Congratulations Andy Murry

Men's Wimbielden champion 2013

Gaia | ‘Star chaser’

Hello and welcome to Astronomy & Space, in our next program our main theme is the Milky Way, and we take a look at the GAIA space observatory which will launch into space soon. This is a European Space Agency mission, which is set to observe & record billions of stars, and discover new asteroids along with comets around our own Solar System.

Download the Mission Fact Sheet here: http://goo.gl/ntsVa

Presented by Richard Pearson

“Let the Beacon Shine…”

As temperatures soured above 25 centigrade visitors to St Ann’s Projects spent a nice afternoon gardening at their Moffatt Close community garden behind the former Beacon Pub. Locals enjoyed elderflower cordial and elderflower pancakes for refreshments.

The occasion was made even more memorable as Carly Williams & Martin (the main organisers behind St Ann’s Projects), have now met with the new owner of the nearby Beacon Pub and raised the subject of allowing the Beacon to be used as a Community Centre or Community Hub. I am advised that the new owner welcomed the idea so that the atmosphere was quite positive.

Carly Williams & St Ann’s Projects would now like to hear from people about the future community use for the Beacon, and if they are able to offer any assistance in running the new venture.

Please Email Carly Williams at carlywilliams@lavabit.com  Or visit there website http://stannsprojects.wordpress.com/  they would love to hear from you.

Turkish Baths demolition | Day 5

Victoria Baths demolition works day five at the side of the Victoria Leisure centre. Now that the summer weather has arrived progress has moved up a gear as you can see from these latest photographs.

I was met by a local trader who wanted to show me a notice that had appeared in the window of one of the commercial units. This confirms the reliable information given to me by City council officers this week.

 

Sneinton Market in the spotlight

 

 

 

 

 

Early this week Newline began demolishing the Turkish Baths in Bath Street at the side of the Victoria leisure Centre. The foundation stone was laid by the mayor of Nottingham on 28th May 1928, eighty five years ago, and progress is going well. It is surprising just how much land there is available for developers to get involved to build new homes here.

On Wednesday afternoon Nottingham City Council officers got together to discuss the future of Sneinton Market, amid concern that the land owner of the commercial units had gone bust, and was unwilling to hold discussions with the council over the last 6 months.

At the same time I received an email from the Sneinton Market promotion team inviting local residents to meet the architects behind their planned regeneration project on Wednesday July 10th. They provided me with a copy of their plan for the area shown below.

I later shown this plan to City Council Leader Jon Collins, who said that he remained deeply concerned that the landowner did not have the available funds to refurbish all of the commercial units, and carryout the proposed environmental improvements that are shown in the illustration.

He said that he was optimistic that the city Council could negotiate a deal to purchase the land and then put in place its own improvement scheme for Sneinton Market in the foreseeable future.

Blast Off To Crazy Planet

Walter Halls Infant & Early Years School Mapperley

A message from our guitar teacher - Matt Blick

'I am very excited to announce that the album we've been working on since February is here!  Blast Off to Crazy Planet is a downloadable album written and recorded with pupils from three Nottingham Primary Schools (Fernwood, Walter Halls and Heathfield), as part of February Album Writing Month (FAWM) 2013.  The album costs £1, though you can pay more if you want!  50% of all profits will to to Autistica, a charity that funds medical research to understand the causes of autism, improve diagnosis, and develop new treatments and interventions.   (www.autistica.org.uk) For your money you get 17 wild and funny, cool and creative songs, a pdf file with all the track listing, thank yous and artwork and even a DIY album cover to print off if you want to burn the album onto a CD. 

Download the album at
http://mattblick.bandcamp.com/album/blast-off-to-crazy-planet and be sure to tell all your friends and relations

Nottingham Armed Forces Day

© Richard Pearson

This week we have video of the Armed Forces Day celebrations, and Drum Head service in the Old Market Square on Saturday June 29th, which was seen by thousands of visitors. We also have a news update from the St Ann's area of the city.

Update | Homes & Communities Agency

On Wednesday 26 June 2013, the Chancellor set out Government’s spending plans for 2015/16. On housing specifically the Spending Round unveiled a £3.3bn package to support 165,000 new affordable homes over 3 years from 2015/16. This includes an extension of the Affordable Homes Programme (AHP) with £957m of capital funding each year, for 3 years up to 2017/18; and a new Affordable Rent to Buy scheme with £250m in 2015/16 and £150m in 2016/17.

