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Council awards grant to scheme offering virtual tours of Notts landmarks to elderly in Gedling

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Council awards grant to scheme offering virtual tours of Notts landmarks to elderly in Gedling
SUCCESS: The Armchair Gallery scheme has successfully won a grant from Nottinghamshire County Council
SUCCESS: The Armchair Gallery scheme has successfully won a grant from Nottinghamshire County Council

A scheme that takes elderly care home residents in Gedling borough on a virtual tour of some of Nottinghamshire’s most famous landmarks has received fresh funding from a local council.

The Armchair Gallery, which runs the sessions in Gedling, Ashfield and Mansfield, was awarded £7,500 by Nottingham County Council this week.

The scheme gives elderly people in care ‘virtual’ access to Nottinghamshire’s historical and cultural venues using an app on iPads.

City Arts, who run the scheme, has a long track record in working with communities in Nottinghamshire and over the last eight years has been working closely with older residents in care homes.

The group will use the funding to shoot a series of new films across Nottinghamshire that will be taken into care homes to show residents.

Kate Duncan, Creative Programme Manager at City Arts said: “We use iPad applications to add a digital dimension to the work that we are doing. Through this work it is important that we engage older people living with dementia through multisensory experiences, touchscreen participation, viewing historical artefacts, gardens/arts collections.”

In total, the Council received 53 applications for a total of £441,000 in funding – six times the amount available.

The decision to award grants of between £5,000 and £8,500 to the selected projects follows a comprehensive application and assessment process.

Applicants that have been unsuccessful in securing one of the Arts Fund grants will be offered support to identify other potential sources of funding.

Councillor Joyce Bosnjak, Deputy Leader of Nottinghamshire County Council and Chair of the Grant-Aid Sub Committee, said: “While financial support for the arts across the country has been adversely affected by austerity, I am pleased that we have been able to protect this budget, despite the significant financial challenges facing the County Council.

“The fact that we received more applications to the Arts Fund than ever before shows that schemes which provide better access to the arts across Nottinghamshire are still important and very-much needed.

“Of course, the popularity of the Arts Fund also brings its own challenges though – with only a finite amount of funding to go around, we have the difficult task of deciding which of a superb range of projects to support.

“The schemes we are funding cover a wide cross section of our county, with projects for young and old, women and men, people with disabilities and deprived communities – we have an exciting mixture of projects which will provide a lasting legacy in our communities.”

Former Carlton preschool pupils and staff invited to attend fun day in July

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Former Carlton preschool pupils and staff invited to attend fun day in July
Carlton Hill Pre-School
Carlton Hill Pre-School

A preschool in Carlton is inviting former pupils and staff to a fun day being held in July to mark their move from the building that has been their home for over 40 years.

Carlton Hill Pre-School has been based in the building they rent from Sacred Heart Catholic Church for 46 years, but recently announced they will be making a move to the Richard Herrod Centre from September.
To mark the occasion, the preschool is planning a fun day on Thursday, July 21, in which they hope to reunite old staff and pupils.
Maxine Payne, who helps run the preschool, said: “We would love for anybody that has had anything to do with our preschool over the years to get in touch, especially former pupils.
“It would be great to hear from the children from the first year 1970 who would now obviously be in their late 40’s. We would love people to get in touch with their memories and photos.”
Former pupils can contact the preschool on 01159115644 or email carltonhillplaygroup@googlemail.com and ask for Esther, Maxine or Kelly

Police dog killed while pursuing suspects in Colwick

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Police dog killed while pursuing suspects in Colwick
KILLED: Rebus
KILLED: Rebus

A police dog has died in a “tragic accident” after he was hit by a vehicle while chasing suspected criminals on Colwick Loop Road last night.

German Shepherd, Belgian Shepherd-cross Rebus was assisting in an authorised pursuit in the early hours of this morning (18) when a vehicle failured to stop for police.

