PARKING RULES CHANGING IN RUSHCLIFFE

Changes to parking in Rushcliffe are to be made as from next month. Civil Parking Enforcement CPE) will start on Monday 12th May when the County Council takes over responsibility for on-street parking enforcement from the Police.

This involves taking over functions formerly carried out by traffic wardens such as illegal parking on single and double yellow lines, plus pay and display car park offences. CPE will be operated by the Notts Parking Partnership which comprises the County Council and the seven District and Borough Councils in Nottinghamshire (excluding the city). Enforcement staff will be supplied by NCP Services under a central contract with the County Council. The Borough Council will determine the hours of enforcement and will employ a parking manager to manage both on-street and off-street parking enforcement in Rushcliffe. The County Council will process all Penalty Charge Notices (parking ‘tickets’ or PCNs) in a single processing centre employing up to 15 staff. This centre will ensure a consistent approach is taken to deal with any challenges or arguments with parking tickets. A software system will be used which will link the processing centre with the Borough Council and with the enforcement officers. Disabled badge data will be incorporated into the central software to ensure efficient enforcement of disabled parking and permit use. NCP Services are expected to employ about 20 Civil Enforcement Officers (CEOs) across the county. Rushcliffe will deploy four CEOs. The partnership has developed guidance on parking enforcement ensuring that PCNs are issued according to national and local standards and is consistent across the county.
 

BATTLING IT OUT FOR ATHLETICS SUCCESS 

Eight teams from local primary schools battled it out for the Rushcliffe Indoor Athletics League trophy earlier this month. The competition began in November with schools competing in four leagues - central, east, west and small schools. Twenty-nine teams representing twenty-two primary schools in Rushcliffe organised children aged from the age of 9 to 11 into mixed teams comprising five boys and five girls. All teams competed in five field events - speed bounce which involves jumping repeatedly over obstacles, throwing a foam javelin, long jump, triple jump and a seated throw of a basketball. Teams also competed in athletics events - relays, obstacles, hurdles and sprints. The top two teams from each of the leagues won a place in the Rushcliffe area final. Teams from Ruddington St Peters, Gotham, Radcliffe, Gunthorpe, Abbey Road, Brookside, Cotgrave Candleby Lane and Orston competed in a thrilling competition. The final results were:
1st - Cotgrave Candleby Lane
2nd - Radcliffe-on-Trent
3rd - Ruddington St Peters
Cotgrave Candleby Lane will represent Rushcliffe in the County Sporthall Athletics final later this month at the Harvey Hadden Sports Centre in Bilborough.
 

POLICE COMMANDER HITS BACK AT BRIDGFORD CRITICISMS

The Local Area Commander for Rushcliffe, Norman England, has responded to recent letters in your Local News about West Bridgford.

In an open letter he said…. Bridgford becoming a no-go area Bridgford will never become a no-go area for police, residents or visitors. The town centre is becoming more vibrant every year providing extra shops and places to eat. There has also been the addition of the teen park again to provide extra facilities. The Police have worked very hard over the last few years to ensure that crime doesn't spiral out control. Compared to last year, town centre crime has reduced by 23%. Also over the past several years Robbery has been reduced by 22%, criminal damage by 40% and violence offences by 25%. The success of the teen park did cause an increase of incidents of anti-social behaviour but these have now reduced to the levels prior to its installation This does not mean that the area does not still have some problems (like anywhere else) or that we will become complacent. We will continue to engage with our partners to ensure we build on this years success and continue to show that not every town centre is crime and violence ridden that no one wants to visit. The community is regularly consulted through the Local Area Group meetings regarding problems and they have been instrumental in the development of the teen park, tackling of licensing issues and the way we police the area. Every area within West Bridgford has a dedicated Safer Neighbourhood team consisting of Pcs and PCSOs. Details can before found in various business premises, notice boards throughout the area and also via the Force website. West Bridgford as an area has seen a reduction in crime of 16% which translates to 694 fewer victims of crimes. We intend to continue with these reductions and start to build a reduction in anti social behaviour. The Rushcliffe borough is the safest place in Nottinghamshire to live - so lets all work together to keep it that way.
Parking problems continue in West Bridgford There is a section of the local community that feel that they can park where and when they like. This problem is just one of those combated by officers in the area. We can only give it passing attention but do when we can. In order to help release resources the County Council has taken over the management of illegal street parking as the City Council did in the city. A private company will hopefully be tackling the issues from May. There will soon be a large number of residents returning to their vehicles to find £30 parking tickets.

