Earlier in 2018 we set the target of ensuring Nottingham City Council would not need to temporarily accommodate any children in a Bed & Breakfasts by the end of the year. After a lot of hard work and focus, I was proud to hear on Christmas Eve there are now no children staying in a B & B in Nottingham.

Homelessness is on the rise across the country, with Shelter estimating nationally 130,000 children are in temporary accommodation and 10,000 expected to wake up on Christmas Day in a B & B. Until 2015 we had not had to use Bed & Breakfasts for over a decade. Likewise, until 2010 Nottingham City Council alone used to receive £26 million annually in funding for the underlying issues that can lead to homelessness, and at that time levels of homelessness in Nottingham and nationally were much lower. Since then, this funding has been scrapped altogether and the money we do receive from government to support our services. Revenue Support Grant funding has also dropped from £126million in 2013/14 to just £25million now. In addition to this, the Government’s changes to welfare, specifically its introduction of Universal Credit, is leaving more people in debt, rent-arrears and ultimately homeless. In October, there were over 100 households in Nottingham who had to be temporarily placed in B & Bs, of which two-thirds were families with children.

Over the past few months we have been bringing together lots of council services to reduce the number of people in bed and breakfasts to zero. This has included buying back council housing lost under right to buy to be used as more suitable temporary accommodation and taking action to prevent unnecessary evictions in the first place. Last year, we were able to prevent 258 people from sleeping rough and this year we have secured an extra £420,000 to help fund this work and provide extra bed spaces to cope with an additional demand.

Thank you to Housing Aid, Community Protection, Framework, Emmanuel House, Nottingham Together and Nottingham City Homes for working so hard together to achieve this target. Their work has ensured there is enough alternative accommodation for homeless families in hostels, such as social housing or private housing.

Our task now is to maintain this throughout 2019.

Cllr Linda Woodings
Portfolio Holder for Housing, Planning and Heritage

100 years ago today was the first time that women were able to vote in a General Election and also the first time that women were allowed to stand for election to Parliament.

This was achieved after more than eight decades of campaigning by both men and women, including the courageous suffragettes.

Although only some women got the right to vote in 1918, the change led the way to all women getting the vote ten years later and forced politicians to consider ‘what will women think?’ when they wrote their manifestos and put new laws into place.

In the 21st Century most of us can only imagine a time where women had no legal status, no rights over their own children, no ability to divorce, except for the wealthiest (and only in the cruelest of circumstances).

The right to vote led to significant improvements to women’s basic rights and later to progressive laws like equal pay and the Sex Discrimination Act.

Voting itself and being registered to vote are so important; women should be heard, their voices counted and their views known. On this important anniversary I’d urge all women to make sure they are registered to vote.

Make sure you’re registered to vote in upcoming local elections and in case a snap general election or referendum. New voter registration rules mean that you now have to register every year.

You can register easily online www.gov.uk/register-to-vote

Councillor Linda Woodings
Portfolio Holder for Planning, Housing and Heritage

Today the Strelley Road Library opens its doors after £1 million of investment to provide local residents with a new library that is modern, open-plan and provides improved computer access and equipment, including free WiFi.

As a part of Nottingham Labour’s commitment to improving children’s literacy in the city the new library also has a dedicated under-fives children’s area featuring a unique specially commissioned story tree and it will offer opportunities for a greater range of activities and events for all ages.

The facility has been designed and built by Nottingham City Council and Nottingham City Homes to serve the needs of the Aspley ward. It will not only include a new contemporary library, but also 37 one-bedroom independent living flats, run by Nottingham City Homes. Residents at Strelley Court will have direct access to the new library.

It’s great news that that this new library will offer people in the area the 21st century facilities they deserve. Visitors will enjoy improved facilities in the new building and it will be a positive addition to the local community. We expect that this move will encourage more people from the whole of the Strelley and Aspley to make the most of their local library.

At a time when so many places around the country are being forced to close their libraries as a result of Government funding cuts, we are proud in Nottingham to have maintained a network of local libraries throughout the city. A consultation was also recently launched on developing a new central library with the ambition of making it the best children’s library in the country. Unless austerity is ended as the Prime Minister promised however, maintaining, improving or opening new libraries will become increasingly difficult.

There will be a special official celebratory launch event of the Strelley Road Library on Wednesday 12 December 2018, but it’s hoped many people will come to the library once it is opened tomorrow to see and use the library facilities.

As a part of our commitment to building a greener Nottingham, I was delighted to be involved in the launch of the new Refill scheme in the city recently. Thanks to Blue Planet 2 I believe more people are aware of the need to reduce our use of plastic in general, and single use plastic in particular. Therefore this scheme which makes it easy for individuals to re-use their bottles or refill their own bottle rather than buying a new one is very welcome.