Further details for housing and other capital investment were set out on Thursday 27 June, with the publication of Investing in Britain’s Future. This included confirmation that the HCA will become the centralised disposal agency for surplus public sector land.

Here, our Chief Executive Andy Rose reflects on what this all means for the HCA and the wider sector

What does the affordable housing settlement mean for the sector?
It’s a strong settlement for the housing sector. I say this because it provides certainty around funding for affordable housing into the next Spending Period. Confirmation of the rent regime for housing providers over the next 10 years from 2015 will bring reassurance to the sector and its investors, as providers can make long-term decisions with increased confidence.

This is a significant amount of money and is a reflection of the Government’s confidence in the sector. It is also recognition of the importance of meeting housing need and supporting the supply of housing overall, as well as the direct role housing plays in driving economic growth.

What does it mean for the HCA?
As the Government’s affordable housing delivery agency, the investment is very significant for us. I’ve said above that it shows Government’s commitment to the sector and continues to demonstrate confidence in HCA as its delivery body.

The HCA will administer the allocation of the AHP  investment – which builds on the current AHP, on track to meet government’s target for up to 170,000 new affordable homes by 2015 - and is likely to do the same for the new “Affordable Rent to Buy” scheme, outside of London.  We’ll be talking to DCLG and the sector to establish the details of delivery, but as always, we’ll be keen to move quickly in getting new programmes up and running successfully.

What is the new Affordable Rent to Buy, announced in the Spending Round?
This is anew programme to help people who need a limited period of support through a sub-market rent, so they can save for a deposit and achieve their aspiration of home ownership. The £400m funding announced will help fund new build homes that will be let at Affordable Rent for a limited time before being sold, with the tenant getting the first chance to buy.

The HCA, as likely administrator of the scheme, will provide investment which is repayable when the period of sub-market rental ends. We will work with the sector to design the scheme and start delivering the new homes in 2015/16 and 2016/17.

What about the public land role and news that HCA will be the single disposer of public land?
This is exciting news for the HCA, and another endorsement of the Government’s confidence in the Agency as its trusted delivery partner on public land. It builds on the HCA’s role as the Government’s Agent to increase the amount of public land for development and speeding up the rate at which it is brought to market.

Our public land work is core business for the HCA, but this confirmation by Government recognises our commercial expertise, experience of managing large portfolios of land, and delivery performance in contributing to the Prime Minister’s target to release enough land by 2015 to support development of 100,000 new homes.

How does the social rent regime affect the HCA’s regulatory role?
The guideline limit for social rent increases has been set at CPI (Consumer Price Index) + 1% per year for the next 10 years from 2015-16 to 2024-25, a change from the previous rent regime of RPI (Retail Price Index) +0.5%.

This provides the much-needed long-term certainty and stability I’ve mentioned above. It will give investors confidence and help landlords plan for future investment, and will support them to build more new affordable homes.  As regulator we welcome this, and we’ll continue to focus on ensuring providers have appropriate management strategies in place to protect public interest and maintain lender confidence.

City Council News: Highfields wins approval

Nottingham City Council has received initial support* from the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) and the Big Lottery Fund for its plans to restore and improve the historic Highfields Park, it has been announced.

The project aims to fully restore the Park, build upon its heritage and create a community facility for the 21^st century.

Development funding of £280,500 has been awarded to help the Council progress its plans to apply for a full grant at a later date.

The restoration project, expected to cost over £4.2 million in total, will involve the refurbishment and repair of historic buildings on the site including the pavilions and ticket office; the rehabilitation of the lake; new features including adventure golf; vegetation and arboriculture work; and improvements to footpaths and hard surfacing.

The Grade II listed Park provides 121 acres of public space alongside the University of Nottingham campus off University Boulevard and features a large boating lake, landscaped gardens and a children's play area. It was first laid out in 1920 on the initiative of Sir Jesse Boot and fully opened to the public in 1926.

Councillor Dave Trimble, the City Council's Portfolio Holder for Leisure and Culture, said: "Nottingham boasts some beautiful public spaces and Highfields Park is one of our most historically important and popular. We're delighted that thanks to this initial support from the Heritage Lottery Fund and Big Lottery Fund we can begin the process of restoring the Park to its former glory and introducing some new features which will ensure it can continue to be enjoyed by generations of Nottingham people in the decades to come."

