But new figures reveal that in October 2021, 25,511 children were claiming free school meals in the county.
Councillor Daniel Williamson (Ind) told a Children and Young People’s Committee meeting: “There has been a significant rise in free school meal claimants across the county. It is a cause for immense concern.
“The figures show the number of children claiming in April 2020 was 19,783 compared with 23,649 in April 2021, showing a 19.5% increase. I can confirm this morning to committee that I have the latest figures.
“As of October 2021, this figure is 25,511 claimants – a rise of 1862 more claimants in just six months.
“Areas like Ashfield, with 5346 free school claimants and Mansfield 4755 new claimants remain the highest and have both seen the highest percentage increases.”
Cllr Williamson criticised a line in the report which said it was “unclear” why families had not chosen to claim previously.
He said it was “a lazy, generalistic and assumptive sentence”.
He added: “No parents chose to leave their children hungry. A simple look at Universal Credit rates could have answered that question. What is this Council doing to identify whether these are new claimants and the reasons why they are applying for this lifeline now?”
Chair of the meeting Tracy Taylor (Con) responded: “I share your frustration and confusion about the stats that come through.
“Have the numbers gone up simply because it wasn’t just vulnerable children and key worker children who were at schools, it was the universal reopening of schools.
“Was it down to the reopening, was it previously unclaimed or new eligibilities?
“My understanding is mechanisms for reporting don’t allow us to work out what the reasons are in some cases.”
Irene Kakoullis, Group Manager, early childhood services, said: “Schools have struggled for years to get families to claim free school meals, sometimes stigma and sometimes lack of awareness.
“We have seen an increase and it’s positive people are claiming if they are eligible.”
But Cllr Williamson responded: “I think any indication that kids applying for free school meals is a good thing is probably a rather damning indictment of the state of the rest of society.”
Arnold councillor Michelle Welsh (Lab) said: “I am slightly disappointed in this report.
“If we take the pandemic out of the situation, child poverty in Nottinghamshire has been rising significantly since 2010 and before.
“The families now accessing food banks, in Gedling borough alone, have risen dramatically.
“I don’t think this report is doing any justice to children in Nottinghamshire.
“We need to take it a little bit more seriously.”
Councillors voted in favour of setting aside £2.3 million to provide free school meals for school holidays until February 2022.
After the meeting, Councillor Welsh told Gedling Eye: “Whilst I welcome this report, and in particular the allocation of this additional funding for those children and young people eligible for Free School Meals, I am disappointed in the conclusion that the current picture does not demonstrate rising child poverty.
“Contained within the report is clear evidence of rising numbers of children now having Free School Meals, rising numbers of Early Years Pupil Premium, rising levels of young people who are Not in Education, Training and Employment (NEET), rising unemployment and increased numbers of residents claiming Universal Credit.
“Also, Food Banks all over the County are reporting increased numbers of young families accessing their service.
“How much more evidence do we need to be clear that child poverty has worsened since the Covid -19 pandemic? More importantly, what are we going to do about it? It’s not simply a case of providing food vouchers, our families, children and young people now need much more targeted support.
“To be able to identify the right types of support however, we do need to have a full and frank recognition that we have had an increase in child poverty, which was already plainly felt in many of our communities’ pre-pandemic.
“I’d like for this committee to prioritise this as a key issue moving forward, our children and young people in Nottinghamshire surely should be at the top of any agenda which promises to reduce inequality. In short, I’d like to see far more action”
In case there is a turkey shortage in shops across Gedling borough this year, you’ll be relieved to know Heinz has the answer – Christmas dinner in a tin.
The tinned meal consists of pigs in blankets, “big chunks” of turkey, Brussel sprouts, sage and onion stuffing, roast potatoes, red cabbage, gravy, and cranberry sauce, all crammed into a 400g aluminum tin – sounds depressing!
The canned Christmas dinner is being marketed by Heinz as an answer to the food shortages the UK is currently experiencing, with the soup brand championing it “a winner”.
Listed for sale online only, it has been released as a limited edition of just 500 cans – with the company already hinting it could roll it out in greater numbers if it proves a hit with shoppers.
Given that it’s already sold out online since going live this morning, that may well end up being the case.
