-shop for our communities.
“The bottom line, however, is that nobody who has access to a library within a reasonable difference to where they live now will cease to have that access now or in the next three years, nor beyond if we continue in office.”
He added there will be no changes to library charges and, as concerns ease over Covid and all restrictions ease, “footfall will improve and income will recover”.
His comments came, he said, due to concerns over Nottingham City Council’s plans to close three libraries and after calls were made at County Hall to protect their sites.
Cllr Daniel Williamson (Ash Ind), of the Independent Alliance, had tabled a motion at last month’s full council meeting calling for libraries to be protected.
The motion, which did not get debated due to time, called on libraries to be protected until 2025 and said: “This council believes our library buildings are a valuable tool in terms of education and community cohesion.
“Nottinghamshire County Council therefore commits to keep open all 60 library buildings in their current location until at least 2025.”
Cllr Cottee said his speech during the budget was his way of addressing Cllr Williamson’s concerns, but he did not confirm which sites may move or co-locate with other services.
Similar concerns have previously been raised in the chamber about the prospect of library closures.
Speaking in the communities committee on November 3, Cllr Elizabeth Williamson (Ind), who represents Greasley and Brinsley, said: “I have worries that our library estate may not be fit for purpose as more and more residents go online.
“Will this council do a future report into increasing footfall in our libraries and look at bringing more services into our libraries and events?”
Responding, Derek Higton, service director for place and communities, said: “We are seeing a significant reduction in physical visits to libraries.
“Our assessment is that it is in part due to the fact that we’re still in the act of reopening all of our 58 libraries across the county.
“In Nottinghamshire, our visitor numbers have been largely stable.
“There is concern among a number of library users, despite our libraries being covid safe, about visiting those kind of facilities.
“In Nottinghamshire, our return to normal operating is notably quicker than in many other parts of the country.”
Cllr Glynn Gilfoyle (Lab) said he hoped Mr Higton would fight for libraries to remain open.
Mr Higton responded: “I suspect I am not breaking any confidence to say that the current administration is absolutely committed to retaining the current network of physical libraries.”
A public meeting is to be held in Netherfield to offer residents the chance to air their views on houses of multiple occupancy (HMOs) in the town
The meeting was called after a planning application was submitted by developers asking Gedling Borough Council for permission to create a new HMO on Chandos Street.
The meeting is being held Thursday, March 3 at 7pm at St George’s Church on Victoria Road.
PICTURED: Chandos Street in Netherfield (IMAGE: Google)
Meeting organisers have invited Gedling MP Tom Randall and local councillors to the public meeting.
in a post on their Facebook page about the meeting, they wrote: “We’ll share updates on what’s happening and what we can all do to help the campaign – specifically around the proposal on Chandos Street but also more widely.
“We’ve invited our local councillors and the MP – so a chance to put your views directly to them also.
“Tell your friends and neighbours and let’s have a good turnout.”
Gedling Borough Council needs to find £500,000 worth of savings and extra income over the next three years to balance its books.
Leisure services will take the bulk of the hit, with plans to review the price and structure of its gym and swimming pool memberships for leisure centres in Arnold, Calverton, Redhill, and Carlton.
The authority is also planning a price review of Bonington Theatre, Arnold, as well as reviewing operations at the Richard Herrod Centre in Carlton. The authority also wants to increase swim school sessions.
Budget reduction proposals across leisure services equates to £399,000 up to 2024/25.
There are also plans for a garden waste service fee increase to generate an extra £24,000 and a review of fees at cemeteries to generate an extra £1,000.
There are also plans for a vacancy freeze for one year.
In total, the savings will come from income generation and cuts and efficiencies totalling £545,000.
The plans will need approval from full council on Thursday, March 3, where the whole budget for Gedling Borough Councill will be discussed.
At the same meeting, the council will also look to increase Council Tax by 2.89 per cent, which equates to £5 extra for a Band D property – around 42p a month.
Future Council Tax increases will be dependent upon future spending decisions, total local government funding and the achievement of efficiency savings, the council said.
Pressures such as a reduction in government grants and the impact of Covid have been cited as causes for some of the problems the authority is facing.
The council says Gedling was the “worst affected council in England” for core spending power in 2021/21 and for 2021/22.
Core spending power measures the core revenue funding available for local authority services, including Council Tax and locally retained business rates.