Hilary Silvester, Chair of the Highfield Park User Group, said: "I am absolutely delighted to hear that our Stage One bid has been successful. The Council's Parks Development staff have worked tremendously hard on the project and we are looking forward to equal success in the second stage of the Lottery bid.　　

"Highfields is a very special and much-loved park, and the lottery funding will make it even better.  I imagine that Jesse Boot, who gave the Park to the people of Nottingham, would be just as delighted to see his gift being so much appreciated.'

Carole Souter, Chief Executive of HLF, said on behalf of HLF and the Big Lottery Fund: "We're delighted to be able to provide this much needed support for Highfields Park, when it could not be more needed. Many public parks are really suffering in the current economic climate so this is particularly good news for Nottingham. Parks are important to all of us and add so much to our quality of life. Highfields Park will help to bring the local community together and now, we can help to secure its future."

*A first-round pass means the project meets HLF criteria for funding and HLF believe it has potential to deliver high-quality benefits and value for Lottery money. The application was in competition with other supportable projects, so a first-round pass is an endorsement of outline proposals. Having been awarded a first-round pass, the project now has up to two years to submit fully developed proposals to compete for a firm award. On occasion, an applicant with a first round pass will also be awarded development funding towards the development of their scheme.

IRIS – Journey to the Sun

In this program we take a look at the highlights of the July night sky. Our main theme is the Sun in action, and NASA's new spacecraft IRIS which will launch on Thursday to study the sun's atmosphere in fine detail.

The next edition of the BBC Sky at Night program will be around midnight on 7th July when the team will be looking at The Moon.

£3.6 billion government boost for social housing

The Homes and Communities Agency, the national housing, land and regeneration agency, has today welcomed government’s spending plans as a strong settlement for the sector.

The plans, announced by The Chief Secretary to the Treasury Danny Alexander today and published in Investing in Britain’s Future, set out more detail on how £3.3bn of investment will deliver 165,000 new affordable homes by 2017/18.

The announcement included:
• An extension of the Affordable Homes Programme with £957m funding each year from 2015/16 to 2017/18, and a £400m Affordable Rent to Buy scheme, to deliver 165,000 new affordable homes.
• Certainty that the guideline limit for social rent increases has been set at CPI + 1% per year from 2015-16 to 2024-25.
• A review of the Government estate to be led by the Government Property Unit and a role for the HCA as the single public body charged with bringing surplus public land to market from 2015/16 onwards.
• An additional £150m funding for Enterprise Zones and an additional £102m to speed up delivery on large scale sites.
•£160m to reduce the backlog of non-decent homes, bringing the Decent Homes Backlog Programme to an end.
• Allowing the HCA to charge fees for the regulation of social housing providers.

Many of the programmes announced today will be administered by the HCA outside London, on behalf of the Department for Communities and Local Government.

Andy Rose, Chief Executive of the HCA, said:

“This is a strong settlement for the sector.  The commitment of £3.3bn for affordable housing to build 165,000 new affordable homes reflects the Government’s confidence in the sector and the HCA; as well as housing’s role in driving economic growth. This is core business for us and we are ready to work with our partners to deliver these new homes.  This includes our role as regulator to ensure providers have appropriate management strategies to take advantage of the new opportunities.

“The announcement that the HCA will be the single public body charged with bringing surplus public sector land to market builds on the HCA’s role as the Government’s key delivery partner in increasing the amount of public land for development and speeding up the rate at which it is brought to market.  It clearly recognises our commercial expertise, experience of managing large portfolios of land, and delivery performance to date in contributing to the Prime Minister’s ambition to release enough land by 2015 to support development of 100,000 new homes.

“There are significant opportunities in today’s announcement for house builders and providers to meet their development aspirations. Our role now is to maximise the impact of the investment that has been made available and we will be talking to the sector about implementation, to take advantage of these opportunities.”

IRIS space mission to the Sun

Hello and welcome to The Time the Place. In the next TV video program we take a look at the highlights of the July night sky.

Our main theme is the Sun in action, and NASA’s new spacecraft IRIS which will launch on Thursday to study the sun’s atmosphere in fine detail. We also take a look at the launch of Shenzhou-10, China's fifth-ever manned mission to successfully lift off on the 11^th June.