The four-year-old was sent after suspects on the Colwick Loop Road at around 3am. It was then he was struck by a 4×4 police vehicle.

Rebus was given emergency care at the scene but sadly died of his injuries. His handler was by his side.

Chief Inspector Andy Hall, of the East Midlands Operational Support Service (EMOpSS), said: “This incident is being fully and actively reviewed, and we await the findings. I take the view at this time, however, that it appears to have been a tragic accident.

“I would like to acknowledge and commend the care given to Rebus in his time of need. Not only did an officer provide CPR at the scene, a number of members of the public offered their assistance. A valued police dog and a loyal companion, Rebus certainly would have known he was loved.

“Our colleague is devastated and the officer who was driving the vehicle is understandably distressed. They are being supported by their team and they in turn are being supported by their associates.

“Rebus was not only a fine police dog, he was a member of our policing family. His impeccable service was acknowledged at a memorial today in which DCC Sue Fish laid a wreath in his honour.”

Rebus joined Nottinghamshire Police as a pup in July 2012. In his four years’ service he has been responsible for the detaining of numerous suspects. Since the launch of EMOpSS in May last year he has attended 313 incidents.

Three teenage boys were arrested on suspicion of theft. The two 15-year-olds and 17-year-old remain in police custody for questioning.

ExLibris volunteers donate cash raised at charity bookstall in Carlton to local good causes

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ExLibris volunteers donate cash raised at charity bookstall in Carlton to local good causes
AWARD: representatives from ExLibris Masked Booksellers hand over a cheque for £1189 to Haywood House at Nottingham City Hospital
AWARD: Representatives from ExLibris Masked Booksellers hand over a cheque for £1189 to Haywood House at Nottingham City Hospital

Volunteers from ExLibris have handed over cheques to two charities after raising more than £2,000 for them at a book sale earlier this month.  

ExLibris Masked Booksellers dropped into Hayward House and Nottingham & Notts Refugee Forum on Monday, May 16, to hand over a share of the money raised during the ten-day charity book sale that was held in Carlton.
The group awarded both charities £1189.
When handing over the cash, volunteers kept with the group’s tradition and remained masked throughout.

Splendour organisers on hunt for Gedling borough talent to entertain crowds at this year’s festival

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Splendour organisers on hunt for Gedling borough talent to entertain crowds at this year’s festival
PICTURED: The Fun Squad, who entertained the crowds at last year's Spendour event
PICTURED: The Fun Squad, who entertained the crowds at last year’s Spendour event

Splendour is on the hunt for the best entertainers across Gedling borough to create its vibrant fringe offer for the 20,000 crowds expected at the summer festival, taking place at Wollaton Park on Saturday, July 23.

As well as a dedicated fringe stage, there is an eclectic mix of family friendly entertainment on show around the festival; from circus cabaret and samba drumming to magic and vaudeville. With applications now open, festival organisers, DHP Family, are encouraging acts to be part of a bigger than ever fringe event.

Danielle Sorsby, DHP Family, said: “We’re after anyone that can bring fun and creativity to the festival, from music to acrobats and magicians; something that’s a little different is always a bonus. We’ve moved the stage closer to the main stage this year so there will be a guaranteed bigger crowd.”

Back for another year, festival-goers will be kept on their toes by the Fun Police, out in force to make sure all are enjoying themselves responsibly. With megaphones, banner and cordons, the ‘officers’ will be creating silly scenarios of safety and generally being a delightful nuisance.

Edward Boott from Nonsuch Theatre, creators of Fun Police, said: “It was an absolute joy to share our work with an incredibly diverse and eclectic audience last year. It’s a great opportunity to raise your profile and so I would encourage acts to sign up for a day they won’t forget!”

Those who wish to apply need to email information on their act to Danielle Sorsby (danielle.sorsby@dhpfamily.com) before Monday 30th May.

