A construction firm has been agreed for the new multi-million pound Gedling Access Road.
The
road, which runs past the new Chase Farm Development from the A612 Colwick Loop
Road to the B684 Plains Road, has been an ambition for more than 50
years.
But
now the preparatory ground work has started, £40 million in funding has been
approved, and a new contractor has been secured.
Building giant Balfour Beatty has been selected as the building company to construct the new road, and is expected to be officially confirmed today (July 4) .
Planning
permission for the new Chase Farm houses was partly dependent on the road being
built.
Only
315 of the 1,050 homes planned for the estate can be built until the new road
is finished. New industrial units and a drive-through restaurant have also been
given permission next to the road.
It
had been hoped that the road would be finished by Spring 2020, but at the
time planning chiefs said this may have to be pushed back to Winter 2020.
This
is because some delays were anticipated due to the complexity involved, and the
large number of plots of land which needed to be built. The construction work
is likely to take around 18 months.
Conservative
councillor John Cottee is the chairman of the county council committee
responsible for roads, and represents Keyworth.
He said: “Entering into contract with Balfour Beatty to deliver the main construction of the Gedling Access Road is another key milestone in the project’s delivery.
“It
enables funding streams to be unlocked and provides the opportunity for the
county council to work collaboratively with Via East Midlands, who are managing
the project on behalf of NCC, and Balfour Beatty.
“Working
in partnership we can get contractor input into the design proposals, engage
with key suppliers and sub-contractors at an early stage, carry out value
engineering, all of which will assist in the management of risk and the overall
programme.
“The
regional framework we’re using has been successful in the delivery of other
high-profile projects in the county, previous schemes include the £8.5m
Hucknall Town Centre and the £3.1m Hucknall Rolls-Royce work.”
A brave teenager from Mapperley who suffers from a rare blood disorder is hoping her story will inspire people to turn out for a bone marrow donor drive this Friday (July 5).
Isobel Chivers was just 13 when she was diagnosed with Griscelli – a life-threatening auto-immune illness of the blood.
The inherited genetic condition leaves those affected with unusually light (hypopigmented) skin and light silvery-grey hair.
Griscelli is normally considered life threatening but Isobel’s condition is classed as ‘uncharacteristic’ due to her symptoms being less severe.
PICTURED: Brave Isobel Chivers in hospital for treatment
In Isobel’s case, the inflammation caused by the illness is in her brain which affects her balance and also her vision – which is permanently doubled.
Drugs are now available to keep the teenager’s symptoms under control, but the only hope of a cure is chemotherapy and a bone marrow transplant.
Isobel and her family are now launching a campaign to encourage more people across the borough to join the donor register and help find more matches for those needing a transplant.
A sign-up event has been organised and will take place this Friday at Mapperley Plains Primary School.
Isobel’s mum Sue Chivers is hoping her daughter’s plight will encourage more people to sign up for the donor scheme.
She said: “We want to encourage people to get on the bone marrow donor register and help Isobel and everyone in her position.
“Whether my daughter needs a transplant or not, we still want more people to put their names down.
“We have read about so many cases where children and adults alike are desperate for a donor, so we have decided to campaign to encourage more people to sign up.”
“Signing up for the register is easy. They require three swabs, a few minutes of your time and you could end up being a life changer.”
Potential donors can back the campaign and join the register at the event this Friday (July 5) at Mapperley Plains Primary School on Central Avenue, between 3.30pm – 7pm.
Two great events are taking place at the Richard Herrod Centre this July to get you in the summer spirit.
This Friday the centre will be taking people back in time with a 70s night.
An Abba tribute band will be taking to the stage and a DJ will be playing the greatest hits from everyone’s favourite decade.
The fun starts at 7pm and tickets cost £4.
People are being encouraged to dress up for the occasion, but organisers say fancy dress is optional.
On Friday, July 19, the centre hosts their popular Family Night.
The theme is summer and families can expect a night of fun and laughter.
There will be entertainment for the kids and adults including disco, food, a bar and entertainer for the youngsters.
Doors open at 6pm and tickets cost £2 for adults and children are free.