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ROYSTON AND LUND SHORTLISTED FOR TOP AWARD

West Bridgford based Royston and Lund is the only local firm to have been shortlisted for the prestigious Estate Agent and Letting Agent Award 2008. Shortlisted in the East Midlands category, Royston and Lund is now in with a chance of collecting a regional gold or silver and possibly the national grand prix award. The awards will be held this month at the Marriott Hotel in London’s Mayfair. The evening will be presented by top TV personality Phil Spencer of Channel 4’s Location, Location, Location.

Gary Lund of Royston and Lund said: “We are absolutely delighted to be shortlisted. To be the only Nottinghamshire firm is a great honour for us and are very proud to be representing the county at the awards.
“To be shortlisted is particularly important for us because the results of the competition are determined by research carried out among customers who are asked a series of questions about the services they have received. To get down to the final few is testament to the hard work and dedication of our experienced
and committed staff.”
Jeremy Leaf, chairman of the RICS residential faculty said: “Being shortlisted or actually winning one of these prestigious awards, which are widely recognised throughout the industry, demonstrates publicly an agent’s commitment to delivering the highest standard of service.”
There are 13 regional categories. Gold and silver winners are awarded for each region and those winners will automatically be entered for the grand prix award Best Estate Agent or Best Letting Agent in the UK.
Phil Spencer who will present the awards said: “This is the fifth year of the estate agent and letting agent awards and I’ve increasingly enjoyed being part of the celebrations on each occasion. It’s fantastic to see agents getting the credit they deserve after all the negative press they receive. “Throughout the property industry there is a constant need to improve customer service and these awards go a long way to help agents focus on keeping clients happy. After all, the most powerful marketing tool for agents is word of mouth so customer satisfaction is key.”
Tweedie Brown, group managing director of PSG, the headline sponsor and one of the biggest HIP providers in the UK added: “On behalf of PSG I would like to congratulate Royston and Lund in its quest to help raise standards through its ability to deliver excellent service to customers.”

JUNIOR CRICKET

West Bridgfordians Cricket Club are gearing up for the new season which is just around the corner. The club has a strong commitment to promoting cricket in the local community and in 2008 has entered four additional teams in the local Nottingham Leagues. This will give an opportunity for more youngsters to have a go and experience cricket.
The club achieved the prestigious Sports England ECB Clubmark accreditation in 2006. This confirmed their position as a child friendly club that can provide a safe and effective environment in which the youngsters of West Bridgford can learn and develop the skills of cricket. They are also a Focus Club in Nottinghamshire, recognising the pioneering success of the junior development programme.
The nine ECB qualified coaches are all volunteers and are supported by other parent helpers. Training starts on Friday 25th April and runs for 14 weeks between 6.30 and 8pm. For more details visit wbcricket.com, send an email to info@wbcricket.com or call Paul Garton on 0115 940 5468 or Tony Orange on 0115 974 3584.

SUMMER GATHERING RETURNS FOR 2008

Organisers are planning an exciting community event for June after the success of last years first West Bridgford Summer Gathering.

