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Nottingham News

Nottingham News

A pioneering Nottinghamshire business centre is going from strength to strength as the post-pandemic economic recovery in the county continues to gather pace. For little more than a few months after the country fully re-opened for business following the easing of lockdown measures, it’s full steam ahead at Worksop Turbine where it currently boasts an impressive 97 per cent occupancy rate and has a waiting list for office space.

Based at the Shireoaks Triangle Business Park on the outskirts of Worksop, The Turbine has been home to some of the area’s creative and entrepreneurial talent since April 2006. It is a purpose-built, Nottinghamshire County Council-serviced business and innovation centre which is managed by Claire Gregory together with assistant centre manager Adele Davies and centre support assistants Katy Sanderson and Fran Thornton.

Claire joined The Turbine eight years ago as a part-time receptionist and enjoyed a meteoric rise through the ranks before being appointed manager in 2016. Adele started as a receptionist in July 2017 and her development, overseen by Claire, led to her being appointed assistant manager two years later. The Turbine is an innovation centre designed to help entrepreneurs ‘grow into their own and make a business for themselves’.

It offers firms, especially fledgling start-up businesses, a range of services to flourish and establish themselves with a helping hand from Claire and her team. Claire said: “We offer a virtual floor to get them off the ground and to give them a professional image for their business, once they are more established they are encouraged to grow into the centre as their company thrives.” The Turbine boasts 59 offices and workshops ranging in a variety of different sizes to cater for the needs of individual companies – some of whom have been at the centre since it first opened. It is home to a diverse range of sectors, all of whom complement and collaborate with one another.

One of the businesses which has thrived since it moved into The Turbine a decade ago is the Ortus Group, a successful technology company that provides industry-leading medical and telematics solutions to the emergency services and other specialist industries across the UK. It began life at the centre with a single office but today occupies multiple offices reconfigured to include engineering rooms, a warehouse, photography studio and general office space – all of which are required to operate successfully to serve various NHS trusts and other critical sectors throughout the UK.
However, the company’s chief executive Craig Hall says it was during the Covid-19 pandemic that the support of The Turbine proved crucial.

At the height of the crisis, the Ortus Group continued with its vital work servicing and delivering defibrillators to ambulance services on the frontline – while it also answered the Government’s call to provide ventilators.
Craig said: “The Turbine has remained flexible with our requirements throughout the pandemic.
“When most of the UK was informed to work from home, we had to continue our vital operations servicing defibrillators and procuring additional ventilators, and having access to our offices and workshops was imperative to be able to service the need for the critical situation everyone faced.

“We established a dedicated number of staff who needed to be in our engineering department to service and dispatch the medical equipment. We were able to access our office space at all hours and adapt the environment to meet Government guidelines to ensure we were operating safely. “Our staff and The Turbine really pulled together, it was a great team effort from all involved and I am immensely proud of the role our business has played throughout these challenging times.” However, The Turbine experienced a significant drop in occupancy rates shortly after the country was plunged into lockdown in the spring of 2020 – falling from 93.6 per cent at the beginning of the pandemic to 70.6 per cent shortly afterwards.

Claire said: “Over an eight-week period, 12 businesses handed in their notice, we dropped around 26 per cent in occupancy – (which equates to) around £8,500 in revenue per month. “It was just sheer panic at first because nobody knew what to say, nobody knew what to do. We were in limbo. “Using our experience and knowledge as a team, we put things into place that meant we could continue offering the services required and as restrictions eased we managed to safely welcome back all of our customers.

“I have a huge passion for the centre and our customers and knowing that we needed to remain open for those critical businesses was the most important thing, our business community had been rocked and were experiencing individual pressures so the help and support was more crucial than ever. “Safe to say, it was a challenge we certainly learned a lot from and from a personal aspect it was quite scary not knowing what was going to happen.” The centre has been unable to hold its usual networking events during the pandemic but it’s fair to say with an occupancy rate of 97 per cent, the future is once again looking brighter.

It has also recently benefitted from a significant cash injection to install the latest digital connectivity, which Claire says has been ‘long overdue’. She said: “It has now given us full access around the centre for new connectivity in terms of WiFi, improved customer internet and a VOIP (telephone) system which is the way these kind of places need to be now, as things are always moving forward.”