Even if these events don’t float your boat, you can always head down to the centre on Saturday nights as entertainment with an artist and bingo are on offer each week.
A foodbank in Arnold is appealing for donations due to an
increase in service users.
The team at Arnold Foodbank, which is based at Daybrook Baptist Church on Mansfield Road, are urging people to donate food and also funds to its base.
Figures released by the Trussel Trust – which manages the
foodbank – shows a 30% increase in people using the service.
The charity now estimates that £8,500 will be needed to
cover this next financial year – up on the £4,671 spent last year.
PICTURED: Asda’s supermarket in Front Street
To find the extra food and money needed to feed those
needing help, the Trust has launched a JustGiving site to accept donations.
They will also be doing an in-store food collection at the Asda in Arnold on August 31 between 9.30am-4pm and volunteers will be on hand to share information and take food donations.
Volunteers will also have a stall at the Killisick Fun Day
this Saturday (July 6) where you can also find out more about the charity’s
work.
Visitors picking up the garden trail will take in woodland walks, winding streams and beautiful topiary plus fabulous displays of colourful flowers and ponds teeming with wildlife in the event sponsored by Brookfields Garden Centre.
Some of the gardens link up via a stream.
The trail includes refreshment stops, a treasure hunt and plant stalls.
Jane Terry of BJ Garden Maintenance, who will be opening her garden said: “I have been lucky enough to work in most of the gardens that are opening up for the first time on Sunday. I am so pleased with the generosity of Burton Joyce residents.
PICTURED: Jane Terry’s garden will be on show this Sunday
“I’m also glad that I could support Nottinghamshire Hospice as they are a charity that is close to my heart after caring for my Mum. She was a keen gardener herself in fact our whole family are so what better way to celebrate with Burton Joyce’s first open gardens.”
One of the gardens opening to the public is Dumbleside, a gorgeous two-acre space of varied habitat on a south-facing slope on the edge of the Dumbles. The garden, owned and tended by 83-year old Patrick Bates, features in the National Garden Scheme.
It contains a stream which cascades down a deep-shaded gully to join the Dumble. The garden is awash with colour all year round, with primulas, iris, and tree ferns plus mixed herbaceous borders, wild flower areas and woodland walks and a raised gravel bed for alpines and small plants.
Patrick said: “I’ve been tending the garden for 47 years and I’ve had a lot of pleasure from it. I enjoy showing people round the garden and I’m hoping for a nice day.”
There will also be beekeeping displays from gardener and beekeeper Steve Hickling. Steve, who started off with just one hive, now has hives all round the village including in several of the gardens which are opening. He will also be selling honey at the event.
The event runs from 1pm to 5pm and tickets are £5, including trail map, available in advance or on the day from the Nottinghamshire Hospice shop, 45 Main Street, Burton Joyce.
The hospice is looking for more volunteers to take part. If you would like to get involved, please contact the organisers at partnerships@nottshospice.org
The Mayor of Gedling was joined by staff and residents at a care home in Arnold to officially open their new tropical-themed sensory garden.
The garden unveiling was just one of the activities that took place last Friday (June 28) as Coppice Lodge, which offers 24-hour residential and dementia care for 64 people, threw open its doors to the local community as part of the National Care Home Open Day.
This theme of this year’s awareness day was the role of art and music in care. This was reflected in Coppice Lodge’s schedule of events which included singing from Tanya Adel and sessions dedicated to arts, crafts and painting.
DELIGHTED: Mayor of Gedling, Sandra-Barnes, is presented with flowers by Coppice Lodge resident Joan Bellamy
Samantha Kavanagh, care home manager, said: “We were delighted to open our home to the public and welcome Cllr Barnes as part of National Care Home Open Day as she helped us celebrate the launch of our new sensory garden.
“Our key values are based around friendship, connectivity and respect and it was a privilege to showcase our home as part of a national programme which rightly celebrates the dedication of the residential care sector.”
