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Coronavirus: Gedling leaders write to Chancellor calling for more support to protect residents and businesses in borough during crisis

Gedling Eye Reporter
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Coronavirus: Gedling leaders write to Chancellor calling for more support to protect residents and businesses in borough during crisis

Gedling Borough Council leaders have said the chancellor’s package of financial measures to support the economy during the coronavirus crisis today are ‘a welcome first step’ but have called for more support.

Gedling Borough Council leader John Clarke and deputy leader Michael Payne wrote to the Chancellor today asking for ‘urgent and significant financial support’ to protect the health, homes, families and livelihoods of residents and businesses in Gedling borough.

The residents & businesses we serve in Gedling need urgent & signicnant financial support to protect their health, homes, families & livelihoods as we all face the challenge of Coronavirus. The Chancellor must immediately introduce a substantial emergency fiscal stimulus package.

Earlier this evening, Chancellor Rishi Sunak unveiled a package of financial measures aimed at supporting the economy during the coronavirus crisis.

These include £330bn for companies to access loans, support for airlines, a business rates holiday, and help for small firms without insurance.

But in response, Cllr Michael Payne said more support was needed to help people and businesses in Gedling borough.

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Gedling leader John Clarke, left and deputy leader Michael Payne, right. (Credit: Joseph Raynor)

He told Gedling Eye: It’s a welcome first step but we urgently need specific measures.

“We need details on sick pay support for all workers and consideration should be given to a Council Tax holiday for six months that is fully funded by central government so that councils don’t lose vital funding to maintain essential public services but support is given directly to households across the UK.”

In a letter to the Chancellor sent out prior to today’s announcement, the leaders wrote: “We are already receiving numerous requests for support and assistance from those now facing financial uncertainty as a result of the spread of Coronavirus – residents and businesses need financial support now, without any further delay.

“There is now clearly an urgent need for the government to introduce a significant and substantial emergency fiscal stimulus package to ensure that all our local businesses receive the financial support they need to avoid collapse or closure.

“Protection for our residents’ incomes and homes throughout the difficult period ahead must also be a key part of the much-needed emergency government fiscal stimulus package – no one should be left in a position of having to choose between their health and eating or their health and home.

“We also urge you to take urgent action to introduce an emergency government fiscal stimulus package that is commensurate to the immense scale of this challenge the significant pressure this pandemic is placing on our residents, our businesses and our economy.”

Coronavirus: Gedling Borough Council leaders want supermarket giants to sell them stock of essential items so they can hand them out to vulnerable and elderly residents

Gedling Eye Reporter
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Coronavirus: Gedling Borough Council leaders want supermarket giants to sell them stock of essential items so they can hand them out to vulnerable and elderly residents

Two Gedling Borough Council leaders have written to the UK’s leading supermarkets asking to buy stock of essential items so they can distribute them to the area’s elderly and vulnerable residents during the coronavirus crisis.

Council leader Cllr John Clarke and deputy leader Cllr Michael Payne wrote to ask if it was possible to buy stock of non-perishable food and items so that ‘no-one is left behind as we face the challenge of coronavirus.’

In the joint letter to the 12 supermarket giants they wrote: “We are keen to work with you to ensure the most vulnerable and elderly residents in Gedling Borough are supported throughout the coming weeks and months — particularly ensuring they and their families have the food and essentials they need.

Civic_Centre_Arnold
PICTURED: Civic Centre at Arnold

“We are grateful for the efforts of your organisations and your hardworking staff in stores and across supply chains who are working day and night to help keep the nation fed. We’re also aware our local and independent grocery stores and businesses play a key role in this effort and are incredibly grateful to all of them too.

https://twitter.com/MichaelPayneUK/status/1239980400321101830

“We fully support and endorse your request for everyone to be considerate in the way they shop and are particularly concerned that people buying more than they need can lead to sometimes mean others will be left without.

“We would urge you to take more robust and proactive measures to prevent people buying more than they need and thus depriving others of the food and essentials they need.

They then called on the 12 businesses for help in supporting their residents.

“It is now clear the Coronavirus pandemic is set to challenge us all in ways the like of which many of us have never experience before, they wrote.

“Amid the uncertainty it is vital that we work together and face this challenge by looking out for each other and caring for one another. We would like to work with you to purchase a stock of essential items, which our council will then be able to distribute to our most vulnerable and elderly residents as and when needed.

“Any contribution your organisation would also be willing to make to our local efforts would be incredibly welcome as we all work together in a national effort to ensure the most vulnerable members of society are protected and supported.”

The supermarkets, which include Tesco, Aldi, Asda, Lidl, Morrisons and Sainsbury’s, are yet to respond.

