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Council wants pupils in Gedling borough to go back to school ‘with confidence’

Gedling Eye Reporter
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Council wants pupils in Gedling borough to go back to school ‘with confidence’

A council has said it wants pupils to start returning back to school next week ‘with confidence’.

Nottinghamshire County Council said it has been working to provide children and their families with all the information they need to help them feel confident about getting back to school next week following the Covid-19 lockdown.

The council has updated their ‘back to school’ web page with a range of information about returning to school, mealtime arrangements, travelling to school, support with emotional wellbeing and information for children with additional needs.

Councillor Philip Owen, Committee Chairman children and young people, said: “The safety and wellbeing of Nottinghamshire’s children, young people, families and staff is our priority.

“The restrictions in place since March mean that many of the county’s school-age children won’t have been in school for some time when they go back – so it’s vital that they, and their parents and carers, feel supported and ready to return.

“We feel it’s important for all school-age children to get back to school safely, especially after so many missed out on much of their valuable education during the lockdown restrictions.

school-admissions

“Our education team continues to support school teams in their meticulous preparation and risk assessments ahead of September. These include providing advice and guidance on health and safety measures, ensuring we can do all we can to support children’s emotional well-being as they return and engage them appropriately in a return to learning with the right support in place.”

The transport team has also been working hard to ensure school transport services in Nottinghamshire run smoothly with new arrangements in place from September, in line with government guidance. The authority is working hard to ensure sufficient capacity on school transport and is working with commercial providers, as well as contracting additional coaches to provide dedicated school transport services.

The council is urging parents to encourage their children to walk or cycle or to school wherever possible.  And even to think about leaving their cars at home when accompanying their children to school. If that is not an option and they must travel by car, we are asking if they can avoid parking too close to school and instead, walk part of the way. After the recent break from routine, the journey to school may be an opportunity for regular daily exercise for both children and their parents and carers.

Planning journeys ahead of time will help things go smoothly and will ensure people are aware of what is needed if they must use public transport or dedicated school transport.

We have worked hard with partners to get things ready and we are ready to respond quickly if need be.

Should parents still have questions or concerns about the plans in place for their child’s school, they should contact schools and headteachers to discuss the specific measures in place, and check their school’s website for the latest information.

Throughout the pandemic, Nottinghamshire schools remained open for children of key workers and those who are vulnerable, and welcomed additional pupils back from June.

‘Weekend of action’ by Gedling police teams hailed a success after illegal vehicles are seized and arrests made

Gedling Eye Reporter
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‘Weekend of action’ by Gedling police teams hailed a success after illegal vehicles are seized and arrests made

Two arrests were made, five illegal vehicles seized and over a dozen emergency calls were responded to during a ‘weekend of action’ in Gedling borough by local police teams.

The activity was part of the borough’s pro-active Special Constables commitment to driving down anti-social behaviour and illegal activity that has had an impact on local communities.

During their latest Weekend of Action initiative (Friday, August 21 to Sunday 23), the team were out in force as they relentlessly worked to tackle the issues and concerns raised by members of the public and local businesses.

During their patrols, the team responded to more than a dozen emergency calls for help, conducted speed enforcement checks in the Calverton, Linby and Papplewick areas, and visited a number of licenced premises.

Five illegal vehicles – all for having no insurance – were seized during their patrols, whilst a number of motorists were issued words of advice and given an opportunity to rectify a number of identified vehicle defects.

Police patrol

During one incident, the team assisted response colleagues by catching up with and detaining a 47-year-old wanted male in the Netherfield area. In another, the team responded to reports of an assault, also in the Netherfield area, which led to a 55-year-old female being arrested on suspicion of assault.

Special Constable Dominic Hotham, who forms part of the team, said: “These patrols come on the back of our commitment to support the Local Policing Team in tackling issues brought to our attention by residents and businesses.

“Most of our work is of a pro-active nature, allowing us to actively target known hot spot locations.

“It’s about having a real impact and being dynamic in our approach to rid communities from crime and anti-social behaviour, and as these latest results show, we take reports of dangerous and illegal motorists as well as anti-social behaviour very seriously as we know that these are some of the issues that have a negative impact in communities the most.

“The team plan to continue these high visibility and pro-active patrols throughout the rest of the year, as draw upon a number of traditional and modern policing tactics to help reduce criminal activity across the borough.