Hundreds of people took part in the event last year, which marked Green Weeks and celebrated the improvements that have been made in making West Bridgford a cleaner, greener and healthier place. Organiser Karina Wells told The Local News: “The event proved so popular that due to public demand it’s being staged again. Last years West Bridgford Summer Gathering was a great success, with lots of community groups taking part, heaps of information on sustainable living, and hundreds of visitors, who thoroughly enjoyed the day. It’s great news for the community that West Bridgford Summer Gathering will be taking place once again this year.” The event will be held in Bridgford Park between 10am and 2pm on Saturday 7th June. It will feature community groups like Realcycle, Ecoteams and Pedals, as well as organisations that provide sustainable living services and products. There will be information on how to set up a local skills exchange, as well as a Low Impact Living Initiative Stall to encourage visitors to reduce their effects on the environment. Other stalls will focus on complementary health, Fair Trade goods, plants, homemade cakes and biscuits, and hobbies and crafts. Organisers are also planning a children’s area, live music by the Atoumo drummers and poetry performances by Howard A Wright. Karina added: “It should be a really great event to mark Green Weeks, and will help to strengthen the community spirit in West Bridgford, while at the same time inspiring residents to think about how they could make their lives a little ‘greener’ with less impact on the environment.” Visitors to The West Bridgford Summer Gathering are being urged to walk, cycle or use public transport to get to the event.

COUNCIL URGES USE OF NEW GLASS FACILITY

Rushcliffe Borough Council is trialling a new glass recycling facility (micro site) at its depot on Abbey Road in West Bridgford and is encouraging people who live locally to use it. The Council is going to start a big six-month trial of its glass recycling plans which includes micro sites at the end of June. The Council will also be working with Parish Councils in East Bridgford, Shelford and Bingham Town Council. Micro sites are suitable for a small group of around 200 properties and they are self-contained units with three bins for the different coloured glass. For more details on recycling visit rushcliffe.gov.uk

CASH GRANT TO PROVIDE EXTRA CYCLE TRAINING

More schoolchildren in West Bridgford will benefit from free cycle training thanks to a £30,400 grant from the Department of Transport. The grant will come from a £3million government pot fund which will be dedicated to providing cycle training to approximately 80,000 schoolchildren in England by March 2009. In Nottinghamshire this will mean that a further 800 Year Five and Six schoolchildren will benefit from the free on-road cycle training. The training scheme run by Nottinghamshire County Council’s Road Safety Team has recently received national accreditation from the Cycle Training Standards Board and the team are trained to national standards.
There are plans to extend the training to level three, a one-to-one accompanied ride, so people can make cycle journeys to work, school, or leisure. This will be trialled as a pilot study during National Bike Week in June later this year. The target group for the study will be Year Six pupils moving to secondary school in the autumn and secondary school pupils as part of the School Travel Plan. Pam Shaw, Nottinghamshire County Council Road Safety Team Manager, said: “We are thrilled to have received this funding to provide additional cycle training to children within the County. This funding will enable us to more than double the numbers of children receiving on-road training.”

EARTH MOVES FOR SCHOOL CHILDREN IN KEYWORTH

To mark National Science and Engineering Week, the British Geological Survey (BGS) ran a Fossil and Rock Show at its headquarters in Keyworth. Nearly 1,000 children and their teachers from primary schools across the East Midlands learnt how to pan for gold, record their own earthquake and tiptoe through time with spectacular fossils from the Geological Survey’s internationally renowned own collections.

BGS was recently at the heart of the media whirlwind that followed the Market Rasen earthquake. A geologist was on hand to demonstrate to primary school children and their teachers how earthquakes are recorded. Everyone was able to make their own earthquake and take away a copy of the same sort of seismic trace that was used to record the power of the Market Rasen earthquake last month.
The British Geological Survey encourages interest in the Earth's resources and history with a programme of events for the public, schools and teachers alike. The events are aimed to encourage everyone to take an active interest in science, technology and geology in particular, helping to inspire a future generation of local scientists.
Dr David Bailey, Head of Outreach at the British Geological Survey, said: "The BGS works to bring earth science alive for people of all ages. We were very excited to open our doors during National Science and Engineering Week and hope everyone who visited will be encouraged to learn more about geology and science in general. Perhaps some of the young people taking part will be inspired to become the geologists of the future."
"Geology is central to our lives; it affects the water we drink, the dwellings we live in, the fuel that drives our vehicles and even the jewellery we wear around our necks. Our Science Week activities are a fun way of generating understanding of our natural resources among schools and the general public. “It is particularly important for young people to understand that the way in which we manage our environment and exploit our resources will have consequences for many generations to come."

