Thousands of pounds has been allocated to organisations across Gedling borough to allow for improvements in local communities.
A number of community organisations across the area recently secured new funds in the latest round of Nottinghamshire County Council’s Local Improvement Scheme.
At its Places and Communities meeting back in July, councillors approved grants with individual awards up to £50,000 under its Local Improvement Scheme for capital projects.
The aim of the council scheme is to help local communities to be more vibrant and sustainable by providing grants to local organisations which seek to make a difference in the local community.
Interest from across the county was strong which meant over half of the applications didn’t secure financial support.
The four Gedling borough awards are as follows-
Calverton Cricket Club – £10.000 towards creating an upper floor to
the pavilion building and other improvements to showers, dressing rooms &
public areas.
Eagles Next Community
Action (ENCA) – £3,000 towards replacing the heating system and
refurbishing toilets at their community centre in Arnold.
Haywood Road
Community Centre – £3,000 towards installations of kitchen areas to provide
catering for residents and users.
Ravenshead Community
Transport – £10,000 towards an accessible low level entry minibus as part
of community transport services.
A number of local projects were not recommended for awards and missed out on funding. These included bids from Calverton Parish Council, Gedling & District Youth Club (the Old Station), the Friends of Gedling Country Park; Netherfield Locality Steering Group and St John the Baptist Church (Colwick).
The council say projects not recommended for approval this time will be offered County Council support and guidance against other funding opportunities and future Local Improvement Scheme rounds.
Police have arrested two teenagers after a robbery in an Arnold street.
Two 15-year-old boys had a PlayStation PSP hand-held games console, a wallet and a sweatshirt taken.
Police said a group of four youths approached two 15-year-old boys and demanded they empty their pockets.
One of the victims was pushed while the items were being taken, in Gedling Road at around 5.10pm yesterday (Monday 5 August). No one was hurt.
The youths ran off after being challenged by a passer-by.
Officers from Nottinghamshire Police have arrested two boys, aged 16 and 15, in connection with the incident.
Detective Sergeant Mark Shaw, of Nottinghamshire Police, said: “Whilst we have made two arrests we are still seeking further people in connection with the offence and we want to hear from anyone who saw the robbery, or has CCTV or dash-cam footage.
“If you can help, please call Nottinghamshire Police on 101, quoting incident number 648 of 5 August 2019, or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.”
Two residents from Netherfield and Gedling have organised an exhibition in Nottingham city centre and are offering to donate half of any earnings from sales of their work on display to a Mapperley charity.
Netherfield resident Dominick Cuming and Dave Ross, who lives in Gedling, have organised the exhibition of their work at Nottingham Society of Artists, which is based on Friar Lane in the city.
The artists plan to donate half of what they earn from the sale of their paintings to Nottinghamshire Hospice.
PICTURED: Dominick Cuming’s pictures of houses on Bailey Street in Netherfield
On display at the exhibition, which runs from August 3-11, are a series of abstracts painted by Mr Ross.
Mr Cuming said he likes to paint what he sees around him.
He told Gedling Eye: “Most of my work is about where I live, so there’s an image of the backs of Bailey Street, another of the view up to Bakersfield and images from my garden, a cherry tree, a pile of bricks, virginia creeper.
“I like chimney pots. There are 39 of them visible from my garden. I’ve started on a project to paint them all at different times of the day and there’s the first painting of the series in the exhibition.”
He added: “What makes our present venture significant is that artists are giving away half of what they are given for their works; a scheme which I am fostering. This is the second go. The first, in just six hours raised over £600 for charity. It makes our idle dabblings worth doing!
Arnold care home Coppice Lodge has been crowned the Midlands winner of Ideal Carehome’s annual ‘Gardens in Bloom’ competition.
The contest, which launched in May,
encouraged both staff and residents across the operator’s 18 homes to work
together to embrace their love of the great outdoors by devising and
implementing an exciting revamp for their outdoor spaces.
Green-fingered resident Gordon Hodgkinson planned the garden revamp and organised a shopping trip to the local garden centre to buy plants, flowers and outdoor items.
Roses
were planted in the newly painted raised beds and a memory garden was created
as a peaceful place for people to go and remember friends or loved ones. The
first plaque erected was in loving memory of Gordon’s wife, Ruby, who lived
with him at the home until her recent passing.
Coppice Lodge lifestyle manager, Lorna Thornley, said: “We are absolutely thrilled to be the Midlands winner – all of the credit must go to our amazing residents who embraced the competition with such gusto.
“We’d like to say a special thank you to our very own green-fingered guru, Gordon, who has rallied the rest of us into action. The gardens have never looked better and we’re so lucky to be able to enjoy this warm weather in such an idyllic setting!”
Stacey Linn, Ideal Carehomes’ Director, said: “Coppice Lodge should be very proud to be our Midlands winner – our judges were astonished at just how much effort and thought had clearly gone into their project.