Carphone Warehouse store in Netherfield to close in April

Gedling Eye Reporter
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Carphone Warehouse store in Netherfield to close in April

Carphone Warehouse is to close its Netherfield store from April.

The store on Victoria Retail Park is one of 531 standalone stores to shut across the UK, resulting in 2,900 job losses.

The firm says the move is not related to the coronavirus outbreak, but was because of changing mobile market.

Carphone Warehouse shops inside 305 big PC World and Curry’s stores, and these will be not affected by the changes.

Group chief executive Alex Baldock today said customers were increasingly buying online and from its big stores which sold computers and TVs as well as mobiles.

He said: “They can’t find all this in the small mobile-only stores that are one twentieth of the size; they’re visiting these less and these stores are losing more money as a result.”

Emergency Response Committee set up to co-ordinate Gedling Borough Council’s response to coronavirus crisis

Gedling Eye Reporter
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Emergency Response Committee set up to co-ordinate Gedling Borough Council’s response to coronavirus crisis

Gedling Borough Council establishes Local Emergency Response Committee to coordinate local response to Coronavirus

Today the Leader, Deputy Leader and Chief Executive of the council established a Local Emergency Response Committee to coordinate the council’s preparedness and response to Coronavirus, including ensuring residents continue to receive key public services from the council.

Business continuity measures and support for residents, businesses and staff are in place, to ensure that the services which are most important to our residents and business continue throughout the coming weeks and months.

The council also continues to work closely with neighbouring councils and partner organisations across the city and county, as part of the Local Resilience Forum.

Today the councils Leader and Chief Executive joined a telephone conference with senior Government Minsters to discuss how councils will work closely with central government in responding to Coronavirus.

Below are just a few of the practical steps the council is taking in response to rapidly changing circumstances in relation to the virus.

· The Leader, Deputy Leader and Chief Executive of the council will be writing to the UK’s major supermarkets, offering for the council to purchase a stock of essential items that will then be distributed to vulnerable and elderly residents as and when necessary.

· A “Giving for Gedling” network of community volunteers is to be set up to help coordinate and facilitate the numerous and welcomed offers of help from local residents and community groups – this will help support the most vulnerable in the community such as the elderly and those with pre-existing health conditions.

· Council staff will be advised to work from home where possible and efforts will be made to ensure this does not cause immediate disruption to essential services, other staff may be retrained and redeployed to other service areas if required to create flexibility in the workforce.

· Local businesses will be supported through the recently announced Government measures in relation to business rates relief and grant funding. More information on this to follow in the coming days.

· The council is working with the Government to ensure that the recently announced Hardship Fund will be used to support the most vulnerable people who will need help the most. More information on this to follow in the coming days.

· A dedicated webpage has been set up at www.gedling.gov.uk/coronavirus to share the latest Public Health England information and Government advice. In addition to this, the council is also working to set up a dedicated Coronavirus phone line, which would be used to signpost residents who are unable to access online information to necessary advice and support in line with the guidance from Government and Public Health England. Further information about this will be released as soon as possible.

Given the rapidly changing Government and Public Health England advice, the council also urges residents to sign up to its Keep Me Posted service in order to receive regular updates and information about Coronavirus and the council’s response. You can sign up to the Keep Me Posted briefings at www.gedling.gov.uk/keepmeposted

Council organised events planned for the future are now under review and there will be announcements in the very near future as to whether any will be postponed and rescheduled.

Leader of Gedling Borough Council, Councillor John Clarke said;

‘We’re aware that the rapidly evolving situation and advice in relation to Coronavirus is concerning but we want to reassure our local residents and businesses that we will do all we can to provide support, assistance and advice, particularly to our elderly and most vulnerable residents. By working together and looking out for each other our local community will work through the challenges we face.

We are committed to continuing to provide our essential front line services to residents, while at the same time protecting our workforce during these difficult times. We have an incredible community spirit in Gedling and at times like this it is vital that we all work together. We have already had a lot of enquires from residents and community groups wanting to know what they can do to help and that’s why we are setting up the “Giving for Gedling” volunteer network and Local Emergency Response Committee to help coordinate local efforts. I want to reassure residents that we are, and will continue to do everything we can to support our communities and minimise any disruptions.’

Have say on policing priorities in Gedling borough

Gedling Eye Reporter
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Have say on policing priorities in Gedling borough

Police chiefs are encouraging communities across Gedling borough to help shape local policing in their areas, after the force launched one of its biggest public consultation exercises in its history today (March 16).

The survey is part of the force’s ‘what matters’ campaign which is giving the public a genuine opportunity to influence where local police in their area should focus their efforts.