Mapperley man jailed for over eight years after £5.5m drugs haul seized by police

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Mapperley man jailed for over eight years after £5.5m drugs haul seized by police
JAILED: Shaun Bird, left, from Mapperley, and right, drugs seized that were stored in varnish tins
JAILED: Shane Bird, left, from Mapperley, and right, drugs seized that were concealed inside varnish tins

A Mapperley man was part of a gang jailed for more than 30 years after a £5.5million drugs haul was discovered in Nottinghamshire.

Ninety-seven litres of liquid amphetamine was seized by officers in June 2015 after they intercepted a van at junction 27 of the M1, in Annesley, Nottinghamshire.

The drug was being transported in the rear of the van and was concealed inside ten tins of varnish.

Shane Bird, 48, from Woodborough Road, in Mapperley, who had been recruited as a “fixer” to find a chemist to convert the liquid amphetamine and as a courier to transport the drugs, was among those detained following the find.

Driver Lee Hill was arrested at the scene.

The drugs, estimated to have a street value of £5.5 million, were traced back to Holland.

Edward Rooney and Mir Baz were subsequently identified as being responsible for the importation and arrested.

At a previous hearing Rooney and Baz pleaded guilty to conspiracy to import Class B drugs to the UK. Hill pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply Class B drugs.

Following a trial, Bird was found guilty of conspiracy to supply Class B drugs. He was jailed for eight years and six months.

On Tuesday 9 May 2016, at Derby Crown Court, the following men were also sentenced:

Edward Rooney, aged 53, of Bestwood Road, in Bulwell, Nottingham, was jailed for 10 years.

Mir Baz, aged 44, of Ferrar Lane in Oulton, Leeds, was jailed for seven years and four months.

Lee Hill, aged 41, of Lynncroft, in Eastwood, Nottinghamshire, jailed for six years.

Detective Inspector Keith Priest, of EMSOU, said: “These convictions are the result of an in-depth inquiry into international drugs trafficking, which spanned a number of months.

“The hard work of the officers involved has not only put a major dent into the operations of this particular organised crime group, but also prevented a significant amount of drugs from reaching the streets of Nottinghamshire.”

Property team has ‘rising ambition’ for new development in Nottingham

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Property team has ‘rising ambition’ for new development in Nottingham

West Bridgford will be home to a residential development of 49 plush apartments, after a property power team from Nottingham invested in a piece of land just south of the city.

Property entrepreneur, Arran Bailey, Rob Cassidy of New Century Windows, and Nigel Rhodes of DL Rhodes & Son, have invested in the piece of land at Bridgford Point, after the team worked together on a similar development at West Bridgford’s award-winning Christonian Court development.

The Christonian Court development will act as a prototype for this subsequent development, after builders DL Rhodes & Son landed a gong for it at the 2015 LABC Awards.

Arran Bailey, director at ALB Investments Ltd, said: “I have had my eye on the piece of available land behind the city ground for some time now, and it seemed like a natural progression to offer the opportunity to DL Rhodes & Son, the builders who worked on Christonian Court, and to New Century Windows who also worked on the project. “

The trio have now gone in for planning permission to create 49 one and two bedroom apartments all designed to a high specification, and the development will be headed up by Simon Birch at CBP Architects, after his great work at Christonian Court.

Arran continued: “West Bridgford is such a strong rental area and we had people literally biting our hands off for the last batch that we developed there.  We are unsure if we will provide the development for sale or let as it stands, but we are open to both sets of enquiries.

Nigel Rhodes, director at DL Rhodes said: “When I received the call from Arran I had no hesitation on investing into this project, we are hoping to build a similar scheme that won the award around the corner, which will further enhance West Bridgford”

Rob Cassidy, managing director at New Century Windows said: “When Arran invited us to be a part of the investment team for this project in West Bridgford, we were absolutely delighted as it is a fantastic opportunity.

