Dear readers, I hope you had a lovely long weekend and made the most of the surprise heatwave.

Today we have news of major roadwork projects planned in the coming weeks across the borough, changes to bus services in the borough following a fall in passenger numbers and a stroke sufferer shares his survival story with us.

Thanks for reading. See you tomorrow.

David Bratton - Editor

Full list of major borough roadworks over next month

Nottinghamshire County Council is set to send out its crews to tackle damaged roads across four borough locations over the next month.

In March 2026, the Reform-led authority announced it would be spending a “game-changing” £122.5 million on the county’s crumbling road network in 2026/27, with an aim to resurface and patch around 16 per cent of roads.

The following month, it announced a further boost of £58.75 million to go on highways, making the year’s total spend on roads “the largest investment ever made” in Nottinghamshire’s highways, at £181.25 million.

Both boosts of cash came after a September 2025 survey found about 38 per cent of the county’s roads in ‘poor condition’, along with more than half of all road marking being in ‘poor’ or ‘very poor’ condition.

Reform’s two new JCB Pothole Pro machines – hired for £132,000 for the year – will also be out fixing some of the damage caused to roads, with experts previously telling the Nottingham Post they can prepare a pothole “in as little as five minutes”.

With works across various parts of the road network already under way, here is a list of larger-scaled works the authority’s highway team, VIA, is aiming to start between Tuesday, May 26 and Monday, June 22:

Gedling

• Lambley Avenue, Mapperley, resurfacing works to the whole length of road, estimated to start on May 26 and finish on May 31.
• Shelford Road, Gedling (Phase 1), resurfacing from Arnold Lane to Freda Avenue, estimated to start on June 1 and finish on June 12.
• Longue Drive, Calverton, resurfacing works from Georges Lane to Jumelles Drive and from Rowan Close to Jumelles Drive, estimated to start on June 1 and finish on June 5.
• Prospect Road, Carlton, resurfacing from Valley Road to Standhill Road, estimated to start on June 1 and finish on June 12.

Fall in passenger numbers leads to changes to Gedling borough bus services

Nottingham City Transport (NCT) has announced network-wide changes that will be introduced across the borough from Sunday, June 21, 2026.

Every service has been reviewed by NCT and independently, with the number of customers boarding at every stop on every route analysed, at all times of the day.

This has identified areas and times of day where NCT is over-providing capacity, as well as some services that just aren’t carrying enough people to cover the basic costs of running them.

The firm say these network-wide changes are necessary to balance the cost of providing the bus network against the number of people travelling.

The number of people travelling by bus has never fully recovered since the pandemic, with 1 in 10 fewer customers each year. This is because of the increase in home working, hybrid working and online shopping, which means people need to travel less.

In addition, Nottingham has experienced a number of major roadwork schemes in recent years, which have seen customer numbers decline on affected routes. Passengers found alternative ways to travel whilst services were disrupted and despite the works now being finished, they haven’t returned to the bus. As an example, one group of services is carrying 25% fewer people than before the works on their routes. 

The 50% increase in the Bus Fare Cap at the start of 2025 has contributed to decline in bus usage around the country, with NCT passenger numbers in the last year falling by 3.77%. 

David Conway, NCT Head of Operations said, “A combination of higher costs and fewer people travelling is not a sustainable position and we must make network changes to ensure we can continue to provide the quality bus service the residents of Greater Nottingham are used to enjoying and other parts of the country look at enviously”.

For most customers on core routes in the borough, the level of service during core daytime periods will largely be the same as now – although some times may have changed. 

On several routes, there will be frequency reductions on Saturday mornings before about 9am and in the evenings on all days, to better reflect the number of people travelling at these times. By reducing frequencies at quieter times of day, NCT can reduce costs and keep the busier daytime service running.

Whilst NCT has had to make changes, there are also areas and services where the network review addresses customer requests for improvements, including:

• Improved Sunday frequencies along Carlton Road and Carlton Hill on Lilac 25, 27
• New links between Carlton, Gedling and Colwick Industrial Estate and Daleside Road Retail Parks on Red 45

Those route changes in full...

Lilac 24
This service will no longer run, with parts of the route replaced by changes to other services. The section of route between Victoria Retail Park, Rivendell, Gedling and Carlton Hill will be replaced by an extension of Red 45, which will run every 30 minutes throughout Monday to Saturday daytimes.

Lilac 25, 25B
Revised timetable on all days. On Sunday daytimes, the frequency will be increased to run every 20 minutes. On Monday to Saturday evenings, the last bus from City will operate 15 minutes later, departing at 23:32. There will be fewer evening buses through to Arnold to better reflect the number of people using the service in the evening.

Pathfinder 26, N26
Revised timetable on all days.
The 07:35 from City to Carlton-le-Willows Academy will run as a 26B, rather than a 24, and will terminate on Burton Road. The Monday to Friday evening service will operate every 2 hours to better reflect the number of people using the service in the evening. The last bus will continue to depart Nottingham at 23:10. The 01:00 N26 journey on Saturday nights will be renumbered 26 and serve Norwood Gardens in Southwell. This service is part-funded by EMCCA.

Lilac 27
Revised timetable on all days. On Sunday daytimes, the frequency will be increased to run every 20 minutes.