Brand representative Anke Von Hanstein said: “It is made for those with a big love for hearty festive flavours and tastes just perfect with a slice of warm crusty bread.
“Any soup that includes pigs in blankets and roasties is a winner in our eyes.”
This commences on Sunday, December 12 and will see most of the trains which have been cancelled since June, re-instated. However we will still have a few two-hour gaps at Carlton as for example the 10.04am to Newark and 11.03am to Crewe do not seem to have returned. This is still far from ideal, but we do have the 08.02am to Crewe again from December 13, which was before lockdown, our busiest train of the day.
Thursday 13th Feb. 2020 saw 58 joining and 2 alighting from this service with 94 on and off 5 consecutive trains.
The day before we actually had 120 on the 5 trains with 28 on and 2 off the 09.05 Matlock, and they weren’t all just going to Nottingham!
Routes of Remembrance
The annual event organised by the Veterans Charity and formerly known as the Poppy Express, will this year be commemorated along both our local lines, culminating in a 2 minutes silence and service at the war memorial at Nottingham station at 11.00am on November 11. A group of school children will be travelling on the 09.35 from Lincoln to Nottingham for this event, and a service will also be held at Derby.
Carlton
Engineering work from Monday 8 to Friday, November 12 will result in the 20.37 Carlton to Cleethorpes terminating at Market Rasen, with a bus replacement onward to Cleethorpes.
The 22.00 Cleethorpes to Nottingham will be replaced by a bus throughout, calling at Carlton at 02.08! It means there will be no 23.55 train to Nottm.
Netherfield
Ongoing strike action on Sundays has resulted in a few train cancellations, one of which is the 09.36am from Netherfield to Nottingham.
Transport improvements
Major improvements to Nottinghamshire’s transport infrastructure is being demanded
by politicians and business leaders in view of the Government’s upcoming spending review,
It is well known that the East Midlands area remains at the bottom of the league table for transport investment. Data published this July shows that funding in the East Midlands has declined over the last 20 years to just 58% of the UK average. Poor transport is consistently highlighted by our businesses as a major inhibitor of growth, said a spokesperson from the East Midlands Chamber of Commerce.
Local railway enhancements given a mention in this report are speed improvements on the Nottingham to Lincoln line, being described as a “shovel-ready” scheme. This is long overdue, and ought to open up the possibility of more Lincoln/Grimsby trains calling at Carlton. There is a “pent up” demand locally for better train services, and Carlton would justify having trains calling every half hour.
Netherfield should have at least an hourly train service, allowing the ever increasing number of local residents to travel to work, or expand the scope of where they can work, reducing the number of cars on the roads, and of course reducing pollution.
A person working at Bingham had to use the 08.53am from Netherfield one day as his car was in for repair. He said he wouldn’t mind waiting an hour for a train if it saved him having to use his car, with all the traffic congestion on that route.
Also mentioned in the report are proposed rail enhancements between Nottingham, Leicester and Coventry (which I mentioned last time) and HS2 features prominently in the report.
Future potential passengers
So much development is happening locally which will impact on the number of people using our stations, providing train services are available for their use.
Teal Park at Netherfield has completed the first of its three phases, and when complete it is expected there will be over 340 jobs, including Aldi with 125 working there. Many of course will be local, but others will travel from further afield. The site will have 33,300 sq. ft. of trade units and a 28,860 sq. ft. industrial unit. Housing is also being developed here.
Then there is the Sainsbury’s supermarket on the Colwick side of the railway line due to open on November 10 with up to 200 jobs.
Chase Farm at Gedling already has 200 new homes, and when the new access road is open’ (currently late Spring 2022), there could eventually be 1,000 homes on the estate.
There are a number of smaller ‘infill’ sites such as 10 dwellings proposed against the Crossings Social Club, which are very handy for the station.
Another large housing development is underway in Bingham, with 1,000 homes being built, and our area with the Colwick Industrial Estate and Netherfield Retail Park, would provide work for some of these people, but only the railway provides a direct service and at present there aren’t many trains. There is no direct bus service, and even by car it can take an hour at peak times.