The survey takes just a few minutes to complete and is available for members of the public to complete online at www.nottinghamshire.police.uk/whatmatters

As well as being made available online, the public will also be able to complete the survey face-to-face with local officers in their area as part of their everyday work to ensure that as many peoples’ views as possible are considered.

The results of the survey will help neighbourhood policing teams to better understand what matters most to the communities they serve, as well as enabling them to focus their efforts on designated neighbourhood priorities within each area.

As the force continues to invest in neighbourhood policing, the survey will enable local teams to focus on more of what matters to communities as more officers are recruited and proactive ‘Reacher’ policing teams are introduced across the county.

Nottinghamshire Police Chief Constable Craig Guildford said: “Neighbourhood policing is at the heart of Nottinghamshire Police’s work and this initiative is an extension of our commitment to engage with the communities we serve to ensure that we are continuing to focus on what matters most to local people.

“Focusing on specific priorities within each neighbourhood is already helping to address issues as they are raised and this work will help to ensure that we can focus on more of what matters to local people as our ambitious recruitment plans continue and introduce proactive policing teams into each area of the county.

“I would encourage as many people as possible to take just a few short minutes to complete the survey to help shape local policing priorities in their area.”

How neighbourhood policing priorities are decided

The survey’s launch recognises Nottinghamshire Police’s renewed focus on addressing designated neighbourhood policing priorities which are informed by local crime and incident data before being agreed by each area’s neighbourhood policing inspector in agreement with local partners and elected members.

Once agreed, each area’s priorities are published on the Nottinghamshire Police website alongside monthly updates about the progress that neighbourhood policing teams are making to address each priority.

The survey complements the existing public consultation activity that is undertaken by the county’s Police and Crime Commissioner and is already being used to inform how local policing priorities are decided across the county.

Paddy Tipping, the Police and Crime Commissioner for Nottinghamshire, said: “It’s important that the police know what people think and what they expect from their local neighbourhood policing teams. “We know how much local policing matters to people, which is why I am pleased that we are continuing to invest in neighbourhood policing as part of our ambitious plans to recruit 107 new police officers in 2020 alone.”

CC Guildford and PCC Tipping joined officers from the Rushcliffe neighbourhood policing team on Friday (13 March 2020) to launch the survey during a proactive operation targeting burglaries in the Lady Bay area of West Bridgford.

The operation was launched after burglary was identified as a neighbourhood policing priority for Rushcliffe, following a recent series of incidents targeting properties in the area.

It saw local officers share crime prevention advice with residents in the most affected areas.

What matters to you? Have your say on local policing in your area:

To have your say on local policing priorities in your area, visit www.nottinghamshire.police.uk/whatmatters

Coronavirus: Mapperley MP Nadia Whittome self-isolates after colleague undergoes tests for virus

Gedling Eye Reporter
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Coronavirus: Mapperley MP Nadia Whittome self-isolates after colleague undergoes tests for virus

An MP representing Mapperley is self-isolating after learning a member of staff they share an office with is undergoing tests for coronavirus.

Nadia Whittome, who is Labour MP for Nottingham East, said: “I have today decided to self-isolate at home in Nottingham, on the advice of NHS 111, after learning a member of parliamentary staff with whom I share an office with is undergoing tests for Covid-19 (coronavirus) and having myself developed symptoms consistant with Covid-19.”

Ms Whittome also slammed the government’s response to the crisis.

PICTURED: Nadia Whittome is announced as new MP for Nottingham East

She said: “Like many MPs, I am increasingly alarmed by the slow pace of the UK government’s response to this crisis.

“A decade of cuts has left the NHS starved of cash, with massive staff shortages and one of the worst ratios of intensive care beds per population in Europe.

“I, and every other Labour colleague, will be holding the government to account on securing new beds and resources, and putting in place emergency measures to bring in new staff.”

Police target speeding motorists near primary school in Netherfield

Gedling Eye Reporter
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Police target speeding motorists near primary school in Netherfield

Police today carried out a speed watch operation in Netherfield after complaints from residents about speeding motorists near a primary school.

Officers from the Gedling Neighbourhood Policing Team were in action armed with speed guns in a bid to catch those travelling over the speed limit on Chandos Street.

A police spokesman said: “Police were today conducting a speed watch operation on Chandos Street following a number of complaints from residents and the local Primary School.

“The speed limit for this road is 30mph however has an advisory speed limit of 20mph for the School.

They added: “Our aim is to tackle speeding vehicles and to give advice on the consequences. Preventative action is better than a cure.”

Sainsbury’s reveal plans to open new supermarket in Colwick during summer of 2021

Gedling Eye Reporter
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Sainsbury’s reveal plans to open new supermarket in Colwick during summer of 2021

Sainsbury’s have revealed they have amended plans for a supermarket in Colwick and plan to open the new store during the summer of 2021.