But how has the centre successfully attracted new occupants?
“The service we offer, and I might be biased, is second to none,” said Claire.
“We’ve built a reputation on the quality of service that we provide.
“We’ve got a good social media following, we’ve got a good marketing network, we’ve got a good reputation and we’ve got companies from within the centre that didn’t want to work from home coming out of Covid so expanded themselves – freeing up smaller space for people who needed a small office and couldn’t work at home. “So, the moving around of companies that wanted to remain here but needed more space provided that little bit of extra room for other people to then step into us.

“I’m also a massive advocate of word of mouth and it’s recommendation from people, who know who we are and what we offer, that aids our success. “Every day is a new day and every day is different at The Turbine, it always has been, and I am almost certain it always will be!”

For more information about The Turbine and how it could support you or your business, visit https://worksopturbine.nottinghamshire.gov.uk.

Nottingham News

Residents and businesses have another chance to view plans for Rushcliffe’s new crematorium, Rushcliffe Oaks.
Further information about the new facility and community space in Stragglethorpe near Cotgrave can now be found on its dedicated website www.rushcliffeoaks.co.uk or by picking up a leaflet from the Cotgrave Hub, NG12 3UQ, during operating hours.

Many residents and stakeholders, including local funeral directors, attended the recent information event on September 23 hosted by Rushcliffe Borough Council to learn more about the project and share their thoughts.
The Council is seeking to be carbon neutral in its operations by 2030 and this is reflected at the heart of the design and thought process for the new facility.

An extensive landscape management plan has been developed for the project which focuses on retaining and enhancing boundary planting and a living roof on the single-storey building aims to reduce the visual impact from the surrounding area. Rushcliffe Oaks development will focus on reflecting a connection back to nature and wildlife.
Through the use of innovative technologies and renewable energy sources, there are plans for a greener electric powered cremator rather than the more traditional use of gas, lowering CO2 emissions by up to 90 per cent. Rushcliffe Oaks will be one of the first in the country to invest in this new technology. Development is due to commence on site soon and it is anticipated it could open in Autumn 2022.

Rushcliffe Oaks will be operated and managed directly by the Council with potential opening hours of 9.30am to 4.30pm Monday to Friday.

Nottingham News

Nottinghamshire County Council is to take part in a wide-ranging consultation process with the British Deaf Association (BDA) to help understand the group’s needs and shape its services for individuals. The audit will highlight what the County Council has achieved since signing and adopting the British Sign Language Charter and map the improvements it has made to ensure access to services is available for the deaf community. County Council officers will work with the BDA in the coming weeks to identify any areas where deaf people still have barriers in accessing services – as well as celebrating the good work the authority has carried out and sharing best practice.

Councillor Gordon Wheeler, Chairman of the Personnel Committee, says the County Council is committed in its support of the charter and highlighted the importance of engaging with the deaf community as part of the audit to ensure the correct processes are in place. He said: “Having this audit and communicating with people from the deaf community will allow us to understand their needs and ultimately create better services for individuals and, where needed, make changes to achieve the standard we strive to achieve.

“I am really looking forward to engaging with our Equalities Officer and the British Deaf Association to look at practical ways of developing our services further and making sure people from the deaf community feel they can access Nottinghamshire County Council without any barriers. “We need to understand the issues they have experienced which can help us shape our services and identify solutions going forward. Together, we can create inclusivity for people from the deaf community.”

The BDA works closely with the deaf community and those who use British Sign Language (BSL). It campaigns to empower people who use BSL and works to improve access to services for the deaf community as well as encouraging them to feedback and take part in local services. The organisation also carries out training and advocacy and encourages local authorities, health service providers and other local services to adopt the BDA’s BSL Charter to improve access and rights for deaf people who use sign language.

Nottingham News, Notts Sport

Nottingham Forest’s procurement of Steve Cooper as manager is the most positive news for years at City Ground. His appointment ends a long list of aging, household names that invariably relied on the 4-2-3-1 formation and a worryingly familiar mantra of “avoid defeat rather than attempt to win a football match.” Seven points from his first three games in charge certainly constitutes an immediate effect and more importantly the goals for column looks wonderful in comparison.