Mayor of Gedling, Cllr Sandra Barnes, said: “Care homes are an integral part of the community and it’s important that we recognise the contribution that they – and the people who live and work in them – make to society. I’ve been lucky enough to visit Coppice Lodge on a number of occasions and it was an absolute pleasure to be here again today to formally launch the stunning tropical sensory garden which I’m sure is going to give residents a lot of pleasure.”
Coppice Lodge, which is part of the Ideal Carehomes family, boasts a café, hair salon and spacious lounges for residents to enjoy.
Fake police officers and traffic wardens are attempting to hit motorists in Gedling borough with bogus on-the-spot ‘fines’ for alleged speeding offences and parking violations, Nottinghamshire Police have warned.
The force issued an alert to people in the borough this afternoon. In the alert a police spokesman said: “Action Fraud have received an increase in reports & intelligence where elderly victims are being targeted by individuals purporting to be police officers or traffic wardens.
“The victims are being approached whilst parked in a car park and are told by the suspect that they have parked illegally or broken a speed limit and a photo has been taken of their car for ‘evidence’.”
“Victims are advised that they will face a substantial penalty fine unless they pay a smaller upfront fee immediately.
“Victims, who opt for paying the smaller penalty, will be directed to a parking meter and asked to enter their card and PIN. These parking meters have been tampered with by the suspect in order to retain the card.
“Once the victim inserts their card and are asked for their PIN, the victim is shoulder surfed for their PIN by the suspect. Once the victims input their PIN, the card is retained by the machine.
Please report to Action Fraud if you or a loved one has fallen for this scam.
People are being warned to take the following action if targeted by these fraudsters:
If you are suspicious about the authenticity of the fine, do not pay it until you have verified it with your local council.
Always make sure you shield your PIN from view when using an ATM machine, and never share your PIN with anyone.
If your bank card is retained by an ATM machine, contact your bank immediately to inform them.
A man from Arnold who cares for his disabled son is just one
of the many now out of pocket after a controversial change to the way benefits
are charged came into effect.
However just £250,000 a year in extra benefits has been
found – 15 times less than the £3.8 million extra that disabled people will be
paying.
More than 2,000 calls have been received by the council
about the changes since they came into effect in April, forcing the authority
to create three new jobs to help deal with the increase in casework and
concerns being raised.
There have also been 25 formal complaints on the issue, a
new report said.
PICTURED: County Hall
A decision taken last year means people with severe
disabilities in the county are allowed to keep less of their benefits before
they have to pay for the care they get.
The Conservative-controlled council said the move will help
it save £3.8 million a year, helping reduce its huge budget shortfall. It is
still facing a £34m shortfall by 2022/23.
It brings the council in line with the Government-set
maximum it is allowed to charge for residents’ care.
But hundreds of people were given just 48 hours’ notice that
their care charges would increase by up to £84 a week.
The leader of the council, Councillor Kay Cutts, then
apologised for the way the issue had been handled, and agreed to pause the
roll-out in favour of a two-phased implementation.
It means the first price hike came into effect in April,
with the second increase in charges due in November this year.
In total, 3,500 of the most vulnerable people in the county
were told they had to pay more, and 721 started paying for the first time.
Martin Cater, of Arnold, worked for the county council for
almost 30 years, and now cares for his son Stephen, 42, who is quadriplegic,
brain-damaged and has cerebral palsy.
He complained about the decision to the council, but from
November will be paying an extra £62 a week for the care of his son.
He said: “It’s horrible, just horrible to see. I’m left
massively out of pocket. They know that, and they know this is going to make it
worse.
“They say there’s a £20 allowance for people to cover
disability-related expenditure. But I spend that in a week on washing powder
alone for Stephen.”
“They just don’t realise exactly what’s involved, and when
you try to approach them you just get nothing. They don’t care.
“They’re not calling it charges, they’re calling it
‘contributions’, which makes it sound like it’s voluntary. Obviously it’s not.
“I am quite fortunate, because I’ve got a reasonable
pension, so I can keep up with the payments and the extra cost, but some people
will be really struggling.
“I can well believe they’ve had to bring extra people in to
handle the complaints.”
