Environment Agency enforcement officers will be out patrolling waters around Gedling borough this Bank Holiday weekend as part of a blitz on illegal fishing.
The officers will work with the police and Angling Trust Voluntary Bailiffs to make sure anyone fishing is obeying the law including fishing in waters that are open to anglers, using the right tackle and equipment, and having a valid fishing licence.
Bank Holiday weekends are a great opportunity for families to get out and do some fishing on our waterways and the Environment Agency is keen to ensure everyone is enjoying themselves and doing the right thing.
Kevin Austin, Deputy Director Agriculture, Fisheries and the Natural Environment, Environment Agency said: “The Environment Agency conducts enforcement operations throughout the year to protect fish stocks and improve fisheries.
“Our enforcement officers, Angling Trust Voluntary Bailiffs and police are out there to make sure everyone is fishing legally this weekend. Anyone caught can expect to face prosecution.
“Our work is intelligence-led, meaning we target known hotspots and act on reports of illegal fishing.”
Anglers are also being reminded it’s currently the closed season for coarse fishing and fishing for coarse fish on rivers and streams is not permitted.
This is done to protect breeding fish, helping to safeguard stocks for the future. However, there are still plenty of places anglers can wet a line.
Anglers are encouraged to check which waterways are open to fishing. They can visit http://fishinginfo.co.uk/ to find more information.
There are nearly 500 Angling Trust Voluntary Bailiffs doing a great job keeping watch on their local rivers and working alongside local police. However, the Environment agency is also asking the public to report any suspicious activity.
Money from rod licence sales is invested in England’s fisheries, and is used to fund a wide range of projects to improve facilities for anglers including; protecting stocks, restoring fish stocks through restocking, eradicate invasive species, and fish habitat improvements. Fishing licence money is also used to fund the Angling Trust to provide information about fishing and to encourage participation in the sport.
A fly-tipper from Carlton who claimed to work for the council and used Facebook to arrange for the removal of waste from residential properties has been sentenced.
Foster was tracked down after officers found multiple documents which contained information and addresses. These led officers to the residents who had hired him to safely dispose of their waste and provided witness statements which helped to prove the offences.
The initial investigation by Gedling Borough Council found that Foster had replied to a Facebook advertisement in January 2017 for a “man with a van” to dispose of household rubbish.
PICTURED: Fly-tip sites at Radcliffe on Trent showing waste dumped by Lee Foster.
In his response to the advert, Foster stated he worked for a council and would dispose of the waste correctly for a charge of £60. In this instance Foster fly tipped the waste including household items, a metal bed frame, breakfast bar stool and others in a fly tipping hotspot in Gedling.
Foster’s fly tipping continued and a further two investigations by Rushcliffe Borough Council discovered that Foster replied to another Facebook advertisement in April 2017 which led to fly tipping of more waste including an estate agents board, a bath and panelling, bathroom flooring, a toilet seat, a child’s chair, toys and household furniture. In this case Foster charged £120 to dispose of the waste and fly tipped the waste in East Bridgford.
The third offence occurred in Radcliffe on Trent in May 2017 where CCTV equipment had been in place to catch fly tipping incidents and identified a partial vehicle registration number on a van that had been used to fly tip two sofas and a mattress. This partial plate and unique markings on the van seen in the CCTV footage, and with assistance from Nottinghamshire Police, led officers to track down the van which was owned by Foster.
At Nottingham Magistrates’ Court, Foster admitted the offences and was sentenced to a 12 month community order with 80 hours unpaid work. He was also ordered to pay compensation and costs and a victim surcharge.
Councillor David Ellis, Portfolio Holder for Public Protection said: “We’re very pleased with the Courts’ decision and that perpetrator has been given an appropriate sentence. This prosecution is a great example of councils working together to tackle the issue of fly tipping. The extensive investigative work carried out by both councils shows the commitment to bring culprits to justice and this case sends a very clear message to people that we are working hard to rid our boroughs of fly tipping.”