“We have worked with Arran and ALB Investments on several projects in the past, installing windows and doors, and he was impressed with how we presented ourselves as well as our excellent work. We now have the chance to work on a project from the ground up and we are very excited for work to begin.”

For more information, please visit the ALB Investments website at www.albinvestments.co.uk

Last chance for first-time buyers to get help onto property ladder from Gedling Borough Council

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Last chance for first-time buyers to get help onto property ladder from Gedling Borough Council

ForSale

First-time buyers in Gedling borough still have time to sign-up for a council scheme which gives them a lift onto the property ladder.

The Local Lend-A-Hand project was set-up to help first-time buyers in the area with a small deposit, but time is running out for new applications as the scheme comes to an end in July.

The project, which is run by Gedling Borough Council and Lloyds Bank, helps the buyer with a deposit of just 5%. Since it launched in 2012, the council have had 36 successful applications.

Gedling Borough Council set aside £1m and have so far invested £846,000 which has helped 36 buyers on to the property ladder. There is a remaining amount of £154,000 which could potentially support a further six or seven mortgages but the deadline for applications is July 31, 2016.

First-time buyers often say that raising a deposit is the biggest challenge they face when looking to take their first steps onto the property ladder.

Responding to calls for further innovation in the first-time buyer market, Lloyds Bank worked with Sector Treasury Services, part of the Capita Group, to develop the Local Lend a Hand product. The scheme helps first time buyers seeking a mortgage but who do not have the 10% deposit normally required by lenders. Successful applicants will also benefit from favourable interest rates.

Gedling Borough Council leader, Councillor John Clarke, said: “We launched this scheme back in 2012 and it has been a big success. It has helped 36 first time buyers get on the property ladder at a time when borrowing has been almost impossible. There is still a pot of money left and we urge any potential new home owners to get in touch with Lloyds Bank and apply for the support.”

Subject to Lloyds Bank usual lending criteria, borrowers are able to select any existing property in the area covered by Gedling Borough Council up to a maximum loan of £118,750. This does not include new build homes. First time buyers will put down 5% of the property price, and Gedling Borough Council will provide a cash backed indemnity of up to 20% as additional security. The local authority then earns interest on this amount.

The first time buyer owns the property in its entirety, and will have access to a range of products at a lower rate of interest than would normally be available for this level of deposit.

Those interested in the local scheme should visit their local branch of Lloyds Bank for more information or visit www.gedling.gov.uk/housing

Trains to call at Carlton Station every half hour on Saturdays following launch of new timetable

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Trains to call at Carlton Station every half hour on Saturdays following launch of new timetable
Picture courtesy of East Midlands Trains
Picture courtesy of East Midlands Trains

Train passengers using Carlton Station are to benefit from an improved Saturday service.

East Midlands Trains has announced a new “faster, more frequent Saturday train service” will begin on the Nottingham to Lincoln line from May 21.

There will now be an extra 25 train services running between Nottingham and Newark Castle on a Saturday, which means a train will stop at Carlton every half-an-hour for the majority of the day.

The majority of services from Nottingham to Lincoln will be around three minutes faster than today with the fastest journey time just 47 minutes compared to the current 51 minutes.

The new timetable will also offer direct Saturday services between Newark Castle and stations to Matlock for the first time, providing new summer day trip opportunities for customers.

There will also be extra services to Lincoln and Nottingham from Fiskerton, Carlton, Hykeham and Collingham providing much improved connections for customers for shopping, work and day trips.

The increase in Saturday services follows on from the launch of extra weekday trains on this route in May 2015 as the result of a successful partnership with the Department for Transport, Nottinghamshire County Council, Lincolnshire County Council, Nottingham City Council, City of Lincoln Council, Newark & Sherwood District Council, Newark Business Club, North Kesteven District Council, Gedling Borough Council as well as the D2N2 Local Enterprise Partnership and the Greater Lincolnshire Local Enterprise Partnership.