“We know that people living with us take huge pride in their gardens and we hope that the sunny weather continues for the rest of the summer so that they can enjoy the fruits of their labour.”
The
home now enters the final round of the competition, whereby judges will visit
all regional winners in four weeks’ time to decide upon a national victor.
Fourteen complaints were made to the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman about Gedling Borough Council between April 1, 2018 and March 31, 2019, a new report has revealed.
Of those complaints made, none were upheld against the local authority
In
2018-19, 284 complaints were received about the nine councils covering the
county. Of these, 41 were upheld, meaning the council was at fault, new
data shows.
Two councils received far more complaints than the
others – Conservative-led Nottinghamshire County Council and Labour-run
Nottingham City Council – with 104 complaints each, 36 of which were
upheld.
This is partly because those two councils are
responsible for adult social care, which attracts more complaints than other
issues.
Residents are being encouraged to have their say after Gedling Borough Council launched a review of where people cast their votes at elections.
A public consultation began yesterday (Monday, August 5) and will run until Monday, October 7.
The consultation is being carried out to review all of the borough’s polling stations and locations.
The council is also keen to hear from people with disabilities who may have any issues accessing their nearest polling station. The Electoral Registration and Administration Act 2013 requires local authorities to complete a review of their polling districts every five years.
In Gedling, there are over 60
polling stations, which are used for voting at local and national elections,
and there are nearly 90,000 eligible voters in the borough.
A Calverton chutney producer is celebrating after earning the highest accolade at this year’s Great Taste awards.
Matthew’s Preserves is among the Great Taste winners of 2019 and one of its products been awarded a three-star Great Taste award — the highest prize on offer.
The local producer’s Spicy Pineapple Chutney was judged by
over 500 of the most demanding palates, belonging to food critics, chefs,
cooks, as well as a whole host of food writers and journalists.
Matthew Slaughter is managing director at Matthew’s Preserves
and started the firm this year.
He said: “I’ve been making chutneys like this for years and
giving them out as birthday and Christmas gifts. Never did I believe I would
ever sell them, nor win an award for them.
“I started my company this year (2019) to coincide with the awards, so I could enter my Spicy Pineapple Chutney, therefore I am quite simply overwhelmed with the three stars. As a new company, I plan to use my Great Taste three stars to get my products into local, regional and possibly nationwide shops.
“Not only have I received this important accolade, I have
received two nominations for Golden Fork Awards, one for my chutney, the other
for my business.”
Recognised as a stamp of excellence among consumers and
retailers alike, Great Taste values taste above all else, with no regard for
branding and packaging. Whether it is vinegar, granola, bacon or cheese being
judged, all products are removed from their wrapper, jar, box or bottle before
being tasted. The judges then savour, confer and re-taste to decide which
products are worthy of a 1-, 2- or 3-star award.
There were 12,772 entries into Great Taste this year and of
those products, 208 have been awarded a 3-star, 1,326 received a 2-star and
3,409 were awarded a 1-star accolade.
This list contains only the roadworks considered to be most likely to cause delays on key routes as well as those involving road closures and temporary traffic lights.
The list is not exhaustive and does not feature some minor or emergency repairs that come up after publication.
Other roadworks may finish or start before schedule or be cancelled altogether.
All information from Highways England, local authorities and utility companies.
Burton Joyce
Bridle Road
August 12— 14
Delays likely due to road closure as workers maintaining
flood monitoring equipment in the dirty water system to help prevent drains
backing up into properties and streets.
Carlton
Chesterfield Street
August 12— 16
Delays likely due to road closure
Foxhill Road East
August 12 — 16
Delays likely as it will be a diversion route during Chesterfield
Street works
Delays likely due to traffic control (multi-way signals) From
outside 34 Gedling Road to outside 58
Gedling Road
August 7 — 9
Delays likely due to traffic control (Stop/Go boards)
Mapperley
B684 Woodborough Road
August 7
Delays likely due to lane closure as workers disconnect
power to bus shelter, replace existing advertising unit with upgraded digital
unit, install feeder pillar & connect power and carry out reinstatement
Woodthorpe
A6211 Arno Vale Road
August 7
Delays likely due to traffic control (multi-way signals)
Lobelia Close, Nottingham, Nottingham City
13 August — 30 August
Delays likely Road closure
Somersby Road
August 7
Delays likely Traffic control (multi-way signals)
Works location: Arno Vale Road junction with Somersby Road
to replace damaged lamp column (23)
Somersby Road
August 12 — 30 August
Delays likely due to traffic control (two-way signals) to
allow for resurfacing scheme on the footway
Welcome to my update for July. It has been another busy month for the team at Gedling.