Residents can help to ensure fly tipping does not occur by ensuring they only use Environment Agency registered waste carriers and keep a receipt for waste that is taken.
Gedling Borough Council has joined forces with other authorities from across the county to clampdown on rogue taxis
Nottingham City, Gedling, Rushcliffe, Broxtowe, Bassetlaw and Newark & Sherwood have all signed the ‘Cross Border Enforcement Protocol’, which gives officers from each council the ability to check, challenge and enforce against each other’s licensed private hire vehicles and hackney cabs.
The agreement follows concerns that private hire drivers are illegally operating across different areas without the fare being ‘pre-booked’ – a criminal offence known as illegally plying for hire.
Under the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1976, private hire taxis cannot be hailed in the street and councils are urging to people to ensure they travel safely by pre-booking through a reputable firm or using a licensed hackney cab.
As well as a criminal offence, the act of plying can also leave the driver and passengers uninsured. There are a number of other offences, behaviours and standards officers will be looking out for.
Nottingham City Council’s portfolio holder for community and customer services, Councillor Toby Neal, said: “The joint protocol will allow officers to work together with the aim of keeping the public safe, as well as helping to ensure we have a healthy private hire trade operating in our area. Illegally operating private taxis are a real concern but we also need to ensure suitable driver behaviours, safe vehicles that are maintained to high standards and be allowed to manage our streets.
“We will now begin to take a zero tolerance approach to taxis needlessly parking in bus stops, pedestrianised areas or parking dangerously. While we are working hard to support the trade, drivers need to understand their responsibilities.”
Under the protocol, officers will be able to check vehicle standards and remove its licence if they believe it poses a risk. They will also be able to check the driver’s identity and ensure they are operating legitimately.
Gedling Borough Council’s Portfolio Holder for Public Protection, Cllr David Ellis said: “This joint work will raise the standards we provide for customers using taxis across the region and will give our officers the tools they need to continue to enforce against illegal pickups, wherever they happen. This should act as a warning that we will prosecute drivers, wherever they are, who pick up passengers knowing it’s illegal to do so.”
An increased number of joint operations will now start as the joint effort seeks to catch those who put the public at risk.
Residents in Arnold are being warned after reports of a scam involving fraudulent police officers in the area.
Nottinghamshire Police say they are currently investigating a number of reports including an attempted theft which happened on Wednesday (2) in the Gleneagles Drive area of Arnold.
At about noon a man knocked on a door of a house saying he was a police officer from the Metropolitan Police; he showed the woman a fake identity card with his photo on it.
He asked her if she would help in a police investigation in order to catch a criminal who was in the area.
The man told the woman that this criminal would knock on her door and tell her that she needed some work doing and that she should agree and pay the man £1,800.
He told her that she would need to go to the bank with him to withdraw the money in order to pay the criminal.
At this point the woman became suspicious of the man but before she could ask him to leave there was a knock at the door. A second man had arrived and told her she needed some work doing to her roof.
The victim said she wasn’t sure and would need to think about it at which point both men left and she called 101.
One of the men is white, aged 28-32 and about 5ft 10ins tall. He was wearing a white shirt with buttons on the collars, a black Nike baseball cap, black jeans and shiny black shoes.
The second man who called at her home is white, aged in his late 20s and around 5ft 8ins tall. He was wearing a high visibility jacket, dark jeans and black and white trainers. He also had a black baseball cap on.
If anyone saw these two men in the Gleneagles Drive area of Arnold or has any other information we’d urge them to call us 101, quoting incident number 313 of 2 May 2018.
PC Kulvinder Dosanjh, of Nottinghamshire Police, said: “A genuine police officer would never ask you to hand over money, would never ask for your bank details and would never ask for items to be left out for them to retrieve.
“We’d urge people to always ask for ID if someone calls at your home and if you are in any doubt or have any concerns please call the control room on 101 and ask to be put through to an officer for confirmation.
“We’d also appeal to people to look after their elderly neighbours, friends and family. Remind them to be vigilant and make them aware of these particular scams.
