A food bank in Arnold has released a list of most needed items as they continue to help families suffering from rising costs of living and impact of the pandemic.
The Arnold Trussell Trust Food Bank is based at Daybrook Baptist Church on Mansfield Road.
The foodbank is open to fulfill voucher and crisis referrals on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays from 1pm to 3pm.
The charity also now offer “Kettle’s on” – a new service open to anyone who’d like to join them for a hot cuppa, some company and warmth.
Over the next week, the charity is appealing for donations of the following items to hand out to those using the service:
Tinned meat/meals (e.g: hotdogs, meatballs, minced beef, chicken in white sauce) – not corned beef
UHT juice (1 lltre cartons) and squash
Carrier bags
UHT milk
Jam
Tinned fruit
Coffee – small 100g jars
Sugar
Shampoo, razors and deodorant
Chocolate treats and snacks
Tinned potatoes/mash
Rice pudding and custard
You can make a donation at the following places…
Daybrook Baptist Church
12pm-3pm
Monday, Wednesday, Friday
Asda Arnold
7am-11pm
In-store Shoppers Only
Coppice Road Coop
07.00-22.00
Basket near tills
Lidl, Arnold
08.00-22.00
Basket behind tills
Sainsburys Arnold
08.00-22.00
Box near Customer Services
A spokesman for the centre said: “We always welcome donations and promise to use them to provide help to people in crisis. Occasionally we send food to other nearby foodbanks to support their work particularly if they experience shortages. This ensures your donations go to help people wherever in the UK they are.
“Asda gives us further support by donating 20% of the value of donations given. This is why donations given there should be bought in-store only.”
How do I access services?
To access Trussell Trust Food Bank, people will need to be referred and this can be from many different services including DWP and Citizens Advice.
Arnold historian Bob Massey shares a story about a disastrous trip to the seaside for one local young woman…
Today we take a seaside trip for granted, but in the 19th century holidays of any type were rare as ordinary people worked six days a week .
Travel was difficult and the roads were nothing but dirt tracks making a journey of any distance an unpleasant experience.
The invention of the railways changed all that. They were quick and comfortable and people now started to travel .
Holidays in the form of day trips were now possible for the slightly better off at least, and people looked forward to their day out.
On August 6, 1857, Ann Brewster, a 19-year-old farmers daughter, boarded at train at Burton Joyce for a day excursion to Grimsby.
She was excited to be visiting the sea and having time away from her father’s farm at Stoke Bardolph.
Her father was George Brewster. He was a farmer with some 186 acres who employed five labourers to assist with the farm work.
He and his wife Mary had three children. Ann was the middle child, with an older brother Samuel and a younger brother Edward.
The family was fairly well off and were able to employ three servants to carry out the work around the house as well as the three labourers.
George’s brother John was also a well known solicitor with a large practice in Nottingham. Ann could therefore well afford this day’s treat.
Ann Brewster lived on her parent’s farm in Stoke Bardolph
The train she caught that day had left Nottingham at 6am that morning for the special excursion and was scheduled to pick up passengers at stations all along the Nottingham to Lincoln line.
It had stopped first at Carlton before picking up at Burton Joyce. After leaving Burton Joyce it stopped at Lowdham before proceeding to Collingham, its next stop. It arrived into Collingham at about 7am.
Just beyond Collingham Station the rails were in the process of undergoing repairs. As the train left Collingham it began picking up speed and suddenly started to run away, now travelling too fast for the condition of the rails ahead.
Before the driver could stop the train, several of the front carriages jumped the rails on the weaker section. Fortunately, there were only a few passengers on the train at the time and most of them were occupying the rear coaches.
The loud noise and the shaking of the train would have caused great fear and alarm amongst the occupants of the rear carriages – which included Ann Brewster.
The farmer’s daughter became convinced her carriage would crash and that she’d be crushed. She attempted to jump from the train, which was still moving. She was the only passenger to do so.
When jumping from the carriage, her dress got caught in the door and pulled her back towards the train. She struck her head on a telegraph pole at the side of the track.
With the train still moving, her carriage now encountered the derailed front coaches, one of which caught the stunned Ann with one of its wheels and killed her instantly.
The remaining part of the train, including Ann’s carriage, righted its self and came to a stop safely.
None of the other passenger sustained more than bruises.
In all there had been some 30 carriages in the train with only a couple suffering derailment. The engine had remained on the track.