Asda’s new Carlton Road store

A spokesman for the City Council Development Department confirmed today that Asda was in a good position to submit a planning application to build a new larger store on the former site of the Wright & Dobson factory in Carlton Road. The spokesman also said that the new sticking point was with the contract Asda signed with the Co-op in December to acquire the land  of their former store. The signed contract was for the land to be used for residential housing, and not for commercial use. Now the Co-op want more money off Asda and a new contractual agreement.

Asda want to build a petrol station and large car park on the former Co-op site.

The Time the Place | Housing Allocations Policy

© Richard Pearson

In this week's program we have a video of the King Edward's Park Fun Day, and the Teddy Bears picnic at Stonebridge City Farm. We take a look at the proposed changes to the Nottingham Housing allocation policy, and the new planning proposals for Bath Street. We also have the latest news on Student loans. and Disability Living Allowance.

Shown here is the Planned Netherfield development

The Time the Place | Stonebridge Park

© Richard Pearson

In this week’s program we take a look at the history of the Stonebridge Park Estate in St Ann’s including old photographs of some of the streets, and buildings. Also the Defend Council Tax group held a successful meeting at the neighbourhood centre on the Robin Hood Chase this week

Please share this video among your friends, on face book & Twitter. You are also welcome to imbed it into your own website or blog. Visit our Our TV Video channel We are also on Daily Motion

If you like this week’s program you may also like The Time the place | St Ann’s Well.

If you have any ideas for news features or community group highlights then please Email us at stannsnews@yahoo.co.uk

If you have any ideas for news features or community group highlights then please Email us at stannsnews@yahoo.co.uk Also Email your comments to us at this address.

Until next week, Have a nice holiday, Good bye for now

Richard Pearson

Stonebridge Park -- ‘road closure approved’

Notices from the Department of Transport have appeared in Limmen Gardens this week in which the secretary of state has granted permission for the closure of the main side road & footpath in the area. The decision date is given as 19^th June, now local residents have until 1^st to appear the decision through the courts.

Locals are deeply concerned because the footpath running along side there homes is being replaced by a new side road that will have no pavements either side. Local residents will walk out of there front gates directly into the new poorly lit road. As many of the residents have young children, they say this puts there offspring at risk from being knocked down by cars using it.

The Developer Asra Housing group have planning permission to build 15 new homes in Limmen Gardens, and work may begin in the autumn.

Help for Clifton Businesses

As the new NET Tram line continues to be constructed through Clifton, the affect on local businesses has been quite damaging. This week Councillor Jane Urquhart, Portfolio Holder for Transport at the city council, made an executive decision on 13^th June to spend up to £500,000 supporting Clifton businesses affected by the NET phase 2 construction works. The revenue will come from the NET budgets.

Robin Hood Chase consultations delayed again

The Robin Hood Chase Regeneration Scheme is moving closer to reality. Project Officer Alan Parker said today that things were more exciting. Both the Developer Wilmot Dixon & the Asra Housing group were close to agreement. The next stage is for the Executive Board of the city council to be asked to give its approval for the submission of the planning application. However, this is unlikely to happen before 16th July. This means that consultations with St Ann’s residents and local businesses will not now take place until August at the earliest.

Housing Allocation Policy set to change

Are you affected by the Bedroom Tax? This week the city council is to make it easier for tenants to down size into smaller properties, and they will also discharge there homeless responsibilities on to the private sector.

The Executive Board of the city council meets this Tuesday, when councillors are being asked to approve new changes to the Housing Allocations Policy.

A joint report by Graham de Max, Policy and Partnership Manager, Housing Strategy, and Sue Lomax, Housing Options Manager, Nottingham City Homes will be presented to councillors at the meeting.

The report takes into account the impact that the Bedroom Tax is having on people living in Nottingham today, and its impact on the available housing stock of 29,000 homes.

The report says Nottingham City Council’s Housing Allocations Policy is regularly reviewed to maintain its relevance in providing homes for people in need, which last happened three years ago.

Nottingham is currently experiencing increasing demand for social housing, in particular as a result of the Government’s Welfare reform agenda.

Currently there are just fewer than 12,000 applicants on the housing register. Approximately 1800 properties became available for re-letting last year, which means that supply is greatly outstripping demand.

The increased demand means that applicants who have low or no needs are placed on the housing register with little or no realistic chance of being offered a social tenancy.

In June 2012 parts of the Localism Act 2011 relating to housing allocations came into force.

Local Authorities throughout the country are making amendments to their Housing Allocations Policies to make use of the powers and flexibilities, particularly in relation to setting a residency qualification and in discharging homeless duties to the private rented sector.

