All 41 Gedling Borough councillors have written a joint letter to government ministers calling for an increase in funding for local services.
This cross-party action follows the publication of the Provisional Local Government Finance Settlement, which revealed Gedling Borough Council is the worst affected council in the country for the second year in a row in terms of change in the resources allocated to it since 2015/16.
At the Full Council meeting held on Wednesday, January 27, 2021, all 41 Gedling Borough councillors unanimously voted in agreement to a letter to be sent to the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government that requests an increase in Gedling Borough Council’s share of the Local Government Finance Settlement and agrees to work with local MPs to get support for additional funding.
PICTURED: The councillors have written to Robert Jenrick about the council’s funding issue
The letter highlights that the council is the worst affected council in terms of change of Core Spending Power since 2015/16. Gedling Borough Council has received a 20.2% reduction in Core Spending Power over the last six years.
In a joint statement, local leaders of all four political groups on Gedling Borough Council said: “We’re working together to request a fair share of government funding to support our local communities. We are simply requesting that the government increases Gedling Borough Council’s share of the Local Government Finance Settlement, so we can continue to provide essential services to our residents and businesses.”
A councillor has claimed that wards in Gedling borough represented by Conservatives are being neglected when it comes to investment for measures to tackle anti-social behaviour.
During a virtual meeting of the Labour-run Gedling Borough Council last Wednesday (January 27), Conservative councillors called for greater resources to help reduce anti-social behaviour in the areas they represent following a rise in incidents.
They claim Labour-represented Wards like Arnold and Porchester have already received funding for CCTV and additional neighbourhood wardens.
Areas currently represented by Conservative councillors include Burton Joyce, Stoke Bardolph, Gedling, Mapperley Plains, Calverton, Lambley, Woodborough, Ravenshead and Newstead.
Taking part in the meeting was Councillor Sam Smith, who represents the Trent Valley Ward and is chief whip of Gedling’s Conservative Group.
He said: “COVID and lockdowns have distorted recent Anti-Social Behaviour figures because all COVID breaches are logged as ASB but in pre-covid times, in our wards of Plains, Dumbles, Calverton, Newstead and Trent Valley, we have seen an increase in ASB, such as damages to our parks and littering.
“The Portfolio Holder for Public Protection has said that CCTV cameras and an increase presence of Council Wardens support the fantastic work Gedling’s Neighbourhood Policing teams are doing and lead to a reduction of ASB.”
Councillor Smith then went on to ask the Portfolio Holder for Public Protection, Councillor David Ellis if he plans to introduce these measures in Conservative Wards?”
Councillor Ellis responded.
He said: “The council keeps ASB under review and I’m happy to discuss with members particular issues in particular wards.”
OVERLOOKED: Councillor Sam Smith, above, said Conservative wards were missing out on investment
‘Disappointed’: Councillor Michael Payne said the issue had been made ‘political’
Commenting after the meeting, Councillor Smith said: “Gedling’s Neighbourhood Policing teams are doing a great job at keeping us safe and this Council has measures, such as CCTV cameras and Council Wardens, to supports them in their efforts.
“The Council has recently introduced these measures in other areas, such as Arnold and Porchester, but we are yet to see them introduced in areas that are represented by Conservative Councillors. So, I am pleased the Portfolio Holder for Public Protection has agreed to work with my Conservatives Councillor colleagues and I to address this.
“We will be engaging with the Portfolio Holder and hope to see measures introduced soon that will drive down crime and Anti-Social Behaviour.”
Deputy Leader of Gedling Borough Council, Councillor Michael Payne said he was ‘disappointed’ that the issue had become political.
He told Gedling Eye: “At Full Council, Councillor Smith called for more to be done to reduce anti-social behaviour in wards where there were Conservative Councillors, not where there are issues with anti-social behaviour.
“One of our main priorities is to reduce anti-social behaviour, crime and the fear of crime in all of our borough. We will continue to work hard to keep our communities safe while responding to the pandemic. We have worked with the Police to identify key areas where we know that anti-social behaviour is an issue and the measures we have introduced are working.
“It is disappointing that Councillor Smith has politicised what is an important subject for all of our residents and to suggest that ASB is on the rise when, in fact, it has reduced significantly during lockdown is also concerning. We will work with anyone in any area where there is evidence of anti-social behaviour.