The other passengers were disembarked onto the rail embankment. Leaving the carriages and passengers in charge of the carriages, the driver took the engine onwards to Lincoln to report the accident and get assistance.
On its return, Ann’s body was then conveyed to Collingham. An inquest into her death was quickly organised and held later that same afternoon. The jury, under the direction of Mr Harrison, the Deputy coroner, examined the scene of the crash.
After they had listened to the evidence they returned a verdict of accidental death on the poor Ann Brewster – the only victim of this holiday disaster.
Bob Massey is a local historian who writes books and also gives talks about Gedling borough’s rich history and heritage. You can find out more about his projects by visiting his website: http://www.bobmassey.info
A teenager from Gedling headed to parliament last week to to urge the government to do much more to tackle unequal vaccine access in low-income countries.
Halle Sibanda was one of a number of young activists taking part in the ONE Campaign’s Day of Action.
The 17-year-old met with MP for Gedling, Tom Randall, to talk about why ending the pandemic globally should be a priority for the UK.
In addition to campaigning on vaccine equity with ONE, Halle is on the Gedling Youth Council, working on projects aimed to improve the lives of young people in Gedling.
The youth ambassadors also handed over a petition where over 130,000 people have asked the governments to go further and faster to vaccinate the world and end the pandemic.
Halle provided Mr Randall with his own personal booklet, which included messages addressed to him from Gedling constituents, expressing concern over the slow pace of the UK in delivering vaccines to developing countries.
Halle Sibanda, 17, talked to Gedling MP Tom Randall about tackling unequal vaccine access in low-income countries.
The distribution of doses around the world is highly unequal. At present, low-income countries have currently administered only 1% of the world’s COVID-19 vaccines. Low vaccination levels in Africa means more people are not sufficiently protected, so the risk of new variants emerging are high.
Halle said: “The UK must play its part in global efforts to end the pandemic. Financing the global pandemic fight is key in achieving that.”
Gedling MP Tom Randall said he was pleased he got the opportunity to speak to Halle about vaccines.
He said “I’m proud that the UK has been at the forefront of the international response to vaccinating the world against COVID. There’s much more to do and am grateful to have had the opportunity to speak to representatives of the ONE Campaign to discuss the challenges that we still face.”
Romilly Greenhill, UK Director of The ONE Campaign, said that, “Ensuring low-income countries vaccinate their population will prevent new variants from emerging. This therefore protects public health, the NHS, our economy, and children’s education here in the UK for the long term. Vaccinating the world is in our national interest, too.”
Recent polling commissioned by ONE showed that 63% of Brits would support the UK to share vaccines with developing countries rather than deliver more boosters at home, to prevent the spread of new variants.
A campaign group is calling on the community to make their voices heard at a public event next week where the number of HMOs in Netherfield will be debated.
The group, called Netherfield Against HMO Landlords, is asking people to to voice their views against the construction of another house of multiple occupancy (HMO) in the town.
The meeting was called after the planning application was submitted on Tuesday February 8.
The proposal would see the creation of a new seven-bedroom HMO, including a rear dormer loft conversion on 49 Chandos Street, Netherfield.
The event will be held on Thursday, March 3, at 7pm at St George’s Church on Victoria Road.
Gedling MP Tom Randall and local councillors have also been asked to attend the public meeting.
PICTURED: The public meeting will be held at St George’s Church, pictured, in Netherfield
One of the organisers of the event, Russell Whiting said: “People in Netherfield have already shown their strong opposition to HMOs when previous applications were rejected by Gedling Borough Council.
“Sadly, the developer can’t take the hint and is back to buy up more family homes in Netherfield to make maximum profit for himself.
“We understand the need for a mix of housing, so Gedling Borough Council should insist that developments have a range of options not just the large houses appearing all around us.
“We need politicians to start taking action and we need the community to continue to show opposition. Once we lose these family homes, we won’t ever get them back.
“Your street could be next, that’s why I urge everyone interested to come along to St George’s Church on Thursday”.
A spokesperson for Gedling Borough Council said: “We can confirm an application for a change of use of an existing property into House of Multiple Occupation (HMO) has been submitted for Chandos Street Netherfield. A decision on the application is due to be made by the council in April.”
The developer, Justin Ingrey, has been approached for a comment but has declined to give a statement.
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.”