The proposed new amendments include the Introduction of qualifying criteria for applicants to the Housing register, in relation to age and residency in the City; and non-qualifying criteria in terms of un-acceptable behaviour, home ownership, no housing need and unavailability to occupy accommodation.

In terms of city residency the qualifying period will change to 3 years to prevent immigrants from entering the UK and jumping the Nottingham housing cue, or transferring into Nottingham from other areas of the country.

It says that the Housing Register will be closed to new applicants with a low chance of success.

Re-designation of the holding band 5, which will become a band for lower need applicants who will qualify for older people’s accommodation.

Amendments to eligibility and occupancy criteria to relax previous age restrictions which were applied to ground floor flats. This is in view of the increased demand, particularly from those who currently have to pay the Bedroom Tax who want to down-size, or need to be re-housed due to regeneration.

There will also be amendments to the eligibility and occupancy criteria for two bedroom low rise flats to make best use of all accommodation which can be used for smaller families, many of whom are particularly impacted by the reductions in benefits due to the Bedroom Tax.

The introduction of affordability and risk assessments for all applicants prior to offer, to ensure applicants are only offered accommodation which they can afford and, where any risks can be managed.

Sanctions will also be introduced for those who are not bidding realistically or who are continuously refusing suitable offers?

There will be amendments to the Allocation Policy in order to facilitate decisions from Nottingham City to discharge their homeless duty to the private rented sector.

This is a controversial decision since the private rented sector is presently under a lot of pressure.

This is for two reasons. Firstly, Lettings agents in England charge tenants an average of £350 in fees on top of a deposit and up-front rent, a housing charity has said.

Shelter set up anonymous testing of 60 lettings agencies to record what they charged to set up a tenancy, make credit checks and other paperwork.

It called for new rules to ensure these fees were only paid by landlords.

But the lettings agents' trade body said it was fair that tenants made a contribution.

The Association of Residential Lettings Agents said that if this was not the case, then rents would rise.

Secondly, private sector housing rents are considerably over valued. The average rent in England and Wales is now 3.9pc higher than it was this time last year and yet the average wage in the private sector hasn’t gone up at all, with pay rises grinding to a complete halt.

The squeeze is especially acute in London, where rents are 7.6pc higher and where a quarter of residents rent privately and here in the East Midlands rents are up 4.1pc, according to LSL Property Services.

As a result we are starting to hear tentative calls for rent controls – compulsory limits on how much landlords are allowed to charge, and caps on annual rent hikes.

On June 12th the Institute of Physical Studies released a report showing that wages have fallen more in real terms in the current economic downturn than ever before.

"The falls in nominal wages... during this recession are unprecedented," said Claire Crawford from the IFS.

On top of the rising cost of living, one third of workers who stayed in the same job saw a wage cut or freeze between 2010 and 2011, said the Institute.

Whatever the decision of councillors at this week’s Executive Board meeting, it promises to be a significant turning point for every tenant, and those on the Housing Waiting List.

Sneinton ‘Planning’ Walk About

Do you want to be able to influence decisions about new and modified buildings, public spaces and facilities in your area? You can now with a Neighbourhood Plan (NP). An NP deals with linking the vision of the residents to future developments over a 25 year period.

We are having a walkabout in Sneinton to view places of interest such as the windmill car park, the old Dale farm plot and the old Aerborn factory (cinema) site. This will take place on 18th June 13. For more info, please read on...

One of the benefits of a Neighbourhood Plan is that you can have a say about developments first rather than objecting to proposals. For the developer it would mean proposals are less likely to meet resistance as they would put forward proposals that are consistent with the area's NP. Parts of Sneinton are a conservation area but the rules are being bent by some residents and developers and the Council can struggle with enforcement. A NP would also beef up the existing conservation order and a Neighbourhood Forum could liaise with the authorities to ensure they are notified about anybody ignoring the order.

If any of this interests you may want to join the newly forming Sneinton Neighbourhood Forum or you may wish to feed you thoughts into it. Neighbourhood forums are community groups that are designated to take forward neighbourhood planning in areas without parishes. It is the role of the local planning authority to agree who should be the neighbourhood forum for the neighbourhood area.