Inspector Chris Pearson, Neighbourhood Inspector for Gedling, said that crime is continuing to fall across the borough.
He said: “We categorise all Covid-related reports under the ‘ASB’ code on our system which has had an obvious huge impact on anti-social behaviour figures.
“Crime is down considerably in nearly every single category apart from drug dealing arrests which is a local pro-active priority boosted by the new Op Reacher team. This is great news for Gedling and reflects our local partnership efforts.”
The Portfolio Holder for Public Protection Councillor Ellis has now arranged a meeting to discuss ASB in these areas and discuss measures the Council can introduce to reduce it.
A violent robber who was snared by a dedicated police officer from Arnold after being on the run for 13 years has been given an extended prison sentence.
Ambrose Nicholas O’Neill – dubbed ‘The Running Man’ by the national media because of his ability to evade capture – threatened to kill a 67-year-old man during a terrifying robbery in Seagrave, Leicestershire, on February 10, 2007.
He was finally locked up last month after tenacious Gedling police officer PC James Gill made it a personal battle to bring him to justice.
Back in July 2008, O’Neill attended the first day of his trial at Leicester Crown Court but then failed to turn up for the rest of the case and despite being sentenced in his absence to eight years in prison in December 2008 he had yet to serve any time – until now.
O’Neill was last month taken straight to prison to start his eight-year term and now he has now been given an extra eight months to serve after pleading guilty to failing to appear in court during a hearing at Leicester Crown Court.
O’Neill was finally brought to book on 22 January 2021 after PC James Gill, an award-winning officer commended in 2019 for his dedication to catching wanted criminals – even in his spare time – picked up O’Neill’s case and made it his mission to get him in cuffs.
PC Gill put in hours of dedicated work, including working extended hours in his free time, to follow up every thread of intelligence.
Recently he was also supported by another officer who works in covert local intelligence and efforts were stepped up as they homed in on their target.
PICTURED: PC James Gill from Arnold
Officers carried out the arrest in the early hours of the morning and finally got a surprised O’Neill in custody. Response officers from Gedling helped carry out the arrest, with support from Lincolnshire Police.
Chief Superintendent Rob Griffin, of Nottinghamshire Police, said: “It was thanks to excellent work and dogged determination of our officers who went above and beyond in hunting for O’Neill and getting him arrested.
“This was a nasty attack and I’m delighted that all the hard work paid off and that we were able to finally get justice for the victims.
“After evading justice for so long I am pleased that O’Neill will now be staying behind bars for longer and will now have even more time to reflect on his violent behaviour.”
Officers also arrested a 41-year-old woman on suspicion of assisting an offender. She was subsequently released under investigation.
How the ‘Running Man’ was finally tracked down…
PICTURED: Ambrose Nicholas O’Neill – dubbed ‘The Running Man’
During the offence back in 2007, O’Neill, now aged 42, knocked on the victim’s front door posing as a pizza delivery man before pushing him over and punching him in the face. He demanded for the victim to open his safe before leaving empty-handed.
Leicestershire Police launched a man-hunt to find O’Neill after he skipped court in 2008 while colleagues from Nottinghamshire Police also carried out extensive enquiries, as his last known address was in Arnold, but after detectives had exhausted all lines of enquiry the trail went cold.
But determined PC James Gill and an intelligence officer took it upon themselves to launch ‘Operation Gladiolus’ in December 2020 as they continued to work tirelessly in an effort to track O’Neill down, with support from response colleagues on Rota 3.
One piece of recent intelligence that proved to be the start of a major breakthrough in the case was an anonymous tip-off through Crimestoppers which suggested Ambrose may be living with a woman in the Wyberton area, near Boston, in Lincolnshire.
The information didn’t include an exact address so the officers worked relentlessly to develop the intelligence and used a number of tactics to pinpoint his home in Causeway, Wyberton, so they were confident they had found their man.
PC Gill even turned up for work in his own time at 2am the day before the arrest to finalise the details because he was so excited at the prospect of getting O’Neill in custody after all this time.
Police have recovered a samurai sword after responding to reports of a man and woman acting suspiciously in Gedling.
Officers received the calls from concerned residents at around 7.30pm last night (January 31).