Labour leader Alan Rhodes, who represents Worksop North,
said: “Older people and people with disabilities have been unfairly targeted
for a long time in respect to cuts to their services, based on the so-called
need to make savings.
“I think the whole social care service has been cut back far
too far and it’s not being properly funded by central government so they’re
having to cut it back even further.”
“This report doesn’t change anything in a positive way. We
can tell how much it’s affecting people by the dramatic increase in complaints.
“The green paper (expected from the Government on the future
of social care) is very overdue now, it’s completely unacceptable. We need to
have a proper plan for funding social care in this country going forward.”
Retired and semi-retired residents in Calverton will soon have a new University of the Third Age (U3A).
Following a successful recent launch event, at which around 100 people voted to form the Calverton & District U3A, the inaugural meeting will take place at the recently opened Calverton Village Hall (Park Road, Calverton NG14 6LE) on Wednesday, July 24, at 1.30pm.
The U3A is a great opportunity to enjoy a new hobby or skill, enjoy great speakers, have fun, and meet lots of new friends.
Special interest groups can be as diverse as walking, ukulele playing, art, dining out, theatre visits, science, dancing, learning a language, craft work –it all depends on what the members decide to set up!
The motto of the U3A is “Learn, Laugh and Live” so why not come along and find out more?
If you wish to join the U3A and pay your annual subscription at this event, please bring along cash or your cheque-book as the branch are not yet able to take card payments.
For further information email mhdkad@gmail.com or call 0115 9652376
Abellio UK take over the franchise from Stagecoach on August 18 and it will become East Midlands Railway (EMR).
The franchise is due to last until 2027 with possible extensions. However you won’t notice any changes for a while, and many of the train service alterations will not be introduced until 2021.
So here is a summary of what is planned:
1) An 80% increase in the number of seats into Nottingham, Lincoln and St. Pancras in the morning peak.
2) A trial of hydrogen fuel cell trains on Midland Main Line.
3) A C16.8 million station improvements fund, including 6 stations with zero emissions.
4) Nottingham to Skegness. Additional peak services between Grantham and Nottingham and early morning and later evening Nottingham to Boston services. Enhanced all year Sunday service and refurbished modern trains.
5) 2 trains per hour between Nottingham and Newark Castle for a longer period each day. 2 Lincoln to St. Pancras and return trains per day.
6) A new Nottingham to Grimsby service, with some continuing to Cleethorpes.
7) New Sunday services from Nottingham to Worksop, Lincoln and Doncaster (direct), and the Lincoln to Grimsby service will operate all year.
8) Ticket purchasing facilities will be introduced at all stations, and flexipass tickets will be available for regular passengers who travel less than 5 days per week.
9) Derby to Crewe services will be extended to Nottingham, and I have heard that they will continue to Newark in place of the Matlock trains – which is not so good.
10) The Norwich to Liverpool service will be split at Nottingham, with trains from Norwich continuing to Derby, and possibly Matlock.
11) All trains will be replaced by new or refurbished stock between 2020 and December 2022. At the end of 2019 the single class 153 units will be withdrawn to be replaced by 156 (2-car) units cascaded from East Anglia, so the end of 1 coach trains.
12) Extra cycle spaces. Perhaps Carlton will finally have cycle spaces. There is more, but I have tried to list what affects us.
Carlton Station news
The flowers in the station garden have this year been sponsored by Netherfield Eco Action Team (NEAT) who are keen to promote greener methods of transport, and hope the flowers will brighten up the station. NEAT hold plant stalls in Netherfield, and in the past have had a cotton bag campaign.
They are keen to help the environment and provide help and support to those who wish to make changes to this end. They would love to hear your views and ideas how NEAT could be a hub of green change in our area. They have a facebook page – Netherfield Eco Action Team (NEAT) – please drop by and leave them a message.
I did a couple of early morning visits on Tuesday May 14 and Wednesday 15 and saw all nine trains between 06.01 and 09.05.
On 14, there were 99 passengers (87 on and 12 off) and on 15, 109 (97 on and 12 off). This compares with Wednesday, May 9, 2018 when I saw 99 (85 on and 14 off). So not much change.
