A number of landowners may be issued with compulsory purchase orders in a bid to get the Gedling Access Road scheme up and running next year.

The council say that 29 landowners with 70 individual pieces of land needed to build the road have been identified so far. 28 pieces of this land are already owned by the authorities.

Nottinghamshire County Council said they are now in talks with the other landowners about acquiring the remaining sections of land they need to construct the new road.

The Gedling Access Road will be a stretch of single carriageway linking up Burton Road to Mapperley Plains.

The council say the proposed road is needed to facilitate the Chase Farm colliery site development and allow development and regeneration in the local area to be progressed. It will also cut congestion in and around Gedling village.

Gary Wood, Environment and Highways Group Manager at the County Council said: “Nottinghamshire County Council has recently sent letters to landowners in the Gedling area with whom some of which, they are already talking to about sections of land that will need to be acquired to build the Gedling Access Road.

“There are currently 29 land owners covering over 70 individual pieces of land which have been identified, of which 28 pieces of land are already owned by the Council, the Homes and Communities Agency, Gedling Borough Council or are part of the public highway.

“This process is the start of enabling the new road to be built, which in turn will allow for essential regeneration and development in the area to take place.”

Further information about the GAR is available at www.nottinghamshire.gov.uk/gar

A woman granted a retrial after appealing against her conviction for cruelty to children in her care has been found guilty.

Juanila Smikle, 55, was convicted last year of cruelty towards seven-year-old Shanay Walker, who was found dead at her home in Bestwood in July 2014, and also to three other children.

She was originally sentenced to four years in prison.

Her daughter, 24-year-old Kay-Ann Morris, was also convicted of cruelty at that trial, and sentenced to eight years in prison.

Having appealed against her conviction, Smikle was ordered to face a retrial, which began at Nottingham Crown Court earlier this month.

During the original trial, the court heard evidence that another child had also suffered cruelty from Smikle.

Consequently, in addition to the four original cruelty charges, she was charged with a fifth count which had not been included in the 2015 trial indictment.

Each count alleged that Smikle, formerly of Easegill Court, had subjected her victims to assault or ill-treatment which was likely to cause them harm, injury or ill-health.

Following a number of days of deliberation, the jury returned guilty verdicts on all counts on Friday (23 September).

Smikle will be sentenced on Tuesday 4 October.

Detective Superintendent Rob Griffin, who led the original investigation into the death of Shanay Walker, said: “Clearly, this has been a distressing few months for the families of her victims, particularly the parents of Shanay Walker, with the uncertainty and upset that a retrial can generate, having already had to endure the detail of the original trial.

“It is clear that Smikle gave no regard to the physical and emotional abuse she had heaped upon her victims and it is reassuring that a jury has again found the evidence against her to be compelling.

“There is no comfort to be gained from this outcome, other than the knowledge that she will continue to serve a prison sentence.

“Our thoughts continue to be with the families of her young victims.”