TOP AWARD FOR MEDIA GROUP

The Media Group (TMG), based at the Wilford Business Park, has received three certificates to confirm that their services have been recognised by a top international kitemark.

TMG has been awarded ISO 9001, the international standard for an organisation’s internal quality management, with certificates being awarded to each of their three divisions.
The Media Group is run by Managing Director Keith Daniell and his wife and co-Director Alison Daniell. They told The Local News: “We are proud to receive the award. The assessors paid us a marvellous compliment by saying that we are doing things the right way. “Normally the award is accompanied by some action points but for us there were none. Getting an ISO award is recognition of our process and systems and is a crucial factor in winning major contracts,” Keith added.
Since being established as a limited company in 2001, TMG has expanded to employ more than 60 staff, spread over three divisions, which are; media, outsourced administration (TMG Support) and TMG CRB, which is one of the country’s largest umbrella bodies for the Criminal Records Bureau.
 

REPAIRS TO THE CROQUET LAWN

The Croquet Lawn on Central Avenue in West Bridgford is a popular and well used open space. In recent years, it has been used by a variety of local groups for charity and fundraising events and has become a very popular venue for craft fairs and farmers' markets. These events have significantly increased the footfall and wear and tear on the lawn. In addition, the growth of the tree canopy in this southern area of the lawn prevents sunlight from reaching ground level and reduces grass growth. This has led to a marked deterioration in the appearance and condition of the lawn.
The Council plans to carry out repairs by removing five maple trees at one end of the lawn, but the trees along the main path will remain. Five new trees will be planted in Bridgford Park. The damaged area on the lawn will be placed behind a barrier, the grass will be removed in this area and replaced with a hard wearing type of grass in turf strips. The barrier will be left in place until the turf has successfully grown. This could mean that the barriers remain in place for about four months, thus reducing the size of the lawn for farmers' markets and other events. The shrub beds along the footpath from the Nursery car park will be cleared to enable stalls for farmers' markets and other events to be placed there.
A wooden fence has been erected along one side of the footpath from the Nursery car park to the pavement on Central Avenue.

GIRL GUIDES CELEBRATE IN RUSHCLIFFE

With Girlguiding UK celebrating its centenary in 2010, plans are already underway to mark the achievement with a series of events throughout the year.

But to ensure that 2010 is a truly memorable milestone for every one of its 9,000 members across the county, Girlguiding Nottinghamshire has issued a plea for sponsors to come forward. County Commissioner Dee Miles told The Local News: “We are already booking venues in order to ensure adequate facilities for the sheer numbers involved, so are having to draw heavily on our own funds. The team organising the programme estimates the costs for the celebration year will be in the region of £150,000, much of which will be taken up by venue hire. “We do intend to self-fund as far as possible but we’re also inviting the business and commercial community across Nottinghamshire to consider providing sponsorship.” If you can help call 0115 987 7220 or email secretary@girlguidingnottinghamshire.org.uk

10K WINNERS

The 2008 Rushcliffe 10k race took place at Rushcliffe Country Park and once again it was a very successful event. This year’s competition took place on Sunday 9th March and hundreds of runners, young and old, raced against each other through the beautiful park surroundings. This year’s winners were:
Male Winner: Nigel Stirk
Female Winner: Rachel France
Male Veteran Winner: Simon Nash
Female Veteran Winner: Ann Ford
Male Junior Winner: Luke Seamer
Female Junior Winner: Beki Dobson