“People should make sure they keep their front and back doors locked, even when they’re at home. If you decide to open the door put the chain or door bar on first, if you have one, and keep the chain or bar on while you’re talking to the caller.”
If anyone has any information about the attempted theft in Arnold please call us on 101, quoting incident number 313 of 2 May 2018.
Volunteers are being invited to come along and help the team deal with this year’s arrival of the invasive plants
“The enemy is at the gate – or at least on the banks of the dyke! This year’s balsam plants are emerging and now is the ideal time to tackle the problem as the plants are not too big –
Mark Glover is one of the trustees of Gedling Conservation Trust and is helping organise this year’s event.
He said: “We are planning to make this year the most effective by tackling the problem both at the lagoons site and up stream to head off the problem in future years. We aim to achieve a permanent solution.
Please let organiser know which session you would like to attend, which take place at the following times:
Saturday, May 12 10.00 am to midday
Saturday, May 12 2.30 pm to 4.30pm
Sunday, May 13 10.00 am to midday
Sunday, May 13 2.30 pm to 4.30pm
People are being asked to meet at the end of Teal Close by the Ouse Dyke before the session starts
For more information, call Mark Glover on 07850 768337.
Plans for a series of new walkways highlighting the heritage of Gedling borough have been given the go ahead.
A network of footpaths and cycle paths around the borough will eventually take visitors around the cultural highlights of the area, including information about some of its most famous residents.
In future, people who come to visit the borough will be able to learn more about the likes of poet Lord Byron, engineer Thomas Hawksley and artist Richard Bonnington.
Ancient monuments and landscapes including the Dumbles and the valley of the River Trent will also be included.
Newstead Abbey will be included in the buildings promoted by the strategy.
It is part of Gedling Borough Council’s new heritage scheme, which was given the green light at the cabinet meeting today.
PICTURED: Richard Bonington
It is hoped that the increased focus on heritage could attract more tourists to the area, as well as bringing more investment into the borough.
The project has received funding of £75,000 from the Heritage Lottery Fund, and has the support of Historic England and Nottinghamshire County Council.
Currently, some of the planned footpaths have not been built, but council bosses hope to be able to connect the existing network of paths.
A new website celebrating the area’s heritage will also be launched in the coming months.
John Clarke is the leader of the council, and said the area had a ‘very rich and important history’.
He said: “We’ve been working with the excellent groups and communities across the borough, who have been involved throughout to make sure we showcase the great people, places and landmarks of Gedling.
“The borough has so much to offer and this heritage strategy signals our long-term ambitions to increase tourism in Gedling and bring in more economic growth.”
Lance Juby is one of the council officers who has worked on the scheme, and said he hopes it will create a ‘greater sense of common ownership of the borough’s heritage.’
He said: “We want to use heritage as a driver for regeneration and investment, and specifically to benefit the more deprived areas of the borough.”
Deceased pets could soon be cremated by the council if a new service planned to launch next year gets the green light.
Gedling Borough Council is working on a scheme which would see it become the first public authority in the area to offer such a service, although there are private firms which offer pet cremation in the county.
Council bosses hope the scheme would work in a similar way to a normal undertakers, and that it could be up and running early next year.
Council leader John Clarke, who represents the Netherfield ward for Labour, admitted it was a ‘left-field’ idea, but said there had been demand for it from residents, and that he hoped it could provide a small income for the council.
He said: “We want something like this because we’ve had quite a few people saying they have had to travel quite far at a very difficult time.
“Pets are parts of our families, and if we want to dispose of them respectfully and properly then this can be a good service.”
The council has not yet released details of how much revenue it expects the scheme will generate.
It is now in the process of applying for the relevant licence to allow it to carry out the service.
Councillor Clarke continued: “I think the popularity will build, similar to people realising there’s a Gedling Crematorium and having as positive a message as you can expect of the facilities under obviously difficult circumstances.
“I’m sure it will raise a lot of eyebrows, but we know some people have been heading off as far as Doncaster.
“We’re doing what the Prime Minister wants us to do, being entrepreneurial and finding new ways of generating income. I think they call it blue sky thinking.