Very few come to work in our area as there are no direct trains from the Derby direction until 08.58, and no trains for people who start work at 08.00. Some off-peak trains have good numbers, with 24 joining the 09.05 on Wednesday, June 5. I also saw 19 adults and 5 children joining the 10.07 Matlock on Saturday, May 11. A couple of Thursdays I noticed 23 off the 16.55 Newark.
Nearly every week now the 11.24 Saturday Carlton to Leicester is crowded, so if possible use the 11.08 and change at Nottingham for Leicester.
Local timetables are available in the Waiting Room Coffee shop, which is now open opposite the station. Travelling in the Nottingham direction and you can pick up a drink (be eco-friendly and provide your own container) and wait there until the level crossing barriers come down for your train. 8.30am to 3pm weekdays and 9am to 1pm Saturdays.
No trains for three days at Carlton
On Saturday, Sunday and Bank Holiday Monday, August 24-26, the railway crossing at Newark, where the Nottingham to Lincoln line crosses the East Coast Main Line, is being renewed. This means a replacement bus service between Nottingham and Newark and Nottingham and Lincoln.
Buses for stations to Newark will call at the No. 44 bus stop on Victoria Road (Gedling direction), and for Nottingham at the stop opposite Garnet Street (Colwick direction). Journeys will be extended and times are available on line, with poster timetables on the station nearer the time.
Netherfield Station news
On Thursday, May 14, 26 passengers (17 on and 9 off) used the three morning trains. 26 again on May 15 (16 on and 10 off). On Wednesday, 9, it was 28 (15 on and 13 off), so not much change. However the 08.33 Liverpool now has more joining, quite often in double figures and on Wednesday, June 19 a record 28 joined. Unfortunately this was the day a tree was on the line at Newark and the 08.08 Matlock was cancelled, so for many the 08.33 is their plan B.
As you will see, we should get more trains at Netherfield from 2021, with extra trains planned on the Nottingham to Grantham line, as per the franchise commitment.
It pays to talk
Recent research has shown that people who talk to strangers on buses and trains, find it gives a boost to their wellbeing. Of course the other person has to be communicative, but you can soon tell when you open up a conversation, usually about the weather, if the other person wishes to continue. So give it a try, I can vouch for it! Years ago Central Trains encouraged passengers to talk to each other.
One Saturday a lady got off the 09.55 from Nottingham and asked directions to Carlton Square. An hour later she reappeared to catch the 11.08 back to Nottingham. “I’ve been to look at a flat I have bought”, she said, which seemed to be to her satisfaction. “I’m now returning to London I thought that moving from London to Carlton would be quite a difference.” I pointed out all the advantages of the area. However she had actually bought the flat to rent out, so I was able to give her information useful to whoever rents the flat from her. Just one of many conversations I strike up in my role of Station Adopter.
I think my ‘job’ will be secure, as the new franchisee has promised to extend Station Adoption. So if you want to join us, now is the time.
ACCESS MAP: A new “Access Map” for passengers with mobility issues has been published so they can obtain information about accessibility at stations – accessmap.nationalrail.co.uk —–
WALKWAY CLOSED: The walkway from Lister Gate to Collin Street through the Broad Marsh shopping Centre will be closed overnight from 19.00 to 07.00 for work on the redevelopment of the Centre. Alternative route via Maid Marian Way, so allow extra time if walking to the station
NO DEATHS: 2018 was the 11th consecutive year during which no passenger was killed in a derailment or train collision on the national rail network
DERWENT LINE: A new Derwent Valley Line Activity Book is available, which also gives walking trails from each station. I have copies, whilst stocks last.
RAIL HUB: a £2bn Midlands Rail Hub project has been announced to cut journey times between the East and West Midlands. Nottingham to Birmingham to be 59 minutes and a new Nottingham to Coventry via Leicester service in 63 minutes. Planned to be completed in stages between 2026 and 2033. Midlands Connect has submitted the business case to the Dept. for Transport and requested £25m to bring the project to the outline business case.
