20Sep

Bestwood – £200,000 for Ridge Playground

Labour Councillors in Bestwood have secured nearly £200,000 of funding for an extension to the Ridge playground. The funding comes after the new £90,000 multi-use games area was opened at the Ridge in the spring.

The playground and youth centre are very popular and Labour Councillors are pleased to be able to reinvest in the site and ensure that children are able to enjoy it for years to come. There will also be an increase in the number of youth and play sessions put on at the centre.

Labour Councillor David Smith said, ‘The investment into the Ridge has made a real difference and we are really pleased that so many families are using and enjoying it. Despite government funding being cut over the past few years, we continue to try and find new ways to fund improvements to neighbourhoods and facilities, such as the Ridge.’

20Sep

Basford – Inroads to Improvement

Councillors have been able to pay for more improvements to roads and pavements this year, although there is still a lot more they would like to do.

Following concerns raised by parents new bollards were installed outside Southwark School.

Councillor Linda Woodings said ‘This was a major concern of local parents and we hope the new bollards have stopped cars blocking the pavement and improved the visibility for children trying to cross the road at busy times. Safety around schools is really important to us and we’d ask people dropping off their children by car to try to park safely for other road users.’

On Brooklyn Bridge, funding has been approved for a higher fence. This is because the slope down from the current boundary has been a regular spot for fly-tipping.

On Heatherley Drive and Runton Drive a new pavement surface has been laid.

On Fenton Road the two bus stops have had clearways installed to make sure buses can safely pass down the road without obstruction from parked cars.

Linda, local MP Alex and Cat inspecting Basford roadworks

20Sep

Arboretum – Speed Sign for Craven

Labour Councillors in Arboretum have agreed to fund a new speed sign to improve road safety, following concerns from residents around Craven Road.

The vehicle-activated sign warns drivers to slow down and reminds them of the speed limit. The sign has been installed after residents at community meetings and surgeries raised concerns about road safety with local councillors.

Labour Councillor for Arboretum Azad Choudhry said, ‘We are pleased that the sign has now been installed as we know that many local people were worried about speeding traffic on Craven Road. We hope that these signs will make drivers slow down, helping to keep pedestrians safe. If you’re worried about speeding traffic in your area, please let us know so we can try and help.’

If you have any concerns about traffic, or any other issue, please get in touch.

06Sep

Conservatives Broke Their Promise on Rail Electrification and Instead Gave a £30 Billion Cheque To London

In the same week the Conservatives broke their promise by cancelling the electrification of the Midland Mainline, they wrote a £30 billion cheque for Crossrail 2 which will primarily benefit London and the South East.

The government is already unfair in the way it spends money on transport infrastructure. London receives £2,592.68 per head compared to the East Midlands which only receives £218.94 per head. It is clear that their priority is London and not Nottingham. The cost of the electrification of the Midlands Mainline is £700 million. Instead the Conservatives spent £30 billion on the region that already gets the most spent on transport.

This shows the warped priorities the Conservatives have when it comes to spending and the extent to which they not care about the well-being of Nottingham. We will be demanding that the Government changes this unfair situation alongside other Core Cities by lobbying Parliament on Tuesday 12^th September.

05Sep

Conservatives Gave £1 billion To the DUP Instead of Nottingham.

The Conservatives have taken £200 million from Nottingham since 2010. Instead of that money being spent here in Nottingham to create jobs, upgrade our infrastructure and build better communities, the Conservatives have instead used it to ensure the votes of two DUP MPs.

This £1 billion given to the DUP could reinstate every penny of the £200 million that the Conservatives have cut from Nottingham City Council since 2010. This would allow us to build more affordable homes, hire more social workers , repave more roads and increase the number of street cleaning teams around the City. Instead that money has been used as a political bribe to allow Theresa May to cling onto power.

This shows the warped priorities the Conservatives have when it comes to spending and the extent to which they do not care about the well-being of Nottingham. We will be demanding that the Government changes this unfair situation alongside other Core Cities by lobbying Parliament on Tuesday 12^th September.

23Aug

Nottingham Labour Invests in Bio-Gas Buses

Nottingham Labour has invested in the largest fleet of bio-gas buses in the world.

As a part of Nottingham Labour’s commitment to build a Greener Nottingham, Nottingham City Transport (NCT) has introduced the largest fleet of bio-gas buses in the world that will cut the cities carbon footprint and improve the air quality. The bio-gases will produce a reduction of 3.5 million KG Co2 emissions and 36,000 KG of NOx emissions, making an enormous contribution to improving the quality of air in the City.

NCT’s first 30 bio-gas buses will begin operating on routes 6, 10, 24, 25 and 44 from the summer, with a further 23 being added to the fleet early next year on routes 36 and 45. The new fleet has been funded through a successful bid by Nottingham City Council that secured £4.4 million from the Office for Low Emission Vehicles.

The buses provide new features such as USB power sockets, allowing people to charge their phones as they go about their day, free 4G Wi-Fi to keep passengers connected as well as the inclusion o comfier seats.

This is a nexample of how Nottingham City Council and NCT are working together to significantly improve our city’s air quality. To get the biggest fleet of electric buses in the UK shows Nottingham is leading the way for the UK’s future bus travel and shaping our future as the UK’s greenest transport city.