It was alleged that the man and woman had been knocking on the doors of several houses in Phoenix Avenue, claiming to be looking for a lost child, however, their behaviour was believed to be suspicious.
Following a search of the area, police found a man and a woman hiding in a garden of a house on Phoenix Avenue.
A samurai sword was discovered following a search and a 19-year-old man was then arrested on suspicion of possession of an offensive weapon. He remains in custody for questioning.
Chief Inspector Kathryn Craner, Knife Crime Lead at Nottinghamshire Police, said: “I’d encourage the public to report any intelligence they have about people carrying knives or suspicious incidents to police as soon as possible on 101 or in an emergency, dial 999.”
Police have made three arrests following reports of a knifepoint robbery in Arnold
Officers quickly responded after it was reported an 18-year-old man had been threatened by three people with a knife in Arnot Hill Park at around 9pm yesterday evening (January 31).
They contained the area and blocked off exit points from the park.
Three boys, aged 15, 15 and 16, were soon arrested on suspicion of robbery and a bag containing a kitchen knife was also recovered from the scene.
Police arrested three males
Chief Inspector Kathryn Craner, Knife Crime Lead at Nottinghamshire Police said this incident is just a snapshot of the force’s ongoing work to tackle knife and weapon enabled violence across the county.
She said: “Clamping down on knife crime is one of our force priorities and over the past two years the force has seen a consistent drop in the number of offences.
“A variety of factors have played a part in this, but our commitment to taking appropriate and proportionate action against offenders has played a key role in ensuring that people understand that carrying knives is not acceptable and that there are consequences.
“Our dedicated Knife Crime Team has also been played a pivotal part. We have officers who are specially trained in identifying and engaging with people who may be likely to be involved in knife crime in some way which allows us to take preventative steps before more serious incidents happen.
“This combined and concerted effort is working and I’d encourage the public to report any intelligence they have about people carrying knives or suspicious incidents to police as soon as possible on 101 or in an emergency, dial 999.”
Partygoers in Carlton and a group travelling together in a vehicle were fined by police over the weekend during a crackdown on those flouting Covid lockdown rules.
Fines were handed out to four people in Carlton after officers were called to a report of a party at a property in Incher Mews, Carlton, at around 7pm on Friday.
Four women inside the property, aged 47, 41, 34 and 26, were handed £200 fines for breaking Covid rules by gathering.
A group travelling around Notts together in a vehicle were also handed hefty fines.
Officers spotted a car in Netherfield and later in Colwick before following it to Mill Lane in Cropwell Bishop where it came to a stop.
Police found three men and a woman inside the vehicle who were in breach of Covid laws by being together.
Three men, aged 22, 19, and 19, and a 21-year-old woman were handed £200 fines.
One of the teenagers was also given a cannabis warning after a quantity of the Class B drug was found during a search after the car stopped shortly before 8pm on Saturday (30 January 2021).
Police Sergeant Becky O’Connor, of Nottinghamshire Police, said: “I want to thank the vast majority of people who are adhering to the rules which are in place to stop the spread of the virus, protect the NHS and save lives.
“Sadly a small minority of people are still letting everyone else down by choosing to disregard the rules and put the safety of others at risk.
“We appreciate the sacrifices the vast majority of people have been making by not seeing friends and family during this extended period of time – but now is not the time for people to act in such an irresponsible way and undo all the good work.
“We need people to continue working with us to limit the spread of this deadly disease, as the vaccine continues to be rolled out, and as we’ve repeatedly shown we will not hesitate to take action against those who blatantly ignore the current regulations.”
Residents have been reassured that work to remove hedgerows over the weekend was authorised as part of planning permission for a development in Gedling.
People living in the area took to social media to voice their anger after pictures of hedgerows being removed on Arnold Lane were circulated online.
The work was being carried out by Keepmoat Homes as part of a new development of nine houses in the area.
Some residents claimed that the removal of the hedgerows wasn’t included in planning permission for the site.
PICTURED: Hedgerows being removed by developers on Arnold Lane (PHOTO: Francis Rodrigues)
But local wildlife campaigner Peter Wood said that his research had uncovered that this work had been approved by planning officers.