Gym at Victoria Retail Park in Netherfield saved as part of £44m deal with Sports Direct tycoon Mike Ashley

Gedling Eye Reporter
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Gym at Victoria Retail Park in Netherfield saved as part of £44m deal with Sports Direct tycoon Mike Ashley

The DW Sport Fitness gym in Netherfield will remain open after Mike Ashley’s Frasers Group acquired parts of the chain from administration in a deal worth up to £44 million.

In an email to members, it was confirmed that the gym on Victoria Retail Park will be included in the deal with Ashley, which was announced today

The email, which has been seen by Gedling Eye read: “Further to the appointment of Graham Newton and Ryan Grant, partners in BDO LLP, as Joint Administrators of Dave Whelan Sports Limited (‘DW Sports’) on 3 August 2020, we are now in the position to announce that a sale of the company’s retail and leisure businesses as a going concern was completed to SDI Fitness (DW) Limited (‘SDI’), part of Frasers Group PLC, on 23 August 2020. 

“As a result of the sale, the gym at Netherfield will remain open and trading under new ownership and memberships will be automatically transferred to SDI with effect from 24 August 2020.

“Membership fees will be collected in the usual way towards the end of this month and further information regarding new arrangements with SDI will be shared during the course of September.”

DW Sports, which had run the gym and store in Netherfield, collapsed earlier this month, putting 1,700 jobs at risk after its income slumped during the coronavirus lockdown.

Sports Direct tycoon Mr Ashley’s company Frasers has now acquired some of the gym and fitness assets in a deal announced today.

Frasers said the gym and fitness parts of the business it had acquired would be developed under the Everlast brand that it already owns.

Teenager hospitalised after stabbing in Carlton

Gedling Eye Reporter
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Teenager hospitalised after stabbing in Carlton

A 17-year-old boy was hospitalised after being stabbed to the abdomen in Carlton.

Nottinghamshire Police said they were called following a report from East Midlands Ambulance Service at around 5.30pm on Sunday (August 23).

Detective Sergeant Mark Shaw is leading the investigation. He said: We were notified of the incident yesterday in Deep Furrow Avenue.” 

Police car siren

“Two men were on bikes and attacked the victim. 

“Thankfully the teenage victim has not suffered life altering injuries. He is due to have surgery.

“Knife crime has no place on our streets and I can imagine the local community are concerned to hear reports of this nature.

“We believe this was an isolated incident where all parties were known to one another and there is no wider risk to the public.

“We are appealing for information and witnesses following the incident. If anyone saw anything suspicious please call 101, quoting incident number 576.”

Netherfield gym jobs could be saved as Mike Ashley’s Frasers Group makes DW Fitness deal

Gedling Eye Reporter
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Netherfield gym jobs could be saved as Mike Ashley’s Frasers Group makes DW Fitness deal

Mike Ashley’s Frasers Group has today announced it has bought some assets of DW Sports out of administration in a £37m deal that it says will save “a number of jobs”.

DW Sports, which runs a gym and store in Netherfield, collapsed earlier this month, putting 1,700 jobs at risk after its income slumped during the coronavirus lockdown.

Sports Direct tycoon Mr Ashley will now acquire some of the gym and fitness assets in teh deal announced today.

PICTURED: Sports Direct tycoon and Newcastle United owner Mike Ashley

Frasers said the gym and fitness parts of the business would be developed under the Everlast brand that it already owns.

In a statement to Sky News, Frasers said: “Frasers group looks forward to elevating the gym and fitness assets acquired pursuant to the transaction under the group’s existing iconic Everlast brand, and is also pleased to have saved a number of jobs.”

Building work underway on new £18.5m joint police and fire HQ in Arnold

Gedling Eye Reporter
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Building work underway on new £18.5m joint police and fire HQ in Arnold

Building work is now underway on a new £18.5 million joint police and fire headquarters in Arnold.

Police and fire chiefs say ‘the project running on schedule and under budget’.

The new three storey building is being built on land behind the existing Nottinghamshire Police headquarters at Sherwood Lodge, which will remain in use as part of a wider joint campus.

Work is also underway to make extensive improvements to the rest of the site, with new changing facilities and additional car parking already in use by police staff.

Beeston-based contractors Henry Brothers Midlands started work on site in mid-July afer winning a competitive tender for the work.

After completing extensive levelling and compacting work they are now laying concrete foundations in preparation for the arrival of the building’s steel structure in September.

New police headquarters
PICTURED: An artist’s impression of the new joint headquarters

Nottinghamshire Police and the Nottinghamshire Fire and Rescue Service, who are now joint owners of the site, hope to move into the new facility in January 2022.