It is a very simple but effective idea that 60 businesses in Nottingham have already signed up; with support coming from Seven Trent Water, 200 Degrees Coffee and the Malt Cross to name just a few. These businesses now proudly display their Refill window stickers, as well as appearing on the Refill app where people can find any Refill Station here in Nottingham or across the UK.

This initiative will make a real impact on one of the biggest single use plastic offenders. There has been a real move towards sustainability in the city from both citizens and businesses and all are keen to reduce their environmental impact, so I am really pleased but not surprised that this initiative has done so well in Nottingham.

Of course while we are tackling single use plastic like water bottles, it is important not to forget the other plastics which people use and dispose of every day.  Currently about 3% of waste going into our recycling bins is plastic and the majority of this is recycled, that which cannot be recycled goes to fuel cement kilns, none of the unrecyclable plastic goes to landfill. Our recycling contractor, WasteCycle runs a tight ship and we are confident that their plastic goes to legitimate destinations in Western Europe for recycling. In our general waste bins around 17% is plastic, this goes for incineration along with all other residual waste, apart from periods of incinerator shutdown for example for annual maintenance.

The government is due to launch the Resources and Waste Strategy next year, and I hope that our ability to reduce the quantity of plastic waste in the system will be supported by the Strategy.

In the meantime, I would encourage everyone to download The Refill app for free on Google Play or the App Store. Anyone wanting to get in touch, find out more about Refill, or those looking to sign up or become an ambassador, can email refill@severntrent.co.uk.

Cllr Sally Longford
Portfolio Holder for Energy and Environment

Last week was Nottingham Goose Fair, one of Europe’s largest travelling fairs with a history that dates back more than 700 years. Visitors to the fair will have had over 500 attractions to choose from, including an array of Roller Coasters, Water Rides, Giant Wheels, Bombers, Dodgems, Twists, Waltzers and Miamis familiar to Goose Fair, as well as a number of new attractions that had not visited Nottingham before.

Goose Fair is perhaps the crown jewel in Nottingham City Council’s autumn events programme. Despite significant financial pressure as the Government takes more and more money from Nottingham’s Revenue Support Grant, we still remain committed to offering an array of free or affordable citywide and local events and activities for local families to enjoy. This year they include:

. Robin Hood Marathon, 29^th and 30^th September, Vicotria Embankment and Wollaton Park
. Robin Hood Beer and Cider Festival, 17^th – 20^th October, Motorpoint Arena
. England vs Brazil UEFA Women’s Euro 2021, Saturday 6^th October, Meadows Lane
. Jurassic Kingdom Exhibition, 20^th October to 4^th November, Wollaton Park
. Hockley Hustle, 28^th October, Hockley
. Nottingham Halloween, 19^th – 31^st October, Old Market Square, Newstead Abbey and Wollaton Hall
. Nottingham Bonfire Night, 5^th November, Forrest Recreation Ground
. Nottingham Comedy Festival, 2^nd – 10^th November, Various Venues across the City.

This year’s Autumn Events programme also includes a number of events to remember the centenary of the end of the First World War including the 1918 Armistice Centenary Concert at the Royal Concert Hall on 4^th November, the Games of Remembrance at Meadow Lane on 8^th November, the Commemorative Ceremony on Sunday 11^th November at Victoria Embnakment and Battle’s Over a Nations Tribute from 6:30pm at the Victoria Embankment.

This will be complemented by a new war memorial at Victoria Embankment which will likely be completed May next year and will be the first memorial in Nottingham to list all the names of those from Nottinghamshire that died during the Great War.

I hope you and your family will be able to get down to some of these events and celebrations over the next couple of months.

Dave Trimble
Portfolio Holder for Leisure and Culture

Click here to fine What’s On.

Over the past four years Nottingham Labour has worked hard to make Clifton North a brighter and better place to live. With your help we have be able to deliver:

• New Play Area at Clifton Flower Park following £85,000 of investment by local Labour councillors for local children and families to enjoy.
• Lidl Store on the Clifton Triangle site creating new jobs and providing an affordable supermarket option for local people.
  
• 50 New Jobs with the B&M store on the Clifton Triangle, 85% of places went to local residents in Clifton.
• Jobs and Apprenticeships Fair hosted in Clifton with more than 30 stalls from employers such as Nottingham City Transport, Boots and many others.
• Better looking A453 following landscaping work with Highway England, including 3000 bulbs planted to improve the look of the area.
• Warmer Homes through external wall, cavity and loft insulation on 2,185 houses with the Green HousING Project which is also helping bring down energy bills for local people.
• Free bulky waste collections in order to prevent fly-tipping and help keep Clifton, Wilford, Silverdale and The Grove clean.
• Free residents parking scheme in Clifton Grove so local people always have somewhere to park their car.
• Fun family events including Teddy’s Bear Picnic, Ruddington Lane Family Fun Day and Clifton Parkrun for local people to enjoy in their free time.
• More School Places with £770,000 invested in expanding South Wilford Primary School, creating 100 new places so local children can go to a local school.