Rail usage
Rail usage figures for 1-20 September showed that around 60% of passengers were back on trains compared to pre- pandemic levels. Latest figures show around 50% of commuters have returned, but up to 90% of these are off-peak travellers. However, many train services have been cancelled temporarily, and this is especially acute at Carlton where there are no trains to Nottingham on weekdays between 06.53 and 09.03, and off-peak services are mostly only every 2 hours.
An article in the Railway Magazine for October mentioned that rail travel needs predictability. EMR and other railway companies have mostly tried to run the reduced timetable to allow for staff having to isolate for covid, reducing the numbers available to work trains and other associated factors, such as the government issuing an edict to cut operating costs.
In Brief
Lincoln Christmas Market is still planned to take place from 2nd to 5th December, but nothing is certain in the present circumstances, and when I checked a week ago no extra trains were shown, but this could change.
Talking of Christmas, local trains usually ‘wind down’ on Christmas and New Year’s Eve around 20.00 and resume on 27th, although this will be a holiday in lieu of Christmas falling at the weekend. On New Year’s Day trains do run from around mid-morning to a Saturday timetable this year.
EMR have created a new area at Nottingham station designed to provide a welcoming space for passengers who require assistance or need a calm place to wait for their train. The Assisted Travel Lounge, which has been installed on the dispersal bridge at the station, provides customers who have booked passenger assistance a designated waiting area and a clear meeting point
The annual Station Adopters Conference was held at Derby on October 8. Again, I was unable to attend, but Francis was able to. I saw him catch the 09.03 to Derby as I spent a good couple of hours putting in the winter bedding plants in the station garden that morning. One person was waiting for the withdrawn 10.04 to Newark, so I managed to get him on the lb.02 via Nottingham. Another person checking trains to Lincoln knew that she had to go via Nottingham, but did not realise there were later trains direct from Lincoln on a Saturday evening. I also saw some passengers I hadn’t seen since lockdown.
EMR have introduced an improved First Class menu on London services and a food and drink service for Standard customers is being trialled.
Off-peak day returns are not valid in Winter on the 08.53 from Netherfield to Skegness, and the cheapest is 2 single tickets each way at £15.50 each. You can go on the 09.03 via Nottingham, to get off peak fares, but for the sake of 7 minutes you would have thought they would have made some concession, like they do in summer, for our only direct service in the morning. On Saturdays off-peak tickets are valid.
Motorists are being told to ‘expect delays’ now that new traffic measures have been put in place on Mapperley Plains as part of planned Gedling Access Road (GAR) works.
The new measures were introduced today (November 1).
The existing permanent traffic signals at the junction of Mapperley Plains, Plains Road, Arnold Lane and Gedling Road have now been switched off and replaced with temporary four-way traffic lights.
Lane closures are in place at the junction until mid-November to allow road construction works between the new Gedling Access Road and the existing carriageway to take place.
A spokesman said: “”Delays may be likely in this area and so we apologise for any inconvenience.
PICTURED: Gedling Access Road
“We would like to thank all road users and local residents for your patience throughout the construction of the GAR.”
It’s good news for residents of Chartwell Grove in Mapperley as the temporary three-way set of traffic lights, which have been in place for the last two weeks, have now been removed.
Two local businesses in Mapperley will close for the day as a mark of respect following the tragic death of their founder’s daughter.
Vehicle Procurements Ltd and MG Nottingham, which are situated on Westdale Lane, will shut their doors on Thursday, November 18.
The move is out of respect for their director and founder Malcolm Ledgar, whose 28-year-old daughter Anna Ledger tragically died following a vehicle accident on October 18.
Co-director Mark Campbell said: “It is with great sadness that Vehicle Procurements Ltd and MG Nottingham announce the details of the funeral of Anna Ledgar who passed away last Tuesday, October 19.
PICTURED: Anna Ledger
“Anna was the daughter of Malcolm Ledgar, a Director and founder of Vehicle Procurements Ltd in Nottingham.
“The family are from Macclesfield and Anna worked as the gym manager at Macclesfield Town FC – a job which she not only loved, but one which brought her in to contact with many people from the local community.
“The community’s love for her was respectfully shown on Saturday, October 23 as the club marked her passing with a ceremony and a minute long hand-clap from the crowd.