Mike Hill is the deputy chief executive at the council, and said: “We have got all the boxes ticked, and we now know what licenses we need to apply for.
“Realistically by the time we’ve got everything in place, it won’t be until January or February next year, but we do hope to be able to provide an update in June, when we can start buying equipment.”
Police have launched an investigation after a man was robbed in his home in Bakersfield
Two men entered the property in Ashdale Road, Carlton, punched the man in the face and demanded cash at around 3.45pm yesterday (Tuesday 1 May).
The two men then searched the house before taking a wallet and other items before leaving.
One of the men was white and the other was black.
Anyone who witnessed anything suspicious or has any information is urged to call Nottinghamshire Police on 101, or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111, quoting incident number 480 of 1 May 2018.
A Mapperley councillor has organised a special meeting to help Nottingham residents affected by the Windrush revelations get help and support.
Councillor Leslie Ayoola, who represents the Mapperley ward for Labour at the city council, has helped to promote the event, which is being held at the Pilgrim Church, in the Meadows.
Free immigration advice and pastoral support is being laid on for those who think their immigration status may be affected by the revelations.
Over the last few weeks it has been revealed that some people who came to Britain legally from the Commonwealth in the 1950s and 60s have been wrongly deported.
He said: “I’m from the same community that has been affected, my father is Nigerian and my mother is from Jamaica, and obviously this impacts our community immensely.
PICTURED: Pligrim Centre, the Meadows
“It’s terrible what has happened. It shouldn’t have happened and we need to put the right support in place.
“I think the Government has been acting, but whether they have been acting fast enough I don’t know.
“I do know that it hasn’t been handled well, and there has been mistake after mistake, so that’s why this event will be giving the support to the people who need it.
“From my understanding there has been a lot of demand. I’ve had one resident (In Mapperley) that’s been caught up in it.
“I think some people don’t realise that it’s an issue until they are visiting relatives abroad or they try to go on holiday, and that can bring up the situation.”
The event will be held between 3pm and 6pm at the Pilgrim Church, in Queen’s Walk, on Wednesday, May 2.
No changes to train times in the May timetable, but on Sundays from May 20 to September 9 there is an additional 10.14 from Skegness, 12.18 at Netherfield.
The first bi-monthly edition of the Poacher Line News has been issued giving details of events on the Nottingham to Skegness line, with an upcoming events section. The website is poacherline.org.uk AN RAF Family Day on May 31 at Heckington Mill and Radcliffe Station Summer Fete on June 9 are just a couple of items listed.
Carlton
The only alteration to the May timetable is that the 21.30pm to Lincoln now departs at 21.28, so instead of 4 mins. it only has 2 mins. to ‘twiddle its thumbs’ at Carlton! However we have lost a Sunday summer train. The 16.56 Lincoln to Nottm no longer calls at Carlton.
One change is that timetable 8 (Lincoln to Leicester) has been reinstated and table 3 now only covers Nottingham to Matlock. Currently No.3 timetable covers both routes. It may be in connection with the alterations at Derby in the summer. Table 3 shows times at Newark and all Newark-Matlock trains and return call at Carlton. Table 8 shows Derby and Matlock times so you can work out which trains from Carlton go through to Matlock and return.
Francis organised a site meeting with Rob Mercer of East Midlands Train (EMT) and Vernon Coaker MP on April 13, so they could see the state of the car park surface. It was agreed that work needed to be done to stop water collecting, making some parts unusable. A “community day” will now be arranged to spread chippings over the affected areas, and to trim vegetation.
As you will have noticed, more people are using the trains throughout the day. Whilst we were in the car park (see above) there were nine people waiting for the 12.08 to Matlock and seven for the 13.08 (we were not in the car park all that time). On Wednesday, April 18 we broke three records. 42 joined the 08.08 to Matlock, 21 joined the 09.05 to Matlock and 95 on and off the five trains between 08.02 and 09.05. On Saturday, April 14 18 adults and 12 children joined the 10.07 to Matlock. I am hoping to see some of the early trains now the weather is improving, to see how they compare with last autumn. After Newark, Carlton seems to be the busiest station, so I am informed by reliable sources. Incidentally, the 11.24am Saturday Lincoln to Leicester service continues to be full and standing most weeks. It’s best to use the 11.08 from Carlton and change at Nottingham.