Sneinton Alchemy have organised a walk about/place check on 18th June 13. A place check is a method of taking the first steps in deciding how to improve an area. Place checks are often able to kick-start change in a way that might not otherwise be possible. They can lead to anything from litter clear-up days to neighbourhood planning. If you would like more info on any of the issues raised, would like to join the place check walk about on 18th June or would like to be part of a local Neighbourhood Forum please contact me at steve.smith@sneinton-alchemy.com or on 07972049539.

The Time the Place | Impoverished St Ann’s

© Richard Pearson

In this week's program we give St Ann's a health check, and ask why the area is just as impoverished today as it was 44 years ago. We have film of the Robin Hood Chase 'Save our Co-op' protest; more news about the Bedroom Tax, and we take a look at the history of King Edwards Park.

Please share this video among your friends, on face book & Twitter. You are also welcome to imbed it into your own website or blog. Visit our Our TV Video channel We are also on Daily Motion

If you like this week’s program you may also like The Time the place | St Ann’s Well.

If you have any ideas for news features or community group highlights then please Email us at stannsnews@yahoo.co.uk

If you have any ideas for news features or community group highlights then please Email us at stannsnews@yahoo.co.uk Also Email your comments to us at this address.

Until next week, Have a nice holiday, Good bye for now

Richard Pearson

The Time the Place | Walter Halls Music Night

The Time the Place | Walter Halls Music Night by The-Time-the-Place

In this week’s program we show-case Walter Halls School Music Night. We also have news from the Defend Council Tax Benefits Group; Mapperley Councillor Emma Dewinton successfully defends one of her constituents from the threat of eviction due to the bedroom Tax, and highlights of the June Night Sky.

Please share this video among your friends, on face book & Twitter. You are also welcome to imbed it into your own website or blog. Visit our Our TV Video channel We are also on Daily Motion

If you like this week’s program you may also like The Time the place | St Ann’s Well.

If you have any ideas for news features or community group highlights then please Email us at stannsnews@yahoo.co.uk

If you like this week’s program you may also like The Time the place | St Ann’s Well. And The Time the Place | 20th may

If you have any ideas for news features or community group highlights then please Email us at stannsnews@yahoo.co.uk Also Email your comments to us at this address.

Until next week, Have a nice holiday, Good bye for now

Richard Pearson

The Time the Place | 20 May

In today's program. Plans for the new ASDA store in Carlton Road are under revision again. A full news bulletin, plus video of St Georges' Day parade in Nottingham; Moffatt Close Community Garden; and St Ann's residents pay tribute to The Dambusters 70 years on. This was the last social gathering at the now closed Westminster pub.

Please share this video among your friends, on face book & Twitter. You are also welcome to imbed it into your own website or blog. Visit our Our TV Video channel  We are also on Daily Motion

If you like this week’s program you may also like The Time the place | St Ann’s Well. 

If you have any ideas for news features or community group highlights then please Email us at stannsnews@yahoo.co.uk

Comment   I live opposite where this store would be and wholeheartedly support ASDA building a larger store with Petrol Station. Local businesses survived with the co op and therefore, should survive now ... Unless they are the ones selling beers and spirits to the homeless people in the area. The local council should ask the local people who have got homes in the area what they want, and not make decisions based only on their opinion, especially as I bet they do not live in this area. Come on ASDA stand up to them and give us the large store our area is desperate for. Anonymous

Until next Monday, have a nice week, Good bye for now

Richard Pearson

£400,000 improvements for Walter Halls school

The City Council agreed yesterday to allocate £2.3m new funding to carry out improvements in school buildings. The works range from small improvements, such as boiler replacements, to comprehensive refurbishments, such as the £400k improvement works to the Year 5/6 block in Walter Halls Primary School.

The funding, which was higher than anticipated, has been given by central Government to the City Council. The Council then consulted school condition surveys, local asset management plans and expert specialist contractors before agreeing the allocation of funds yesterday. The highest priority was given to works relating to Health and Safety requirements, with funding allocated to other schools based on the level of risk to the school of inclement weather.

Councillor Mellen said: "We are delighted to be able to announce our programme of works to improve school buildings across the city. The bigger than expected investment in school buildings supports the Council's strategy to ensure that every child and young person has access to the very best facilities, so that they can get the most out of their school life and have the best possible chance to reach their full potential.

"This programme runs alongside our primary school expansion programme, which is transforming spaces in many primary schools in the city."

Pete Strauss, Head Teacher of Walter Halls Primary School, said: "This is wonderful news for Walter Halls School. We have been concerned about the condition of our Year 5 and Year 6 classrooms for a long time, and it's great to know that the local authority has found the money to fund these improvements.