Superintendent Paul Winter, who is leading on the project for Nottinghamshire Police, said: “This is a multi-phase project that has necessitated extensive clearing and levelling work to get us to this point. 

“As is the case for large parts of the county, the ground beneath our feet at Sherwood Lodge is formed largely of sand sitting above the sandstone bedrock. That means we’ve had to do a lot of compacting work to the main site and also to the new access road that now sweeps around the edge of the site.

“Over the last couple of weeks our contractors have moved on to digging our foundations and laying concrete to support the steel structure of the building which will start to arrive in a couple of weeks’ time.

“The good news for Nottinghamshire tax payers is that we are we are on schedule at this point and have already secured a very substantial saving with our contractor on our initial project budget.”

People in Gedling borough urged to have flu vaccine to ease pressure on NHS over winter

Gedling Eye Reporter
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People in Gedling borough urged to have flu vaccine to ease pressure on NHS over winter

Health chiefs are urging people in Gedling borough to have a flu vaccine and help ease pressure on the NHS this winter.

NHS Nottingham and Nottinghamshire CCG is urging the public to have the vaccine for flu if they are eligible as it will reduce the risk of catching and spreading the virus over the winter months.

The CCG said flu can cause severe illness and even death among vulnerable groups, as well as complications like bronchitis and pneumonia.

The vaccine is available free of charge on the NHS, if you:

  • Are 65 years or over
  • Are pregnant
  • Have certain medical conditions
  • Are living in a long-stay residential care home or other long-stay facility
  • Receive a carer’s allowance, or you are the main carer for an elderly or disabled person whose welfare may be at risk if you fall ill
  • Live with someone who’s at risk of coronavirus (on the NHS shielded patient list) or you expect to be with them on most days over winter
meningitis-vaccine

Later this year, the flu vaccine may also be given to 50-64 year olds but people in this age group will not be vaccinated until November and December, providing there is sufficient vaccines, and no appointments will be offered for this age group until then. 

The CCG said this is to ensure that those who are most at risk are vaccinated first. 

However, if you are 50-64, and have certain medical conditions, you will be invited for your flu vaccine sooner.

The flu vaccine is also available for children:

  • Over the age of 6 months with a long-term health condition;
  • Aged 2 and 3 years on 31 August 2020 (i.e. born between 1 September 2016 and 31 August 2018);
  • In primary school;
  • In year 7 (secondary school)

Dr Stephen Shortt, joint clinical leader at the NHS Nottingham and Nottinghamshire CCG, said: “It may seem early to be thinking about flu but the sooner we can get vaccinated, the more protected the population will be this winter. 

“Due to the Coronavirus pandemic we have seen unprecedented changes to the NHS. By getting vaccinated we will be making sure that we keep these services available throughout what is set to be a busy winter period. 

“We particularly want to encourage over 65s, pregnant women, those with certain medical conditions, carers and those who have been shielding to get the vaccine. I would urge all people who fit into the key groups to think about being vaccinated this year, it could save lives and maintain key services.”

More information on who is eligible for the flu vaccine is available here nhs.uk/conditions/vaccinations/who-should-have-flu-vaccine​

Anger after huge construction vehicles were spotted using narrow village roads to leave Gedling Access Road development

Gedling Eye Reporter
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Anger after huge construction vehicles were spotted using narrow village roads to leave Gedling Access Road development

A construction firm has apologised for sending large vehicles down narrow village roads in Gedling.

Residents in Gedling village have voiced their anger after HGVs and large construction vehicles were spotted using Shearing Hill and Arnold Lane last week to gain access to the Gedling Access Road (GAR) site near the village.

Locals said the vehicles are having a ‘devastating impact’ on the local community.

Geoffrey Pope, 77, lives in the village and said the narrow roads can’t cope with this kind of traffic

He said: “I was under the impression the firm working on the road wouldn’t be using our village roads to access the site. It’s just not on.

“The roads simply can’t cope with these huge vehicles. They weren’t built for that. I worry some pedestrian is going to get hurt as it gets very narrow. They need to stop now. It’s having a huge impact on the village.”

Village resident Francis Rodrigues said that recent activity proves how much the Gedling Access Road is needed.

IMAGE: Francis Rodrigues
IMAGE: Francis Rodrigues

He said: “These huge vehicles demonstrate how much the GAR is needed when you see them on Shearing Hill– which is so narrow in parts including the pavements.

“Over 25,000 cars and lorries use this route now, of which 2,000 of these are HGVs.

The GAR will be a purpose built road designed to carry the volume of traffic we have today regardless of COVID-19.