Lilian Greenwood and Cllr Josh Cook have already been able to achieve all this. By electing Shugutah Quddoos on Thursday 27th September, we can achieve even more for Clifton North. 

I grew up on a council estate and came to Nottingham to study. Since then, Nottingham has become my home and is where I raised my family. I have worked as a manager at the Metropolitan Support Trust leading a team delivering support for frail older people, I have been a support worker at at Women’s Aid helping survivors of domestic abuse and I now run a social enterprise that promotes equality.

I know the difference Lilian Greenwood MP and Councillor Josh Cook have made and if you elect me, I can help make things even better around here. Together we can continue to raise the issues that matter to you – including parking, speeding, potholes, protecting our parks and ensuring there are more opportunities for young people in the area.

My pledges if elected are:

1. Seek to expand free residents parking permit schemes wherever possible across Clifton, Wilford, Silverdale and Clifton Grove.
2. Work with our partners in the Police and Community Protection to tackle criminal and anti-social behaviour.
3. Continue to fund a series of affordable or free fun family events.
4. Develop a Clifton Cleanliness Campaign to tackle littering and fly-tipping in the area.
5. Increase the number of councillor surgeries to three per month.

I hope you’ll consider voting for me to elect a second Labour councillor so we can achieve even more for you.

Best wishes,
Shuguftah Quddoos

For many years Labour councillors and Lilian Greenwood MP have campaigned for the development of the Clifton triangle site as a way to create new jobs for local people, increase the choice of shops for residents in Clifton and help regenerate the wider area. The next stage of this is now taking place with the opening of a new Lidl on the site on Wednesday 6^th September, providing an affordable supermarket option for local residents.

This follows on from the opening of a new B&M store on the site last month which created 50 new jobs, 85% of which went to Clifton residents. Further plans for the site include the construction of 24 apartments, four non-food retail units and a restaurant for residents to enjoy with an associated car park on the plot of land in Green Lane as well.

We are really pleased that Lidl will be one of the new shops opening on the Clifton Triangle site. We have tried for a long time to make this a reality and there was an overwhelmingly positive response from local residents when Lilian Greenwood launched her petition in 2016. The work on the Clifton Triangle site has also been complemented by the the improvements to the town centre as well with £500,000 invested in improving the retail area in Southchurch Drive which included a new pavement, furnishings, benches and the replanting of trees.

As Nottingham Labour we are committed to investing in our communities and believe this development will help build on the improvements already made, making Clifton and even better place both for visitors and the local community.

In Nottingham Labour’s 2015 manifesto we promised to work with Intu to refurbish the Broadmarsh Centre and create an attractive and inviting entrance into the city from Nottingham Station and the South of the City.

This summer the final phase of delivering this ambition has begun:

• In May work started on the new Nottingham College City Campus Hub, a £58 million building scheme on a derelict site in Canal Street with the aim of providing high-quality college and community facilities.
• Broadmarsh Carpark was successfully demolished paving the way for a £50 million development to build the new car park and bus station, with around £20m coming from external funding.
• June saw the approval of a £30 million plan in partnership with a number of organisations including Heritage Lottery Fund, D2N2 and the NottinghamCastle Trust to transform Nottingham Castle into a world-class heritage destination that will attract hundreds of thousands of visitors to Nottingham ever year.
• Intu have also now committed to £81 million of investment in the Broadmarsh shopping centre which will move Nottingham up from its current position of 12th in the UK retail rankings to 6^th with major work set to start later this year

The Southern Gateway project represents a total of £250 million of investment in the area with funding from Nottingham City Council’s capital programme, Nottingham College, Intu and the D2N2 Local Enterprise Partnership. This level of investment will transform the southern part of Nottingham, providing a boost to the local economy, bringing thousands of new jobs for local people and millions of extra visitors to the city.

Our 2015 manifesto also had a commitment to Start the development of a new Central Library for the city and this week we were proud to announce a consultation on an exciting proposal to develop a new central library as part of a revamped Broadmarsh area. A new Central Library at Broadmarsh would be an attractive and inspiring space. Facing onto a pedestrianised Colin Street and Carrington Street, the new library would be at the heart of the revitalised Broadmarsh – flanked to the east by the new City College and to the West by the world heritage destination of Nottingham Castle.

No decision has yet to be taken about whether or not to go ahead and create a new Central Library, but we have started a public consultation to explore the possibility. We are very keen to hear what parents and children would want, as well as current library users. This is your chance to have your say and tell us if you think we should grasp this opportunity to create a new Central Library for Nottingham.

To get involved in the consultation, you can contact us online here: https://www.nottinghamcity.gov.uk/transport-parking-and-streets/broadmarsh/