GREAT NOTTINGHAMSHIRE BIKE RIDE AROUND THE CORNER

The Great Nottinghamshire Bike Ride will take place on Sunday 22nd June. The ride is open to people of all ages and abilities and riders are encouraged to raise sponsorship while they ride. Riders who raise over £50 sponsorship will be entered into a special prize draw. To set up your Great Nottinghamshire Bike Ride online sponsorship page visit justgiving.co.uk and select Rainbows Children’s Hospice. You can then select the GNBR as your chosen event. All monies raised through your online page will go to the GNBR charities. It is also the most efficient way to collect your sponsor monies as the Great Nottinghamshire Bike Ride charities will receive your money faster. If you are a UK taxpayer, an extra 28p in every £1 will be added to your gift at no cost to you. There are four different types of rides all of which start and finish at the National Water Sports Centre: - 100 mile ride: A sportive route for the more serious cyclist that will take in North Nottinghamshire and parts of Sherwood Forest and costs £24 per person. - 50 mile ride: A challenge ride that goes to Newark before looping back to Holme Pierrepont and costs £10 per person.

- 18 mile ride: A community ride that goes to Shelford before looping back to Holme Pierrepont and costs £10 per person - Lap challenge: A ride for young cyclists on a closed circuit around Holme Pierrepont and costs £12 per family.
- There is also Freeth Cartwright corporate challenge for businesses which challenges businesses to enter the ride as a team, with prizes on offer to the team who raises the most amount of sponsorship. For more information on the Corporate Challenge please call 08449 80 80 80. The closing date for applications is Friday 13th June. More detailed information about the route is available online soon and will be included in your rider pack. Rider packs will be sent out to entrants from the beginning of May. If you would like more information about the bike ride please call 08449 80 80 80 or email bikeride@nottscc.gov.uk Former Nottingham Forest and England footballer Geoff Thomas will be among those taking part. Thomas, has twice ridden the route of the Tour de France - the first attempt coming just six months after completing a year and a half of life-threatening treatment for leukaemia. He said: “It's a chance to have a great family day and raise awareness for all the charities involved.”

MAID MARION MILE BACK AGAIN

Returning for its third successive year, the 4x1 mile Maid Marion relay event will be taking place on Thursday 22nd May at the Forest Recreation Ground. Teams of four runners (or walkers) must each complete a one-mile circuit before handing over the baton.
David Lloyd Nottingham will be encouraging its members to take part, and staff will also be urged to grace the field, with competition encouraged between the numerous different departments at the fitness centre.
Nick Read, sales manager at the club, said: “The Maid Marian Relay is a fantastic opportunity that we as a health and fitness facility just cannot afford to ignore.
“It has the potential to benefit the club enormously because the participants exactly fit our target market and it is also taking place right on our doorstep at the recreation ground.”
Anyone can enter the event. Whether you’re a group of friends, a team representing a local business, members of a sports group, or just looking to get fit, it really doesn’t matter at all. The Maid Marian Mile Team Relay is a great event to be part of and fun to be involved in. To get involved or for further details please send an email to info@perfectmotion.org or visit the website at perfectmotionevents.com

COLLECTION RAISES £500 FOR MAGGIE’S

A recent collection for Maggie's by West Bridgford Rotary Club raised £500 for the cancer care appeal. Rotary President George Golledge met Emma Critchley from Maggie's during the fund raising walk in Wollaton Park. She agreed to come to speak to members of the Rotary Club about how Maggie's supports cancer patients. Emma showed slides of a number of the spectacular architecturally designed centres, which have built across the country and showed members of the Club the draft plans for the proposed site at City Hospital.

President George told Emma that the Rotary Club proposed to hold a further fund raising event for Maggie's in the form of a charity dinner with a guest speaker at the Robin Hood banqueting suite at Nottingham Forest football stadium later this year.

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