"Our children deserve the very best education. That means not just making sure they are taught an exciting and relevant curriculum by brilliant teachers, but also making sure that they are taught in suitable classrooms that are in a good condition and provide a pleasant environment for learning. This funding will deliver that for us and we are very grateful."

Community Cafe network aims to please

The Community Cafe Network links together a number of community cafes open to the local community, including Stonebridge City Farm open daily, and at St Edward’s Park in Carlton Road; open on Thursday & Friday mornings. The Thursday morning breakfast club is free for visitors.

Visit there website here

For more information please contact the Project Coordinator David Jones 07794343697. Or Marie Buchanan – Chair of Sneinton Hermitage Community Association (Charity No 505992). This Charity is ultimately responsible for the FIG funded part of this project.marie2dance@hotmail.com

Award winning Developer to revamp Robin Hood Chase

Wilmott Dixon the Developer behind the successful St Ann’s Valley Centre is also the new developer for phase 2 of the ambitious scheme to regenerate the Robin Hood Chase nearby.

ASRA Housing association will manage the houses to be built on the Chase upon their completion.

City Council Project Manager Gill Callingham, who along side Alan Parker are managing the Robin Hood Chase redevelopment, said today “Wilmott Dixon had done such a nice job building the St Ann’s Valley centre, and they worked really well with the local community, we felt it was important to have them on board from the outset.”

She said Wilmott Dixon have now drawn up the new plans for the Chase, and are presently working with ASRA and the city council to finalise the number of homes to be built in order to make the scheme financially viable.

Once this is complete, and contracts signed, there will be wide ranging consultations with local shopkeepers, and the local community taking place. The planning application will to be submitted in July, and any demolition work on the redundant commercial units, and former health centre, will take place in the autumn around November 2013.

The Time the Place | St Ann’s Well

© Richard Pearson

On Tuesday 11th June 10:30am – 12 Noon Colin Haynes will be giving a talk about St Ann’s Well at the St Anns Library in the St Ann’s Valley Centre. Colin Haynes set up the St Ann’s Well Wishers’ group a short time ago, and in April they launched an online petition asking for any archaeological dig on the site of St Ann’s magical well to be carried out as soon as possible. Please sign Colin’s petition here

This TV program takes a look at St Ann’s Well and its place in history, based on my own research from 1995 onwards.

Please share this video among your friends, on face book & Twitter. You are also welcome to imbed it into your own website or blog. Visit our Our TV Video channel  We are also on Daily Motion

If you have any ideas for news features or community group highlights then please Email us at stannsnews@yahoo.co.uk

If you like this video please share it on your Facebook wall/Twitter, download it onto your pc to play back later, and do share it with your friends & family.

The next program will be broadcast in June.

Richard Pearson

Head Teacher Peter Strauss says Farwell to Walter Halls school

On Thursday 23rd May Walter Halls Primary and Early Years School, near the top of The Wells Road, is holding its annual ‘Music Night’.

The annual event -- 6pm – 9pm – gives children at the school the chance to play musical instruments, and perform songs, in front of parents & visitors.

Peter Strauss, the Head Teacher, has just announced that he has accepted the position of headmaster of another school, and will be leaving Walter Halls later this year. A meeting of the school’s governors is to meet later this month to appoint his successor. In a letter to parents this week, Peter Strauss said he has had many happy years at Walter Halls Primary and Early Years School, and will miss all the school children and staff.

Next year 2013 Walter Halls Primary and Early Years School is holding its 75th anniversary, 1939 – 2013, which will be a special occasion for the school and local community.

Kingsthorpe Close plans -- residents taken by surprise

in Mapperley on Bank Holiday Monday, I visited Kingsthorpe Close, the proposed new development area, to take a look around.

This is what the area looks like today.

Developer Keepmoat Homes is to submit a planning application shortly, to build a number of new social houses on the former site of Kingsthorpe & Kildare flats in Mapperley.

The developer already has permission to build 111 new homes, on the Stonebridge Park Estate in St Ann’s.

Residents in Kingsthorpe Close were surprised by the news. The locals I talked to, said they had not been consulted by the City Council or the Developer, about the new plans over the last year.

Locals were especially annoyed by the prospect of a large new children’s play area, being laid close to their homes.