PICTURED: Civic Centre (PHOTO: Gedling Eye)
The council states: “There remains a significant amount of uncertainty and risk around the financial impact of Covid-19 in the medium term due to the potential increased service demand arising from the economic impact; the ongoing impact on income for council services for example leisure, and local tax collection reductions; and now to a lesser extent, the risk of ongoing response work being required.
“There remains a risk that the Covid financial impacts are higher than estimated and in the absence of additional government funding these will need to be met from an increase in savings/budget reductions in other council services.
“For both 2020/21 and 2021/22 the full costs of Covid have not been covered in full by government grant and the council has been required to use its finite reserves to cover the deficit.
“No further government grant funding is expected for 2022/23 despite income levels not being anticipated to reach pre-pandemic levels until 2023/24.”
There is also a capital programme of works planned up to 2024/25 as part of the budget.
Some of the proposals for the year 2022/23 include:
-Three CCTV cameras (£65,000) with final locations to be determined as part of ongoing work to reduce crime and disorder.
-Colwick Rectory Play Area Refurbishment (£100,000) – a refurbishment of the play area funded by an external grant.
-St Mary’s Play Area Refurbishment (£100,000) – a scheme to refurbish a play area subject to securing suitable external funding.
-Car park resurfacing (£65,000) – A combination of resurfacing and fencing works to improve the condition of the Hallams Lane car park in Arnold and the Haywood Road South car park in Mapperley.
-Holocaust Memorial and Cherry Tree Memorial and Reflection Circle (£35,000) – a space in Gedling Country Park to allow residents to reflect upon the impact of the Holocaust and provide a Memorial and Reflection Circle to allow residents to remember residents who have lost their lives.
-Flood alleviation works (£60,000) – schemes to address flooding issues in the Bentwell Avenue lagoon and to refurbish Colwick Meadow pumps.
A pop-up bank is now successfully serving Netherfield‘s TSB customers after the closure of their high street branch.
The new service was launched in the town last May following the closure of the town’s TSB bank last April.
The pop-up service is available every Tuesday at the town’s St George’s Centre between 9.30am and 4.30pm.
TSB customers visiting the temporary bank can get access to face-to-face assistance and information relating to banking queries such as fraud, online banking, direct debits and other TSB products.
PICTURED: TSB’s branch on Victoria Road in Netherfield closed last April
Gedling MP Tom Randall paid a visit to the service last week and said he was glad the town’s TSB customers could still get face-to-face support when needed.
He said: “When TSB closed their Netherfield branch last year, I expressed the disappointment of residents to the directors and requested that they still had a presence in the community to assist customers.
“It is fantastic that all cash-related banking can be done at the Post Office down the road but the Netherfield TSB pop-up service is also available every Tuesday and no appointment is necessary.”
Nottingham City Transport has announced it is increasing some Easyrider Everyday fares from Monday (February 28).
Easyrider Everyday is a consecutive days travel card for frequent bus users and is said to be the cheapest way to travel on NCT.
From Monday, the Easyrider Everyday 7 day and 31 day passes will increase for adults, students and under 19s.
These are the first price rises to Easyrider in just under three years and are necessary to reflect increases in operating costs.
The Easyrider Everyday 2 week pass and direct debit renewal method will also be withdrawn from Monday.
The new prices are shown below (passes not shown are not changing):
Easyrider Everyday Adult
Period of Travel
Current Price
New Price
7 Day
£18.00
£19.00
14 Day
£35.00
Withdrawn
31 Day
£58.00
£60.00
31 Day Direct Debit
£55.00
Withdrawn
Easyrider Everyday Student
Period of Travel
Current Price
New Price
7 Day
£15.30
£16.15
14 Day
£29.75
Withdrawn
31 Day
£49.30
£51.00
Easyrider Everyday Under 19
Period of Travel
Current Price
New Price
7 Day
£9.00
£10.00
14 Day
£17.00
Withdrawn
7 and 31 day passes on the NCTX Buses app will also increase to match the new Easyrider prices.
Anthony Carver-Smith, Nottingham City Transport’s head of marketing said: “Due to rising operating costs we’ve regretfully had to increase the price of some of our Easyrider Everyday passes.
“This is the first time Easyrider prices have increased since March 2019. Nottingham City Transport is dedicated to providing safe and cost effective bus travel for Nottingham.
“Our Easyrider smartcards remain the best way to help customers save money whilst enjoying unlimited, all day travel across our entire network”.