London Trains from and to Nottingham
From May 20 off-peak departures from Nottingham will be at 12 (was 05) and 45 (was 32) minutes past the hour. However, up to and including the current 08.32 to St. Pancras will remain at more or less the same time as now. From London at 34 (was 15) and 05 (was 29) minutes past. Details at eastmidlandstrains.co.uk/May2018
Local timetables are available in Carlton Library, St. George’s Centre, Fox and Hounds Public House (Tea room) and Dawn Book Supply, 5 Station Road (Mon & Fri only).
Lincoln Station improvements
Work continues to upgrade the station as part of a £2million improvement scheme, which includes restoration of the Grade 2 listed building, reopening original archways, restoring ground floor sash windows and repairs to original brickwork.
Ticket gates will be installed in a new location to help improve the flow of passengers to and from trains. Longer term plans into the 2030s as train services increase, are that an extra platform may be provided. From May 2019 there is to be a direct two-hourly service to Kings Cross, replacing the current one train each way per day.
I always wonder why the station is still called Lincoln Central, when the other station in Lincoln (St. Marks) closed over 30 years ago. Even when using the help point to check on a train to Lincoln, the person at the other end said “Is that Lincoln Central?”. For example, Nottingham Midland is now just Nottingham. Perhaps there is a logical reason.
Outdated infrastructure
Newark has a claim to fame by having the last flat crossing (where the Nottingham to Lincoln line is crossed by the East Coast Line) on the main line network, and Network Rail does not like it. The official wording is “an outdated piece of in-frastructure”. They would like it replaced with a flyover, but it is in a very difficult place, close to the river and A46 Newark bypass. This would make the incline too steep for freight trains on the Nottingham to Lincoln line. They are very heavy trains because the line is fairly level. Other routes have been tried, but none are as suitable. In the 1980s a plan was put forward to terminate the line from Nottingham at Newark Castle and run the Nottingham to Lincoln trains via Bottesford and Lowfield into Newark Northgate and on to Lincoln. The freight only line via Lowfield closed in 1987. Now there are more trains on the East Coast line and still further planned, so there is no room for a second train each hour from Lincoln to Nottingham. All are agreed, something has to be done.
Derby Station upgrade of track and signalling (July 22-Oct 7)
All the information can be found at www.derby2018.co.uk A separate Derby resignalling timetable will be available. Trains will run as usual from our local stations, but travelling to or through Derby will be affected.
News in brief
During 2016/17 railway passenger journeys rose by 5.4% in the west Midlands, 3.4% in the East Midlands (us!), but declined by 1.1% in London.’
Midlands Connect is a pan-regional transport partnership which has called for greater investment in the regions railways. One aspiration is for the East Midlands Hub station at Toton to be built in the 2020s, ahead of HS2, for use by National Rail services
Gedling Station buildings – Someone is interested in taking it over and retaining the original buildings. Friends of Gedling Station https://www.gedlingstation.com
British Car Auctions at Netherfield is undergoing major development which will allow it to introduce a new enhanced sales programme with up to five sales a week. Already this brings a good number of visitors by train to our 2 stations, and delivery drivers who travel to their next assignment.
26-30 years Railcards – all 10,000 available were soon snapped up
Newark – whilst major Severn-Trent water work is taking place a free shuttle bus runs every 15 mins. from 06.30-19.30 (Mon-Sat) with stops close to both railway stations
Notts County Show – this is taking place at Newark Showground on May 12th & 13th. In previous years a free bus has run, but unable to do so this year.
The Derby Nottingham Metro strategy which calls for closer economic and political links between the two cities, also embraces local Councils including Gedling. This could have a positive impact on public transport
May 7th and Spring Bank Holiday – a normal train service will run locally.