The Kingsthorpe Close estate has a children’s play ground, which local residents say is plagued with youths doing drugs, and antisocial behaviour, which has blighted there life’s. They said they did not want another.

All of the houses in Kingsthorpe Close are relatively new, about 25 years old, and are fitted with storage heaters, which the residents tell me, are very expensive to run. They constantly have high electricity bills as a result.

So they were all intrigued to find out what new heating system would be installed in the new houses, and whether it would allow them to be upgraded to Gas central heating, once the new development was complete.

Sneinton ‘Stop’ Tra Launches new face book page

With a family Fun Day coming up on Saturday 8th June, King Edwards Park in St Ann’s has now launched a new Face-book page.

It has already gained two dozen members and the number is increasing all of the time.

You can visit them on this link

King Edwards Park

Crime figures: for March

On the Stonebridge Park Estate the level of crime was low during March

Lytton Close; Theft 1
Magson Close; Theft 1, Violent crime 2
St Matthias Road; Theft 2
Melville gardens subway ASB 1

ASB = Antisocial behaviour

Crime map and figures taken from the Police.UK website.

Teddy Bears picnic fun down on the farm

In fine sunshine Stonebridge City Farm held a successful family event on bank holiday Monday. The Teddy Bears picnic was attended by lots of local families who enjoyed the day to the full.

Sadly this event was spoiled by a local resident named Kevin Redmond of St Ann’s, who approached a number of families asking them not to take photographs of their own children, and then used insulting language when they refused.

A grand day out at Moffat Close

© Richard Pearson

St Ann’s Projects held another successful day at their Moffat close community garden on Saturday. The weather was fun & sunny.

Colin Haynes came along to show a number of illustrations and inform locals about St Ann’s Well.

Colin is asking people to sign his online petition calling on Nottingham City Council to excavate the site of St Ann’s well & help preserve our local heritage.

You can sign Colin’s online petition here.

Local Shopkeepers object to new store plans

On March 25th Heron Foods submitted a planning application to convert the former Westminster Pub in St Ann’s into two large new shops. Heron Foods which mainly sells frozen food products would occupy one of the new units, while another retailer would occupy the other. On April 10th the application was amended to allow a ‘hot food take away’ to occupy the second ground floor unit.

Local shopkeepers have now collected a petition containing about 500 signatures objecting to the plans. The petition was handed into the city council on Monday 29th April.

The shops concerned; Flints in Ransom Road, The Chase Fish Bar, and the general stores in Ball Street & Bartholomew's Road are objecting because it would affect their trade, which may result in local job losses. They also seriously object to the ‘hot food takeaway’ being part of the Heron plans, because it would mean a significant increase in antisocial behaviour in the area. With yobs intimidating their many customers.

In St Ann’s itself, its fair to say everyone wants the new store to open in the near future because it is desperately needed in the area. With the closure of all the shops on the nearby Robin Hood Chase in less then 16 weeks, it leaves just two local shops, and two pubs in the St Ann’s.

The planning application will now be determined by city planners, and is likely to go before the planning committee sometime in July.

Willmott Dixon to revamp the Robin Hood Chase

© Richard Pearson

Updated With the closure of St Ann’s Post Office on the Robin Hood Chase in 16 weeks time the remaining shopkeepers have all said they too will close. After more than 40 years of trading, the Chase shopping precinct looks set to come to the end of its current lifespan.

Project Manager Alan Parker was on the Robin hood Chase on Thursday meeting with the shopkeepers to discuss their future. Many are asking for some form of compensation prior to closing down because they blame the City Council for the many of the problems which has led to the Robin Hood Chase shops closing over recent years.

The planning blunder of building the Chase neighbourhood Centre in the middle of the precinct which has seriously damaged their trade. Allowing the former Co-op store to sell newspapers & magazines, which led to the closure of the Newsagent. Granting an alcohol licence to the Co-op, which in turn caused the closure of the off-licence store.

In other news, Willmott Dixon has been disclosed as the developer behind the new plans for the Robin Hood Chase, while the ASRA Housing group, formerly Leicester Housing Association will manage the new homes on completion.  Alan Parker is presently waiting to sign contracts with Willmott Dixon & ASRA before holding a public consultation event on the Chase in the next few weeks. A planning application will be submitted in July.

This comes as no surprise because the present CEO of ASRA, Matt Cooney (Shown here), was once the city council Housing Manager based on the Robin Hood Chase a few years ago.