Chris Hughton’s last game in charge prompted some furious fan reaction across the social media platforms which is no surprise these days, let’s face it, the vitriol and distain sometimes expressed after a solitary defeat is enough to break the resolve of the most ardent of manager and supporter alike.

The comments alluding to his playing style and the results it manifested were completely justified in my opinion, but as usual, the necessity to target certain players for hate wasn’t too far behind. Perhaps the most controversial angle of attack from the fan base was that channelled toward the Greek owners of the club. It’s fair to say that the tenure of Evangelos Marinakis and Sokratis Kominakis hasn’t been a bed of roses. Since taking over at Nottingham Forest, which was in a horrendous state, on and off the field of play, they have failed to win over the NFFC supporters by relying on a perpetual string of average, overseas imports, and an unconvincing link to Marinakis’s main club Olympiacos. So, when things reached rock bottom following the defeat to Middlesbrough, I wasn’t surprised to see Twitter erupt like the volcano on La Palma. I read several comments requesting a protest against the owners, to hopefully be spearheaded by a flag and banner brigade of the Forest supporters. Whilst I sympathized with a handful of valid points, I couldn’t help but draw comparisons between our rivals down the A52. Derby County are in an unbelievable mess and face a realistic possibility of going out of business like Bury FC; a situation which certainly puts things into perspective when our owners, despite their misgivings, are pumping around twenty million pounds a year into the club.

In an article I wrote shortly after the capitulation versus Middlesbrough I asked for change as opposed to replacement.
I used the term insanity to describe the Modus Operandi of our club given the regurgitation of the same behaviours time after time. But as I alluded to, I pleaded for change of direction as opposed to a Bolshevik revolution. In layman’s terms, end the baffling transfers of highly paid nobodies and hire a manager who wants to attack the opposition and who will dare to deviate from the monotony of 4-2-3-1!

Written by Steve Corry

Well, it seems to all and sundry that the hierarchy at Nottingham Forest are willing to adapt and throw caution to the wind having appointed Steve Cooper. Interestingly too, the club have retained the services of Steven Reid on the coaching staff, another indication that communication between the players, staff and owners is positive. Reid gave Forest their first Championship win of the season when he deployed a 3-4-3 formation and humbled Huddersfield Town in their own back yard; interestingly, that very formation has been the preferred choice of Cooper since his arrival, coincidence? One can only assume, and I use the word assume carefully, that the employment of Dane Murphy has impacted things behind the scenes prior to the arrival of Steve Cooper. Much has been made of the loan recruitment of both Max Lowe and Djed Spence in the last transfer window, whilst Hughton was still in charge.
Many NFFC supporters were quick to notice the potential for wing back duties by the aforementioned players should we ever dare to change the shape.

At this point it would be easy to get carried away, seven points from three games and lots of goals to regale upon. However, as the new gaffer touched upon, there is still a lot of work to be done, especially at the back, comments he made shortly after the Birmingham victory in which we could well have conceded as many as we scored to be honest. I speak for thousands when I say that I’m delighted to have Steve Cooper at Forest, a man who knows how to attack, a man who’s achieved back-to-back play-off qualification and a man who’s won a World Cup with England; quite simply, a breath of fresh air.

Nottingham News

Nottinghamshire Travel Choice will continue with new funding. Nottinghamshire County Council has won further funding from the Department for Transport to continue the Travel Choice programme. Travel Choice has provided information and advice to thousands of people on different ways to travel in Nottinghamshire, promoting more environmentally friendly transport choices since 2018. The programme has successfully:

• Developed 47 travel action plans for businesses in Nottinghamshire, helping them to reduce single occupancy car journeys, encouraging active and sustainable travel, improving the health and wellbeing of employees, and improving their impact on the environment
• Provided paper and digital travel packs to over 6,000 employees
• Given ten grants to businesses to help with the cost of facilities like bicycle shelters, Electrical Vehicle charging, and installing showers
• Worked with Job Centre Plus staff to help people looking for work get to job and training opportunities. This includes helping jobseekers get to their first pay day by providing:
• 339 public transport tickets
• 42 bicycle loans and 31 moped loans to help those going to work where suitable public transport isn’t available, for example, shift work. The mopeds were provided by RCAN (Rural Community Action Nottinghamshire).
The new funding will mean that we can:
• Continue to promote active travel to more businesses across Nottinghamshire, with more grant money available
• Continue to provide free ‘Dr Bike’ cycle maintenance sessions for employees at their workplaces
• Continue and expand our work with Jobcentre Plus centres in Ashfield, Mansfield, and Worksop, helping jobseekers as they look for work and training opportunities
• Start working with ten primary schools to promote more walking, cycling, and travelling by scooter to school, building on the development of our School Travel Toolkit.
• Work with ten health centres in a pilot project to encourage greater use of active travel by patients by providing electric bike and push bike loans, as well as and Fitbit activity trackers and walking / cycle travel information packs.

Councillor Neil Clarke MBE, Chairman of Nottinghamshire County Council’s Transport and Environment Committee, said: “I’m very pleased that the Travel Choice project is continuing in Nottinghamshire. It’s great news for the county and it means that we can continue helping local people and businesses, by supporting them with more sustainable travel. The team have helped reduce the number of single occupancy car journeys in our county, easing traffic congestion, and promoting more sustainable and environmentally friendly options.

I’d like to congratulate the team for winning this extra funding. It’s a stamp of approval from the Government and a recognition of the good work that the team have been doing.” The programme has had very positive feedback from residents, employees, and businesses across the county: “The service we have received from the team has been fantastic. We have always received positive feedback from staff who have accessed the information and services. Thank you for coming along to the college to raise awareness.” Nottinghamshire College

“The welfare, wellbeing and safety of our Team Knowhow colleagues – in work, travelling to work, or at home – is incredibly important and something we take very seriously here at our Newark Campus. We appreciate the support and work the Travel Choice team do and look forward to welcoming them back again.” Glenn Hawksworth, Head of Supply Chain Operations at Team Knowhow.

“The NHS and social care are busy, pressurised environments to work in and many of us have long commutes to work. But irrespective of the distance, as a large employer I think Travel Choice is a great opportunity to support colleagues with their physical and mental health.”

Richard Mitchell, Chief Executive at Sherwood Forest Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
For more information about Travel Choice please visit www.nottinghamshire.gov.uk/travelchoice or email travelchoice@nottscc.gov.uk

Nottingham News, Notts Sport

A golf day in Nottingham organised in aid of Warwickshire children’s charity Molly Olly’s Wishes, which supports children with terminal or life-threatening illnesses, has raised an incredible £26,252.

Jointly organised and sponsored by Nottingham companies, Oakland International (which also has a site in Redditch) and Avanti Print and Packaging, 17-teams from across England, Scotland and Wales took part despite the challenging weather to compete for golf titles including Beat the Pro, Longest Drive and Nearest the Pin.
The event took place at the Nottinghamshire Golf and Country Club and was followed by an evening auction and raffle of items donated by suppliers and supporters of the charity.

Molly Olly’s grants wishes, helps with emotional support and donates therapeutic toys and books to children directly and through hospitals across the UK. It grants around 40 wishes per month, an increase of 100% during lockdown, and at a time when funding has significantly reduced. 

Charity co-founder Rachel Ollerenshaw said;
“The golf day and auction were a huge success. We are extremely grateful to Jane, Lee, Paul and Holly at Oakland and Avanti for organising such a great day and helping to widen the reach of the charity with introductions to a new audience. All the golfers were very generous and big thanks to all the sponsors. Molly Olly’s has seen a sharp rise in the number of requests for support and the funds raised are much needed to enable us to fulfil those wishes which help to put a smile on poorly children’s faces.”

Oakland’s Chief Operating Officer Lee Whiting commented:
“Molly Olly’s Wishes is an amazing charity which supports so many ill children throughout the UK. We would like to thank everyone who joined us and supported this, our first ever joint event of this nature, which we are now going to make into an annual event, setting our fundraising target even higher next year!” 