“They also started a gofundme page to raise money for the Ledgar family to give to a charity of their choice.”
Mr Campbell added: “Malcolm would like to convey is gratitude to work colleagues, customers, friends and family for their words of support and condolence that have been flooding in.”
Anna’s funeral will be taking place at Macclesfield Crematorium on Thursday, November 18 at 11.30am.
Plans have been revealed for a new £19m industrial and warehousing site at the former Total fuel depot in Colwick – creating hundreds of jobs.
Industrial developer Chancerygate has acquired the 6.35-acre site to speculatively build industrial and warehousing space
The site, which was formerly a major fuel distribution centre for Total Petroleum but has been unused since 2019, is located off Colwick Loop Road in Colwick Industrial Estate.
Chancerygate acquired the site from commercial property development and investment company, City Estates.
The developer plans to redevelop the site to create 15 freehold and leasehold units.
PICTURED: The site pictured from above
Chancerygate development director said: “We’re very pleased to have secured this development opportunity in a prime industrial area of Nottingham.
“Colwick is an up-and-coming area of the city benefitting from extensive redevelopment and regeneration. The delivery of this site has the potential to create hundreds of jobs in the local area.
“We already have interest from a variety of potential occupiers and we’re looking forward to submitting plans for the development to Gedling Borough Council towards the end of the year.”
Founded in 1995, Chancerygate is the UK’s largest multi-unit industrial developer and asset manager and the only one operating nationwide.
It currently has more than three million sq ft of industrial space under construction or ready for development across 23 sites ranging from Livingston to Bournemouth.
Chancerygate was advised by Gerald Eve on the site acquisition whilst FHP advised City Estates. FHP and Gerald Eve will be the retained agents on the development.
The Environment Ambassador will lead on the county council’s ambition to become carbon neutral in all its activities by 2030 after it declared a climate emergency in May.
NCC has already commissioned a new greenhouse gas report to pinpoint where carbon emissions are greatest across its buildings and services. Once complete, a targeted plan will be put in place to reduce these emissions.
It is also set to transfer its electricity supply to a green tariff which will provide energy exclusively from renewables thereby avoiding fossil fuels.
Councillor Adams said: “I’m thrilled to have been appointed the county council’s first Environment Ambassador. It is a big responsibility and one I take very seriously.
“We were already working towards carbon neutrality in our buildings, but the climate emergency declaration provided a clear signal of our commitment to Nottinghamshire’s environment.
“I’m going to be rolling my sleeves up to make sure we meet our promise to become carbon neutral by 2030 – it is an opportunity we can’t miss.
“I’m really glad to have taken up this role as COP26 takes place.”
The Environment Ambassador will also work closely with partner organisations to deliver local climate friendly projects to help the UK reach its ambition of reaching net zero as a country by 2050.
This includes working with Greenwood Community Forest to deliver the DEFRA-funded ‘Trees for Climate’ programme, which will see at least 250 hectares of new woodlands created across the county in the next five years.
The county council has committed to planting 250,000 trees on its own land and is also working closely with the three other D2N2 highway local authorities to develop cycling and walking infrastructure for the benefit of both the environment and tourism.
Adams added: “Our climate emergency declaration promised we would secure net zero emissions in all our activities, but we want to go further and contribute to carbon neutrality across the UK.
“We have got some fantastic joint projects in the pipeline like the Trees for Climate scheme, where we have already planted the first five hectares of new woodland and will be planting a further 60 hectares this autumn and winter.
“I’m looking forward to working with our partners to help deliver a cleaner and greener future for both Nottinghamshire and our country.”
Coronavirus infection rates have fallen in Gedling borough.
Latest figures reveal the infection rate has fallen to 50 after being recorded at 68 the previous day.
The figures from Public Health England show how many people in the borough have tested positive for the virus over 24 hours and were released last night (Sunday, 31)
The figures also show 594 new cases (previous day 641) for Nottinghamshire in the last 24 hours.
Below are the case numbers for local authority areas in Notts. The number in brackets show the previous day’s case number
PICTURED: The Richard Herrod Centre in Carlton is being used to vaccinate people in Gedling borough.(PHOTO: Gedling Eye)