Amended plans for the new supermarket, which would be based on land south of Colwick Loop Road, show changes to the frontage, with additional glazing, and also proposals to house an Argos store.

The supermarket wrote to ‘key stakeholders’ in the village to notify them of the plans.

They also revealed in the letter that they plan to open the store in the summer of 2021.

Planning permission was originally granted back in 2014.

In the letter a spokesman for Sainsbury’s wrote: “We have been reviewing our plans for Colwick to ensure that we can provide the best possible offer for the village.

PICTURED: Colwick Loop Road. Image from Google

We are pleased to advise that we are now looking to move forward with slightly amended plans for this significant investment in Colwick, supporting economic growth at Colwick Industrial Estate, providing new jobs supported by training in a wide variety of roles; and, providing a convenient shopping location for local residents.

“We have therefore applied to Gedling Borough Council in order to make minor material amendments to the existing planning application, through a Section 73 application. The amendments seek to modernise the store frontage to include additional glazing; amend the back of house area and service yard to meet the latest requirements; and, deliver a new Argos store within the supermarket.

It added: “Subject to planning permission, we hope to begin construction works next year and open the store in summer 2021.

The supermarket giant reveled that work on site maintanance will begin shortly, with vegetation clearance taking place on-site ‘in the near future.’

A spokesman added: “We hope that this update is helpful and look forward to progressing with our revised plans to invest in Colwick.”

Mapperley man joins protest at County Hall over fossil fuel pension payments

Gedling Eye Reporter
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Mapperley man joins protest at County Hall over fossil fuel pension payments

A man from Mapperley was one of four protestors today who ’caused disruption’ during a meeting at County Hall over pension fund fossil fuel investments.

Dr Tom Barber, from Mapperley Park, was one of the four Extinction Rebellion rebels who ramped up the protests today in the County Hall grounds by planting a tree without permission.

They also caused disruption in the meeting chamber by dropping a massive banner from the balcony.

The local group have said they are doing this to draw attention to Nottinghamshire County Council, who they claim due have continually failure to begin selling their pension fund’s fossil fuel investments.

In February, the nine voting councillors on the Pensions Fund Committee refused their gift of symbolic saplings, so during today’s meeting Extinction Rebellion dug up an area of grass and planted their own symbolic 4 foot tree with a plaque saying “A Message to the Future – This English Oak tree was planted to mark the failure of the Nottinghamshire local government pension scheme committee to take urgent action to divest away from fossil fuels”

It continues “This plaque is to acknowledge we are in a climate and ecological emergency and know what must be done. Only you in the future will know if we succeeded”. Underneath is a reference to the ever increasing amount of CO2 in the atmosphere due to the burning of oil, gas and coal, currently measured at a dangerous level of 415PPM. 

Protestors said the tree will stand to remind the Councillors of their lack of urgency in this matter. Their decision to continue to hold over £250 million in risky fossil fuel investments is threatening the security of the pension fund, as well as adding to the climate emergency. Any shortfall in the pension fund will have to be made up by the organisations that pay into it – which is a threat to our local public services.

Dr Baker said: “I’m aware that what we’re doing today could be considered criminal damage, but digging up a bit of grass to plant a tree is really an act of community protection.

“I know the vital role trees can play in reducing the effects of the climate crisis. It’s the inactivity of the Pensions Committee that’s criminal!”

During the meeting members of Extinction Rebellion also unfurled a banner inside the council chamber expressing their frustration at the Committee’s lack of action.


Police praise Operation Reacher campaign success after cannabis find in Carlton

Gedling Eye Reporter
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Police praise Operation Reacher campaign success after cannabis find in Carlton

Police in Gedling borough have praised the success of Operation Reacher, a borough-wide anti-crime campaign, after cannabis was found when the initiative’s dedicated team executed a warrant at a property in Carlton.

A 36-year-old man was yesterday (March 11) in custody following the execution of the warrant at a property on Foxhill Road East.

The search was carried out by Operation Reacher and Carlton Neighbourhood Policing Team.

PICTURED: Cannabis discovered at a property in Carlton (IMAGE: Nottingham Police)
PICTURED: Cannabis discovered at a property in Carlton (IMAGE: Nottingham Police)
PICTURED: Cannabis discovered at a property in Carlton (IMAGE: Nottingham Police)

The male has been arrested on suspicion of possession with intent to supply cannabis and is currently being questioned.

Quantities of cannabis and prescription drugs were recovered during the search along with high value designer clothing.

Warrants like this come about with the assistance of the community; let us know what’s happening in your area and we’ll come and get them!

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