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Man swindled money from charity supporting people in Mapperley to pay house deposit

Gedling Eye Reporter
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Man swindled money from charity supporting people in Mapperley to pay house deposit

A fraudster who swindled money from a charity supporting people in Mapperley to pay towards a house he was buying has been jailed.

Darren Pickering, 37, was employed by community-based charity The Renewal Trust and Hungerhill Trading Limited between August 18, 2015 and 21 December 21, 2018.

Pickering swindled more than £73,000 from the charity and its trading subsidiary company which he used to work for  – to pay towards a house he was buying.

The charity works with children, young people, adults and communities in St Ann’s, Sneinton and Mapperley – Nottingham’s Area 6 – and beyond.

It supports people by offering a number of young people’s programmes, community initiatives, sports programmes and employability assistance.

Pickering, of Bonsall Street, Long Eaton, was employed by the charity as a full-time property manager. Pickering transferred money from the trust to pay fraudulent invoices, with the funds going into his own bank account.

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He used the money he’d fraudulently gained to pay a deposit on a house he was buying in Derbyshire.

On Friday (October 2) he was jailed for two years at Nottingham Crown Court after pleading guilty to a charge of fraud by abuse of position.

Detective Sergeant Anna Haynes, of Nottinghamshire Police, said: “This was a significant amount of money for the charity which Pickering stole for his own selfish gain. He was a trusted member of staff but he abused and exploited his position.

“This was a complex investigation and I’m glad Pickering pleaded guilty. The evidence against him was overwhelming.

“I hope this case sends a clear message to those who believe they can abuse their position for their own financial gain that offences will be uncovered and you will be brought before the courts to answer to your crimes.”

A spokesperson for The Renewal Trust said: “This was a shocking matter for us and we are glad to see justice has been served.

“While we believe this was an isolated incident, we have worked closely with our auditors and undertaken a review of internal financial processing to help safeguard the charity for the future and are working towards recuperating the funds taken.

“We look forward to moving ahead and continuing to provide services and support people in our community.”

Police appeal after theft of catalytic converter in Ravenshead

Gedling Eye Reporter
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Police appeal after theft of catalytic converter in Ravenshead

Police are investigating after the theft of a catalytic converter in Ravenshead.

Officers were called at around 4pm on Monday, September 28 to a report of the theft in Quarry Road.

Police Constable Chris Lee, who is investigating the incident, said: “We are pursuing a number of lines of enquiry into this theft, including looking at available CCTV.

Police-notepad

“This happened in the daytime and there may well be people who saw something suspicious in the area. I would urge them to come forward and tell us what they know.”

Officers are particularly keen to hear from anyone who saw a black or dark VW Golf in the area, which is believed to have been a 1998 model or similar with distinctive 9 spoke wheels.

Anyone who has information should call Nottinghamshire Police on 101, quoting incident number 541 of 28 September 2020.

You can find out about how to protect your vehicle in the catalytic converter theft advice guide.

VIDEO: See latest progress made on Gedling Access Road works in new flyover video

Gedling Eye Reporter
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VIDEO: See latest progress made on Gedling Access Road works in new flyover video

Nottingham County Council have released their latest drone footage showing progress on Gedling Access Road.

The new video shows some of the more significant earth work changes to the landscape and further changes at Arnold Lane and Mapperley Top.

Viewers will also be able to see changes to The Pepperpots, which belong to the 3rd Woodthorpe Scout Group.

Construction on new Gedling Access Road
PICTURED: Construction began 10 months ago on new Gedling Access Road on Lambley Lane

The ‘Pepperpots’, are named after the structures at the top of the shafts that were built in the 19th century to ventilate the Mapperley Tunnel used by trains underneath the land

A retaining wall has now been built around the structure which will be much needed as the new road will be 14m high.

The Gedling Access Road (GAR) is a new 3.8km single carriageway road which will provide a link between the B684 Mapperley Plains and the A612 Trent Valley Road / Nottingham Road.

The road is expected to open to traffic in the autumn of 2021.

Colwick firm’s war on plastic gathers speed following £300k machinery investment

Gedling Eye Reporter
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Colwick firm’s war on plastic gathers speed following £300k machinery investment

A Colwick packaging manufacturer has invested £300,000 in a new tray-forming machine as part of its campaign to help drive the industry from single-use plastic to recyclable cardboard.

The Wilkins Group, which makes packaging for many of the leading supermarkets, bought the new machine after it was tasked with supplying additional cardboard versions of plastic packs commonly seen in-store. 

Justin Wilkins, sales and marketing director at the family-run business, said: “We’ve been making cardboard alternatives for years now but investing in the new machine will enable us to generate more forms of cardboard packaging, and to do so at a faster rate.

“With the arrival of the new machine, we’re putting ourselves in an even better position to help combat that.

The German-built Heiber & Schröder CE1560 Tray Forming Machine was installed at The Wilkins Group HQ at the start of September and is now fully operational.