“We have waited over 70 years for this relief road. Residents in Gedling Village will see a massive change in September 2021 when it opens.

At a stroke, all the HGVs & 70% of the other traffic commuting to and from the east and south of Nottingham to the north and west and the M1 motorway will be moved to the GAR (A612). The old route will be declassified and a weight restriction imposed on the old sections on Shearing Hill, Main Road and Arnold Lane.”

Councillor Jenny Hollingsworth contacted the site development team about the claims.

She told residents: “It has been confirmed that the low loaders were related to the GAR construction.

“They were moved off site following the completion of the first and largest phase of earthworks on the project.

“The project manager has apologised for any concern and inconvenience this caused. He will work with the contractor to ascertain when other large vehicle movements will occur, will share any communications and check that the routes are in accordance with agreed parameters.

“He advised that all movements were completed yesterday and will not impact on the return to school.”

Local projects in Gedling borough can bid for share of £500,000 fund

Gedling Eye Reporter
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Local projects in Gedling borough can bid for share of £500,000 fund

Residents in Gedling borough can now bid for a share of £500,000 towards local projects through Jigsaw Foundation – a fund set up to help improve neighbourhoods across the area.

Now in its second year, Jigsaw Foundation has successfully supported 77 community projects, covering a variety of themes including health and wellbeing, improving the environment as well as financial and digital inclusion. During the pandemic, Jigsaw Foundation has offered vital funding to foodbanks across the areas where we have homes. This includes the Arnold Food Bank in Gedling.

Jigsaw Homes Group, that makes the funding available, is now encouraging bids from a range of different applicants across our neighbourhoods, including resident groups, local or charity projects, voluntary organisations, social enterprises and partner agencies.

The funding will enable projects to make a real difference to our residents’ lives and their communities. One of the good causes to receive funding from Jigsaw is the Gedling based community project ‘SPRIING’ (Social Prescribing Reducing Isolation in Gedling). A £19,266 grant has enabled the project to establish a one year Social Prescription pilot to address loneliness and isolation among older people living in the borough of Gedling. It is a partnership between Gedling Borough Council and Gedling Homes, working with social and activity groups in the community. The aim is to explore the project’s success through assessing participants wellbeing during their engagement with them and then sharing outcomes of the project with the aim of finding a sustainable way to continue the good practice established during the year.

Other projects to receive funding include local theatres, school workshops, sports activities, dementia cafes, community centres, social enterprise start-ups and work clubs.

Suzanne Bullock, Assistant Director of Neighbourhoods at Jigsaw Homes Group said:

“The £500,000 Jigsaw Foundation Community Fund confirms our continued investment in all our communities in supporting projects close to people’s hearts that can also have a positive impact in our neighbourhoods, especially in this current climate.”

Tenants from across Jigsaw Group vote on the successful projects, having a say on where and how they would like the money to be spent.

For further information and to find out how to apply, please visit our website: foundation.jigsawhomes.org.uk.

Two arrested after police respond to reports of burglary in progress at house in Calverton

Gedling Eye Reporter
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Two arrested after police respond to reports of burglary in progress at house in Calverton

Two teenagers have been arrested on suspicion of burglary after officers responded quickly to reports of a break in at a house in Calverton.

Officers received a report of a burglary in progress in Main Street after the victim was alerted to his CCTV camera being triggered and saw two suspects breaking into his property.

Officers arrived on scene within minutes and arrested two boys, aged 14 and 15, on suspicion of burglary.

The burglary was reported shortly before 6.15pm on Tuesday (August 18, 2020).

Neighbourhood Policing Inspector Chris Pearson said: “Tackling and reducing burglary remains a priority for us within the Gedling borough and across the whole force area.

Inspector Chris Pearson
FALLING: Inspector Chris Pearson said that there has been a decrease in burglary across the borough (IMAGE: Notts Police)

“Burglary is an invasive crime which aside from financial loss causes significant upset to victims. People should always feel safe in their homes and therefore we remain committed to tackling this crime and bringing burglary offenders to justice.

“In terms of burglary, in the Gedling borough, this July has seen around 16 less offences than July 2019 which is around a 40 per cent decrease in reported offending.

“Whilst the Coronavirus outbreak has undoubtedly impacted on crime levels there is also a huge amount of work that has gone into policing hotspot areas and targeting those who we know commit offences in the Gedling borough so the reduction we’ve seen in reported burglaries are encouraging.”

“The two suspects arrested in connection with the reported house burglary in Main Street were subsequently released on bail.

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