READ MORE: Tony Cave: Hourly Saturday service from Carlton Station to start in May

The latest changes come on the back of a £13million customer investment programme East Midlands Trains has agreed with the Department for Transport that also delivers improved services, cleaner stations and trains, better information and new technology.

As part of the agreement, East Midlands Trains had committed to improve Saturday services by December 2016, however with the support of local stakeholders, East Midlands Trains has brought that forward by seven months so customers get to benefit from the improvements earlier than planned.

Rail Minister Claire Perry said: “This is fantastic news for passengers travelling between Lincoln and Nottingham, and I am pleased to see that our £13 million investment in the East Midlands franchise is delivering better journeys for passengers well ahead of schedule.

“This is another example of the work happening to transform the UK’s railways through record levels of investment, delivering better journeys for passengers, communities and businesses.”

Sarah Turner, general manager for East Midlands Trains, said: “It’s great news that our customers travelling on the route between Nottingham and Lincoln are going to benefit from extra services and faster trains.

“The improved weekday timetable we launched last May has been a great success and is already delivering a massively improved service for our customers. Saturday is a popular day for travel with daytrippers, shoppers and of course, people who need to work, and we are confident our new services will make a big difference across all of our local communities.

“We also need to pass on thanks to our partners in the Nottingham Lincoln Stakeholder Board for helping us to introduce these services seven months ahead of schedule. This is a great example of outstanding teamwork across a range of organisations to make a real difference and improvement in service for our customers.”

The new May timetable will launch on Sunday, May 15 and the first day of improved Saturday services will be Saturday,May 21. For more information or to download a timetable, visit eastmidlandstrains.co.uk

Council staff throw weight behind colleague’s bid to become world bench-press champion

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SUPPORT:Wendie’s dad and trainer, David, Wendie, Deputy Leader Cllr Michael Payne and Leader Cllr John Clarke
SUPPORT: Wendie’s dad and trainer, David, Wendie Kirkland, Deputy Leader Cllr Michael Payne and Leader Cllr John Clarke

Staff at Gedling Borough Council have thrown their weight behind a colleague’s bid to become world bench-press champion by helping fund her trip to a tournament later this month.

Wendie Kirkland will be competing in the World Women’s RAW Bench Press Championships for Great Britain during the contest from 15-21 May.

The Service Support Officer for Housing Services will be miles away from her day job at Gedling Borough Council as she travels to Potchefstroom, South Africa, at the end of this week to compete for Team GB.

Wendie, 43, has been raising funds to pay for her trip by running a raffle at work and has also received a donation from Gedling Borough Councillors, who donated £200 from the County Councillors funding pot.

She first started bench-pressing 22 years ago since began competing in 1994.

Wendy trains locally at the council’s Redhill Leisure Centre with her dad, who still trains at the age of 73.

As a working single mum, Wendie can only fit in one training session a week, but that hasn’t held her back. She competed in the 2014 World Masters Women’s Bench Press Championships, 2015 European Masters Women’s Bench Press Championships and can lift up to 75kg (12 stone) unequipped.

Wendie is one of 11 women representing Team GB in Potchefstroom and will be competing against six other athletes in her Masters 1 category.

Leader of Gedling Borough Council, Councillor John Clarke said; “I’m really pleased we can support Wendie in competing for Team GB in her sport. We wish her the best of luck and are proud of her achievement.”

Ahead of the trip Wendie said; “I am apprehensive about going as it is difficult with family commitments to put things in place for my daughter while I am away, but this is a fantastic, once-in-a-lifetime opportunity which I didn’t want to miss.

“I have been competing in powerlifting since the age of 22 and what was at first a hobby, has turned into something that has changed my life. I’ve managed to see parts of the world I wouldn’t have necessarily seen.

“It’s a privilege for me to be going and representing Team GB and I am grateful to my family, friends and colleagues, who have supported me in order to be able to do this. Even if I don’t come back with a medal, as long as I do my best that’s all I can ask of myself.”

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