It is capable of producing leak-proof cardboard trays, as well as clamshell trays, lidded trays, chip cartons and take-away trays – and with a quoted capacity of 27,000 trays per hour, it will enable the Wilkins Group to generate well in excess of 100 million units per year.

Justin said: “The new machine takes two people rather than one to operate it, but it runs on three lanes rather than two, producing trays 50% faster than our other machines.

“Not only does that enable us to service our existing clients, but it also enables us to ramp up our production capacity in anticipation of a continuation of the trend.

“This year in particular has seen supermarkets changing their policies in response to public demand for greater accountability over the ecological credentials of their packaging – and it’s investments like this that enable us to stay right at the forefront of that movement.”

Wilkins, which recently won the title of Midlands Family Business of the Year, is a global provider of packaging solutions, employing 270 staff in Nottinghamshire and 500 across its sites in the UK, Romania, Sri Lanka, China and Bangladesh.

For more information, visit www.wilkins.co.uk. 

Gedling borough households urged not to become ‘accidental’ waste criminals

Gedling Eye Reporter
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Gedling borough households urged not to become ‘accidental’ waste criminals

Facebook users in Gedling borough who use unregistered waste carriers could find themselves ‘accidental criminals’, warns the Environment Agency.

Waste carriers are required to register and operate in line with a set of rules that protect the environment and their customers. These rules require them to dispose of waste in the right place, store it safely and keep accurate records of its transfer and disposal.

Registered waste carriers in Nottinghamshire have become concerned about the number of ‘man and van’ adverts and self-promotion on Facebook and other social media platforms offering to take away people’s rubbish.  

If these traders don’t have a waste carriers’ licence, there is no guarantee rubbish will be disposed of safely and responsibly at an authorised site. Instead, it could end up dumped on the side of the road or burned in a field. What’s more, because the person who created the rubbish is legally responsible for it, it is they who could face criminal charges.

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PICTURED: Rubbish dumped by the River Trent in Stoke Bardolph

Graham Betteridge of the Environment Agency said: “Rogue traders using social media to con people into parting with their waste cheaply are the new door steppers. People are then discovering their waste has been fly-tipped in a country lane or beside the road. These illegal waste carriers undermine legitimate businesses, undercut their prices and blight the environment.

“We want people to take three steps to check whether the collector has a waste carriers’ license from the Environment Agency: ask where the rubbish will end up, don’t pay cash and insist on a receipt, then record the details of the vehicle used to take the rubbish away.

“If people suspect criminal activity, they should report it on our national incident hotline 0800 807060 or anonymously through Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 and give as much detail as possible. Let’s work together to stamp out waste crime and protect our beautiful countryside.”

Everyone has a duty of care to ensure their waste is disposed of legally. Failing to meet that duty of care means that people could be held responsible if their waste is fly-tipped or otherwise illegally disposed of. If this happens and they have not met their duty of care, they could be fined up to £400.

Before hiring someone to remove waste, check their credentials online athttps://environment.data.gov.uk/public-register/view/search-waste-carriers-brokers

Gedling leaders ask TSB to reverse decision on branch closures in Mapperley and Netherfield

David Bratton
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Gedling leaders ask TSB to reverse decision on branch closures in Mapperley and Netherfield

Gedling Borough Council‘s leaders have today (October 2) asked TSB chiefs to reverse their decision on closing branches in Mapperley and Netherfield.

The banking giant this week announced they would be shutting the sites as part of a UK-wide closure scheme.

TSB’s decision has been met with anger by people in the local community, especially older residents who don’t have access to digital apps, which the bank said could be used as an alternative to branch visits.

Angela Knight, 78, lives in Mapperley and contacted Gedling Eye to say she was angered by the decision.

“I don’t have a mobile phone and just use a library computer for email so I need to have access to a branch. It’s a disgrace that the TSB expect me to go to Sherwood or town.

“With this virus I don’t want to be on a bus with other people. How can the government let them do this now with all that is going on?”

Gedling Borough Council leader John Clarke and deputy leader Michael Payne have now written to the TSB’s chief executive Debbie Crosbie asking her to reverse the decision.

Gedling-Borough-Council
Gedling leader John Clarke, left and deputy leader Michael Payne, right. have asked TSB to reverse their closure decision (Credit: Joseph Raynor)
tsb-netherfield
PICTURED: TSB branch on Victoria Road in Netherfield that is earmarked for closure in 2021
TSB Mapperley
PICTURED: TSB branch in Mapperley (IMAGE: Google)

They wrote: “We are deeply disappointed at the announcement by TSB to close its branches at Mapperley Plains and Netherfield, both of which are within Gedling borough.

“Whilst TSB has made a commitment to enhance its digital offer, we are aware that many of the customers at these two branches rely on face-to-face services to conduct their banking and pay bills.

“TSB’s proposal to close Mapperley Plains and Netherfield branches in early 2021 will have a detrimental impact on our local population and the hardworking staff who work in these branches, and will exacerbate problems with social isolation that are already prevalent within society locally and nationally.