PICTURED: Wildlife campaigner Peter Wood
Mr Wood, who used to carry out landscaping checks for housing developers, told Gedling Eye: “I have checked and have discovered that this is authorised work for a Keepmoat scheme to create nine houses, providing access to and from the new development. It has planning permission; we have checked the plan
“It is good that people are concerned about our hedges but this is not unauthorised work.
Officers said they were called to the scene following a report of a sudden death of a man near to the River Trent
DISCOVERY: A body was found at the back of Netherfield Lagoons
A police spokesman told Gedling Eye: “East Midlands Ambulance Service called officers to the scene near in Stoke Lane at 12.10pm yesterday (Sunday, January 31).
“The man has not yet been formally identified but his death is not believed to be suspicious and a file will be prepared for the coroner.”
Detective Sergeant Rick Ellis, of Nottinghamshire Police, said: “Our thoughts are with this man’s family and friends at this sad time.”
Passengers in Arnold and Mapperley are being urged to have their say on plans to axe a bus route serving both communities.
Nottingham City Council is proposing to reduce funding for Linkbus services and as a result, some routes will have to be reduced or withdrawn.
One route facing the axe is the L9 city route – which serves passengers in Arnold and Mapperley.
A consultation is now being held over the plans, which gives those using the service the opportunity to voice their concerns.
The proposal for the L9 service, which also covers Sherwood and Bestwood Park, reads: “The two largest key areas (Edwards Lane Estate and Winchester Court/Woodthorpe Court) served by NCT 40 every 30 minutes. We are looking at low cost options for those parts of the L9 at Mildenhall Crescent and Sherwood Vale that are beyond 400m of another bus service.”
A spokesman for Nottingham City Council said: “The council is facing very serious budget challenges, and is having to make some extremely difficult decisions on the services we provide. This includes a proposal to reduce funding for our Linkbus services.
“We are proposing to limit the effect on services through timetable changes, diversions on existing services, and withdrawing services where journeys can be made by another operator. This way we can ensure we continue to provide services to the city and district centres for people living more than 400m away from a commercial bus or tram stop.
“A public consultation is now running until February 22.”
The bus firm said a final decision over services will be made in March.
Gedling resident Paul Mace produces a regular Notts County podcast featuring former club players and managers. This week it’s the turn of one of former striker and current BBC Radio Nottingham football summariser Mark Stallard. Each week at Gedling Eye we’ll be sharing the podcasts with our readers.
Former Notts County striker Mark Stallard is equally as comfortable in the commentary box as he was in the six yard box at Meadow Lane.
With 79 goals in 227 appearances at the turn of the millennium, Stallard is the joint 10th highest scorer in the club’s illustrious history.
Nowadays he’s swapped his goalscoring boots for a microphone while commentating at Notts games for BBC Radio Nottingham.
Stallard digs into a treasure trove of Magpies stories around his playing days when he joined in 1999 under Sam Allardyce.
“My arrival was quite bizarre because chairman Derek Pavis kept decreasing the bid for me while I was in my final year at Wycombe.
“Eventually Wycombe accepted – for substantially less than he had originally offered for me..”
Stallard recalls a quite incredible pre season trip to Thailand and Brunei in which the squad had to contend with a deadly snake on the training ground.
“What a trip. In our first training session in Bangkok we noticed something slithering across the grass and we all ran around it.
“A local guy came over to deal with the snake and casually came back to tell us that if it had bitten any of us we would have been dead.
“The second leg of the trip was to Brunei to play their national team. Given the wealth of the country all the lads thought we would get a special present like a rolex. We came back with one pennant between us.”
Nowadays Stallard is one of the few who still get inside Meadow Lane to see games.
“It’s a very surreal atmosphere but I know I am very fortunate to still be able to go.
“I really enjoy doing the radio work. I rapidly came to the conclusion that it’s far better to be working in the media than being in the dug-out.
“You don’t get all the pressure which comes with having to live from result to result.
“I’m very grateful to Colin Slater for giving me the opportunity to join him in the commentary box a few years ago.
“He’s a true club legend. Working with Charlie is obviously very different but we get on well and try to be as honest as possible in our coverage of the club.”
A new episode of the Magpie Circle podcast is posted every Thursday evening at 6pm.Check it out and subscribe free on