Firstly we have seen some staffing changes within the Neighbourhood Policing Team at Arnold. We have said goodbye to PC Dave Jennings and PC Kulvinder Dosanjh who have both moved on having been temporarily promoted. We have now been joined by PC 1759 James Hague and PC 4560 Allie Batty. All of their contact details are available on our force website under www.nottinghamshire.police.uk/neighbourhoods
We are now into the summer holidays where anti-social behaviour will traditionally increase due to the schools being closed. We have been doing a lot of work around anti-social behaviour in terms of working with partners to look at diversion opportunities to reduce anti-social behaviour on our streets. Early in July I met with colleagues from Nottinghamshire County Council to discuss youth provision across the county and the Gedling Borough. Our colleagues at Gedling Borough Council have also put together a ‘Youth Summer Programme’ and I’m hopeful that this will help to reduce ASB across Gedling.
In terms of reported anti-social behaviour I know that this is a key issue for the community and this year (to date) we have seen around 40 less reported ASB incidents which is a -5.2% reduction across the Gedling Borough. It’ll continue to be a priority for us throughout the year. We continue to work closely with partners around ASB including housing providers in the area. In July the Gedling team made two arrests for breaches of civil injunctions which have been imposed by the courts following repeat ASB issues. These include injunctions issued following repeated reports of noise and nuisance behaviour. Our Special Constables will continue to support us with increased ASB patrols over the summer holidays.
PICTURE: The damaged play equipment in Arnot Hill Park (IMAGE: Friends of Arnot Hill Park)
On July 15 I went for a ‘walk about’ of Arnold Town Centre along with the Police and Crime Commissioner Paddy Tipping and partners from Gedling Borough Council. We visited the site of the damage caused to the play equipment in Arnot Hill Park before making our way through Arnold Town Centre to look at the additional CCTV installed on Smithy Crescent. The additional camera was funded by Gedling Borough Council and has had a real impact on the amount of ASB reported in the area. The PCC and I spoke with numerous members of the public and updated them as to our policing activity across Gedling. PC Dosanjh provided an update around ASB in the Town Centre about our work around Knife crime.
The investigation into the arson on the play equipment in Arnot Hill Park is now complete. It’s great to see the park repaired and open in time for the summer holidays. I’m pleased to report that a 17-year-old male has been reported for an offence of Arson and will be appearing in court. A second 17-year-old male has been issued with a ‘conditional caution’ which means that he will now be working with the Youth Justice Service in order to prevent reoffending. This has been a great investigation by PC Dosanjh and I’m grateful to everyone who shared our media appeal.
On July 23 I visited a St Albans Parish Council meeting. I provided an update on policing in the area and talked about ‘Operation Reacher’ running nearby in the Bestwood area. We talked about ways that we could work together to prevent crime and ASB particularly in the Bestwood Country Park. We also talked about ways that we could share information with the public such as crime trends in order to try and reduce reported offences. I also visited a Calverton community meeting along with the PCC Paddy Tipping and members of the Gedling Neighbourhood team. We talked about working together with volunteers in the area to improve road safety and I provided an update on police activity across the Gedling Borough. It was great to meet with Parish Council colleagues and members of the public and I hope to attend more meetings over the coming months.
I wanted to touch on two of our other local priorities Residential Burglary and Autocrime. We have reported an increase in burglary and autocrime in the Woodthorpe area where we saw a number of car key burglaries. It seems that Mercedes cars have been targeted by offenders who have entered properties during the night in order to steal car keys. An excellent investigation has been carried out by a number of resources across the force including our Response teams, Neighbourhood Policing team and the County Burglary team. A 16-year-old male has now been arrested and charged with two car key burglaries in the Woodthorpe area. He has been remanded in custody and a number of other burglaries remain under investigation.
In terms of autocrime we have seen a number of reports of vans being targeted for tools. Most offences have taken place overnight with tools stolen from the rear of vans. I know this has a huge effect on members of the community who rely on equipment for work. I’d ask that tools are removed from vans, particularly overnight and that any suspicious incidents are reported to the police. There is crime prevention advice available on the Nottinghamshire Police website under Advice and Crime Prevention Guides. The majority of offences have been in the Colwick and Arnold areas. Officers from across the area are patrolling overnight under ‘Operation Kinkle’.
‘Operation Scorpion’ has been continuing across the Gedling Borough. Officers have been carrying out increased patrols across the area with a focus on reducing violent crime. We know that this is closely linked to reported anti-social behaviour and patrols will continue throughout the summer.
PICTURED: A volunteer with a speed gun on Longsdale Lane (PHOTO: Nottinghamshire Police)
Finally I met with residents in Ravenshead to discuss updates around road safety. We are continuing to work with volunteers following reports of speeding vehicles around the Longdale Lane area. PCSO Kirsty Szeluk worked with the volunteers in the area to carry out another session and we were joined by colleagues from Notts Fire and Rescue. Both services are hoping to continue working together in order to promote road safety. We are now discussing expanding this scheme with other volunteers across Gedling Borough.
Please look out for forthcoming engagement events which will be held by the Gedling Neighbourhood team. Details will be published on our social media pages and where possible these will be advertised in public spaces.
My next update will be at the end of August and for those of you taking some time off over the summer have a great time.