Like so many other charities Molly Olly’s Wishes has found it difficult to fundraise over the last year due to the pandemic. An average wish costs around £500 and can range from a family day trip to a computer game to supermarket food vouchers.
To find out all the ways you can donate to Molly Olly’s Wishes, please visit https://www.mollyolly.co.uk/learn-about-donating/

Nottingham News, Notts Sport

After a very solid start to our season the road to glory would continue throughout September with no less than seven fixtures in twenty-one days. What a huge ask this was to be from a group of people playing semi-professional football that also had daily work commitments to attend to also. But this is what we all enjoy and this is what was asked of us by the Football Association in their wisdom to ensure that we aren’t caught out by the pandemic as we have been so over the previous two seasons.

So after our departure from the F.A. Cup at the hands of Stratford Town at the beginning of the month the team would now venture back into the league with a mid-week fixture at home to Sutton Coldfield Town. Two goals in the final fifteen minutes would see this one out and get the team back to winning ways after our disappointment three days earliar.

Yaxley 1-3 Carlton Town
Next up was a trip to Yaxley and this one was a bit of an eye-opener as we knew little of the opposition. We would go behind in the game after twenty-five minutes ,but two goals in three minutes just after half-time including another from Aaron Opoku continuing his rich vein of form would see us take a grip of the game. Tyler Blake two minutes from time would put this one to bed and ensure that we had the points in the bag.

Halesowen Town 2-2 Carlton Town
Three days later and we were at it again, a top of the table clash and potentially a large crowd to contend with also. This one was a real cracker played at a high tempo and with a lot of quality and was well worth the admission fee. The home side would take the lead ten minutes from half-time but the ever industrious Niall Davie would soon silence the home fans with a leveller five minutes later. To take the teams in at half-time all square.
‘The Millers’ with our never say die attitude came out in the second half and would take the game to the home side whom hadn’t been beaten thus far in the campaign and we would be rewarded for our efforts when Niall Davie would give us the lead with twenty minutes to play. This encouraged the home side to open up their game and Carlton had to dig deep to maintain the lead until we succumbed to the pressure and conceded a last gasp equaliser.

Carlton Town 1-1 Ilkeston Town
Local rivals Ilkeston Town were next on the list and some renewals with some old friends. This one was again another tight affair after ‘The Miillers’ took an early lead from Tol Omotola after only five minutes. This surprised ‘The Robins’ who to be fair on the day brought the game to Carlton. The game was evenly balanced throughout and a last minute equaliser from the away team would mean the points would be shared.

Belper Town 3-0 Carlton Town
Three days on and a trip up to Derbyshire was the venue for our next fixture and to a team that were sitting mid-table in the division. This one was a real slap in the face for ‘The Millers’ as the home side on the night would frustrate and combat us and never allow us to play our true game. The home team would hit the target three times in the last twenty minutes and send us home with our tails between our legs.

Wisbech Town 0-3 Carlton Town
So after our unfortunate result in mid-week the team would travel to Wisbech and to a team that in recent seasons have struggled at this level of football. It was important that after that defeat that the team returned to winning ways immediately, and this we did.
Two goals in the first half from Louis Czerwak and Niall Davie took us into half-time with a good lead and a comfort zone. Tyler Johal two minutes from time made it three and the points were secured against a team that at times didn’t look like they should be at the wrong end of the table.

Article by Phil Jennings

So with one defeat so far the team have had a very consistent start to elevate us up in to the top five of the division. Obviously there is still a long way to go and we are only approaching completion of a third of the season with many more tales to come. The new players at Stoke Lane have fitted in very well so far making the team even stronger than it ever has been and the outlook is good as we pursue our goals.

Forthcoming Fixtures:

9th Oct Bedworth United(h) (F.A. Trophy)
16th Oct Loughborough Dynamo(h)
23rd Oct Soham Town Rangers(a)

Nottingham News

The county council’s customer service centre has been praised after answering more than a million enquiries during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The figure features in statistics released by the county council examining how the centre responded to people getting in touch by telephone, email and online over the last 18 months.
Despite the high number of queries, people only had to wait an average of 46 seconds before getting assistance from a member of staff.

Personnel Committee Chairman, Councillor Gordon Wheeler, said: “Answering over a million enquiries is no easy task and the customer service centre should be very proud of the remarkable work it has carried out.
“The service it has delivered during the pandemic can only be described as exemplary.