“We are deeply concerned that the closure of TSB branches in Mapperley Plains and Netherfield will leave customers within the entire Gedling borough area without access to a local TSB branch, unless they travel to your Nottingham, Sherwood branch.

“It is shocking this decision to close local branches has been made without any consultation with the local community and your loyal customers – such action undermines TSB’s slogan – ‘Local banking for Britain’.

They added: “We urge you to listen to the people of Gedling borough and immediately halt plans to close Mapperley Plains and Netherfield TSB branches.”

A petition has now been set up calling for TSB to cancel the closures. You can sign it here: https://www.change.org/p/tsb-ceo-debbie-crosbie-save-mapperley-plains-and-netherfield-tsb-branches-from-closure

Gedling Eye has contacted TSB for comment.

Work continues on Starbucks and Nando’s being built at Victoria Retail Park in Netherfield

Gedling Eye Reporter
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Work continues on Starbucks and Nando’s being built at Victoria Retail Park in Netherfield

Work is continuing at pace on two new food and drink outlets being built at Victoria Retail Park in Netherfield.

A Nando’s restaurant and Starbucks drive-thru will soon occupy the land which was previously used as an area for car parking by Morrison’s.

Planning permission was granted in July 2019 for a 348 square metre unit would be used for the Nando’s restaurant and a 167 sq m building for the Starbucks and also 23 parking spaces for the two venues.

The sites will be accessed via the Morrison’s roundabout PHOTO: Neil Slack
PHOTO: Neil Slack

The restaurant and drive-thru will be accessed through the existing mini-roundabout which already offers access to Morrison’s..

No completion date has yet been given.

Netherfield TSB to close following branch review

Gedling Eye Reporter
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Netherfield TSB to close following branch review

The TSB branch in Netherfield is set to close next April following a review by the banking giant.

TSB confirmed the branch based on Victoria Road will stop trading on April 29, 2021.

In. a statement, the bank said: “We’ve looked carefully at our Netherfield branch and how it’s used and have taken the decision to close it.”

The way customers bank with us is rapidly evolving with the vast majority making everyday transactions digitally.

“67% of all our customers are now using mobile, online or telephone banking and at this branch 82% of our personal banking and 85% of our business customers now choose to use another branch or channel instead.”

The bank said that nearest branch for customers is in Sherwood, which is 3.6 miles away.

It’s another blow to TSB customers in the borough who were yesterday informed that the branch in Mapperley was among 164 listed for closure across the UK in the coming months.

Couples reminded about guest numbers for weddings taking place at Arnold Registration Office

Emily Sanchez
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Couples reminded about guest numbers for weddings taking place at Arnold Registration Office

Couples are being reminded that the number of guests able to attend wedding and civil partnership ceremonies in Arnold is limited.

The Government announced recently that the maximum number of people able to attend ceremonies has been reduced from 30 to 15.

Social distancing measures on-site and the varying size of ceremony rooms means that ceremonies at Nottinghamshire registration offices will be subject to a reduced capacity.

Arnold registration office will be able to accommodate six.

Couples holding their ceremonies at one of Nottinghamshire’s approved venues are advised to check the capacity with the venue directly.

Ceremony numbers include the couple, witnesses, and guests but exclude the two registrars allowed at each office to perform the ceremony. Children and babies are included in the ceremony numbers.

Wedding rings

Councillor John Handley, Vice Chairman of Nottinghamshire County Council’s Communities and Place Committee, said: “These new measures are important to limit the spread of coronavirus. 

“While the majority of our registration offices are unaffected by the reduction from 30 people to 15, couples who have ceremonies booked in Mansfield must note that the number of guests allowed to attend will reduce from 19 to 15 from 28 September.

“Our team of registrars has been working hard since ceremonies were able to resume to make sure that they can take place safely. 

“Social distancing measures are in place throughout all our registration offices and approved venues and our team of registrars will continue to work with couples to ensure that everyone understands what their ceremonies will look like. 

“We would like to thank couples for their continued patience while we work to deliver our registration services in line with Government advice on coronavirus.”

For further information on how to book a wedding or to seek any clarification if you have a wedding booked with a County Council Registrar please call the 0300 500 8080 or visit our weddings frequently asked questions.

Axe falls on TSB branch in Mapperley

Gedling Eye Reporter
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Axe falls on TSB branch in Mapperley

THE TSB branch in Mapperley is to close following the announcement by the banking group that it was to axe 164 of its branches in the United Kingdom.

The bank said the decision to close the branch on Plains Road has been driven by a significant shift in customer behaviour, including a reduction in the number of customers using branches.

TSB chief executive Debbie Crosbie said: “Closing any of our branches is never an easy decision but our customers are banking differently – with a marked shift to digital banking.

“We are reshaping our business to transform the customer experience and set us up for the future.

“This means having the right balance between branches on the high street and our digital platforms, enabling us to offer the very best experience for our personal and business customers across the UK.

“We remain committed to our branch network and will retain one of the largest in the UK.”

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