18Aug

Abolish the Bedroom Tax Now

Nottingham Labour unanimously passed a motion at July’s Full Council Meeting calling for the abolition of the bedroom tax – while Conservative Councillors abstained.

The tax affects approximately 6,000 households in Nottingham, the vast majority of who are on low incomes and many who are disabled.

It is also ineffective. The tax was originally intended to free up properties for others but people are, understandably, staying put and seeing their income reduced rather than move away from friends and neighbours.

Nottingham City Council is faced with the absurd situation of opposing the tax, but being forced to implement it by the Conservative government.

Nottingham Labour has written to government miisters to demonstrate their objection to the tax; and continued to press our three local Labour MPs, Lilian Greenwood, Chris Leslie and Alex Norris to speak out against the tax in Parliament and Labour’s front bench members have also said they will raise the issue,

Following Theresa May’s failure to secure the majority she wanted in June, the Conservatives had to buy the votes of 10 DUP MPs for the sum of £1 billion. In their manifesto, the DUP were opposed to the bedroom tax so it is hoped that no there is no majority in Parliament for the bedroom tax it can be overturned.

14Aug

Alan Clark Memorial

Councillor Alan Clark has a proud history of service to Nottingham. He was pivotal in establishing Robin Hood Energy, the first council-owned, not-for-profit energy company that aimed to provide the cheapest possible energy to Nottingham residents, and for the fitting of thousands of solar panels to Nottingham homes.

Alan was also instrumental in drawing up the Nottingham Declaration, an agreement signed in 2000 by over 300 councils that signalled a political commitment to tackle climate change – a breakthrough at the time.

Alan’s biggest legacy has been making Nottingham one of the greenest cities in the UK; however the impact he had on his community was far reaching.

At a local level, Alan helped 100’s of his constituents from when he was first elected in 1988. Alan was loved and respected by individuals and community groups in Bulwell, Top Valley, Rise Park, Highbury Vale and the surrounding areas.

He was also particularly committed to ensuring local children had the best start in life and was a governor for 3 local schools; serving as Chair of Governors for Southwold Primary for 30 years.

Leader of the Council and long-time friend Jon Collins said, ‘Alan will be deeply missed and he has worked tirelessly for his local community over the last 29 years.’ Former MP for Nottingham North, Graham Allen said, ‘Alan would always put the people first and to work alongside him has been a privilege.’

The funeral service for Councillor Clark was held at St Mary’s The Virgin Church, Lace Market this morning (14th August) and was very well attended. Council staff, Labour Party colleagues and members of the community joined Alan’s close friends and family for the service.

Our thoughts are with Alan’s family and friends at this time, particularly his wife, Councillor Eunice Campbell. He will be greatly missed by his colleagues and comrades of the Labour Party.

09Aug

Nottingham Labour at Pride 2017

Nottinghamshire Pride 2017

In the 50^th year since the decriminalisation of homosexuality in England, people from across Nottinghamshire came together to celebrate Pride and show support to the LGBT community.

The event took place on Saturday 29^th July 2017 in various venues in Hockley and around the city centre. It was estimated to have been the biggest Nottinghamshire Pride ever. Over 7,000 people took part in the parade and many more engaged with events across the city.

Amongst the street performers and bands, there was also a Nottingham City Transport bus. It was painted in a rainbow livery for the occasion.

Nottingham City Transport pride 2017 bus — The NCT pride bus

The Labour Party has a proud history of supporting LGBT equality and many Nottingham Labour Councillors attended the parade to show their support. Nottingham Labour also had a stall at the event.

Councillor Toby Neal, Portfolio Holder for Community and Customer Services said, ‘We were really pleased to be able to provide our support to the LGBT community again this year with our stall at Pride. This event shows the diversity of our city and everyone who attended had a great time.’

Pride continues to go from strength to strength and next year’s event promises to be even more successful.

04Aug

National Recognition for Nottingham Parks

Labour Councillor Dave Trimble displaying this years Green Flags

Green Flag Awards

Nottingham’s parks and open spaces have received national recognition by achieving 56 Green Flag Awards. The awards are given by environmental charity Keep Britain Tidy to parks that have the highest possible environmental standards, are beautifully maintained, have excellent visitor facilities and are regarded as one of the best parks in the country.

Three additional parks achieved green flag status this year, making Nottingham the City Council with the highest number in the UK.

18 sites received Green Flag Community Awards and are managed by local community groups; they include the City Hospital Garden, St Ann’s Community Orchard and Meadows Library Garden.

Park Improvements

There has been extensive cuts from central government funding, however 77 play areas have been improved in Nottingham since 2010. £36 million of external funding has been achieved since 2007. Thanks to work from volunteers and parks staff, a massive 96% of residents are satisfied with parks and open spaces.

Labour Councillor and Portfolio Holder for Leisure and Culture, Dave Trimble said, ‘We’re really pleased with the amount of green flags we have received this year and it’s great that so many sites that are managed by the community have been recognised too.’

‘As Labour Councillors we made a commitment to work with local people and deliver more Green Flag Award winning parks. We have improved the numbers year on year and people are enjoying the benefits.’

To find a Green Flag Park near you click here, or to find out what’s on in Nottingham during the summer holidays, click here.