“The pandemic was a horrendous and stressful experience for many, and the help our customer services team offered would have made a tangible difference to countless lives in Nottinghamshire. “Because of our team, the council has helped people get answers on services including children and adult social care, school places, food vouchers and local roads, but perhaps most importantly on COVID-19 and the support available.”

COVID-19 help offered by the customer service centre included arranging care and support for vulnerable individuals shielding and providing information and answers about vaccines and vaccination centres. Customer service centre staff also worked closely with NHS Test and Trace to help stop the spread of the virus, including reaching people that the national system was unable to contact.

Group manager of complaints and information, Marie Rowney, said: “Our customer services team really stepped up during the pandemic and were happy to be on hand to answer people’s queries and to provide that much-needed support, particularly to those who were isolating for such a long time. “The team took part in some outstanding partnership work with NHS colleagues to help keep Nottinghamshire residents safe and informed.

“I cannot praise our customer service team highly enough.”
The county council’s customer service centre is located in Annesley.

Nottingham News

Since its launch in September 2020, the Gedling Lotto has raised almost £19,000 for the local community and more than £6,400 has been given away in winnings. So far, more than 31 local groups have signed up and been using the Lotto as a fun and effective way to raise funds for their valued services in the community.
Supporters can win weekly cash prizes up to the £25,000 jackpot for just £1 per ticket and if they enter before 30th October they will also be in with the chance of winning £1,000 in John Lewis Vouchers.
50% of the £1 ticket goes directly to the cause they choose, with a further 10% going to the community fund, which is used to further support local good causes.

Gedling Youth & Community Hub has been using the Lotto since it launched in September 2020 and has raised nearly £2,000 from Gedling Lotto ticket sales. The group is working on ambitious plans to convert a former railway station building in Gedling village into a youth centre and community hub.

Francis Rodrigues, Chair of the Gedling Youth & Community Hub said:
“The money we have raised from the Gedling Lotto has helped us with our monthly running costs to keep our regeneration project going. We sell between 70 – 75 tickets per week and the monthly income we make is a real help. We are very grateful to Gedling Lotto for creating a lottery that is so supportive of local good causes like ours.”
Leader of Gedling Borough Council, Councillor John Clarke said:

“Good causes across Gedling borough have not only benefited from receiving regular funds raised from their ticket sales, they also received a host of marketing materials as well as their own Gedling Lotto webpage to help them to get started promoting their tickets and it’s all free for them to use.

If you work or volunteer with or support a local not-for-profit group, maybe you’re in a local school’s PTA, a member of a sports club, or support a local charity that it looking for a sustainable way to raise funds, then let them know that Gedling-based good causes can sign up for free to use the Lotto and raise funds, it’s so easy to do, they just visit www.gedlinglotto.co.uk to register.”

To support a local good cause, visit the website, pick which cause you want to support from the list www.gedlinglotto.co.uk. Good causes can register to start fundraising at the same website.

Nottingham News, Notts Health & Care

A new venue has opened in Radcliffe which will offer Covid and flu jabs to eligible residents.
The clinic is based in Radcliffe United Reformed Church in Blackburn Street, and there are two types of vaccination being offered:

• A double jab – a Covid booster and the flu jab – to those who are eligible and have received an invitation from their GP or the NHS to book a slot. You cannot just turn up for these.
• To anyone over 16 – first and second doses of the Pfizer Covid vaccine. Young people aged 16 and 17 will receive a single vaccine. No appointment is needed, just turn up. To check the days and times the clinic is open for walk-ins, go to https://www.bury.gov.uk/index.aspx?articleid=15987).
Covid boosters will be offered to residents who had their second dose of the vaccine at least six months ago. People will be invited in priority order, like the earlier phases of the vaccination programme, meaning that the most vulnerable will receive theirs first.
Dr Victoria Moyle, clinical lead for the Radcliffe clinic and a GP at Tower Family Healthcare in Spring Lane, said: “More than 250,000 Covid jabs have been administered to Bury people in the first two rounds of vaccination, and we’re keen to continue this success and make sure that priority groups get their booster dose.
“We also want those who are eligible for a free flu jab to have that too, which is why we’re inviting those groups to have both jabs at the same time.
“Opening this new clinic in Radcliffe will make it easier for local residents to get themselves fully protected against two potentially deadly viruses.”