Full details and timetables are available at www.nctx.co.uk/june26change and in the NCTX Buses app. Customers who need help planning their journeys can contact the NCT Travel Centre on 0115 950 60 70 or by email travelcentre@nctx.co.uk

Borough man says stroke won't stop him from leading active life

For Stroke Awareness Month, we’re sharing Terry’s story.

Terry suffered a stroke at the age of 73, which left him struggling with communication, balance and ongoing fatigue. However, with invaluable support from Nottinghamshire Healthcare’s Community Stroke team, he is now recovering well as his speech improves, and he regains his independence. 

Terry was a Primary School Head Teacher who retired early due to a heart condition. He has been married to his wife, Terri, for 50 years.

He is a very active member of Mapperley and Arnold Rotary Club, organising charity events in the community and he leads a Memory café for those people living with dementia and their carers. He is also actively involved in Calverton U3A, running a social group for men.

At the time of Terry’s stroke, he experienced violent vomiting as he was going to bed and woke up early morning feeling confused and unstable.

“I passed off the vomiting as food poisoning as we had been out for lunch,” explained Terry.

“I then woke up at around 4am and again at 11am feeling very confused and unstable and difficulty in speaking. My wife realised I was having a stroke, as my face was also drooping slightly on the left-hand side. She phoned for an ambulance immediately having seen the FAST adverts on TV.

“While waiting for the ambulance, I felt frightened and emotional as I realised, I was having a stroke, and I knew what the consequences might be.”

The paramedics monitored Terry, and he was taken to the Queen’s Medical Centre (QMC) in Nottingham. After scans and being offered a clot buster injection he was taken to the Acute Stroke Care Unit. 

“I was in QMC for four days where they discovered my carotid artery was 95% blocked and they confirmed a right hemispheric stroke,” said Terry.

“I was added to the waiting list for right carotid endarterectomy and bovine patch repair, a surgical technique to mend or strengthen, cardiac, vascular or soft tissue damage.

“The operation was done within two weeks of the stroke. I was in hospital for a further four days because my blood pressure was very low.”

Terry was then referred to the Trust’s Community Stroke team who provide specialist rehabilitation to people over 18 for the first 12 months following a stroke. 

Tiffany Coulter, Speech and Language Therapist at the Trust said, “The stroke team supported him with reviewing and assessing his balance in and out of the home and with fatigue management.

"They also assessed any cognitive deficit post stroke as well as assessing and supporting his communication needs to access his activities of daily living and to enable him to return to all the positive things he contributes to in the community.”

Terry added “We are very impressed with the support we received from the stroke team. They explained what had happened to me, so I had a clear understanding of my situation. They gave me strategies for everyday living and how to move forward and encouraged me to set targets and were very encouraging when I achieved them.

“Tiffany accompanied me and supported me in my first major target which was to attend the Memory café and talk to the clients and carers.

“The team also encouraged me to start driving again as I had passed the cognitive tests and peripheral vision test for the DVLA. This was a huge step in achieving independence and improved my self-esteem.”

Although Terry is recovering well, the stroke has affected his day-to-day living, but this has not stopped him from leading an active life.

“I miss being able to communicate easily as I organise many events,” says Terry. “I particularly find it difficult to answer complex questions, especially over the ‘phone. I have to take things more slowly than I used to do in getting around as my balance was affected, but using a walking stick helps greatly. I suffer still from stoke fatigue which can be very frustrating, and I usually need a nap in the afternoon and go to bed much earlier than I used to.  Since the stroke I have a loss of appetite and food tastes very bland to me.

“However, I am determined not to let the stroke stop me from leading an active life, I have just had to adapt a little bit. I watched my father battle to get back to fitness after his stroke when he was 60, and this inspired me to fight back and not give up. That is so important to me and my family.”

A stroke also has a profound impact on family members and Terry’s stroke brought anxieties to his wife and daughter.

“My wife and daughter have experienced tiredness, anxiety for my health and changes in routines.  But they have also felt a sense of relief now they have seen the progress being made and the positive outcomes.”

Terry’s wife said, “We are proud of his determination and are glad to see a lot of the old Terry back again.”

Terry has achieved many of his short term aims and now wants to become more fluent in his speech, walk more and become less reliant on his walking stick for balance. 

“I still need to improve my fine motor skills particularly on the laptop, which I still find frustrating,” says Terry. “My longer-term aims are to resume active leadership of the Memory Café and increase my participation in Rotary Club activities. I also am hoping to tackle the large wooden model which I received as a gift at Christmas, just before my stroke.

“We are also looking forward to planning more active holidays in the future and spending quality time with my grandchildren when circumstances allow.”

Terry’s story is a powerful reminder of the lasting impact a stroke can have and why raising awareness, recognising the signs, and supporting recovery is so important.

You can find more information about the Trust’s Community Stroke Teamor find out more about stroke and causes, symptoms, prevention, rehabilitation and support services at The Stroke Association or NHS website.

🌦️ Weather Update

☀️ Starting fine and dry with little cloud and light winds. By the afternoon some patchy cloud will develop, and there is a low risk of isolated thunderstorms in the afternoon. Some brisk easterly winds developing. Tonight it will be dry, with cloud building through the evening. Some low cloud may spread in from the coast later in the night.

Tomorrow any low cloud will quickly dissipate to leave another dry day with good spells of sunshine. Feeling noticeably cooler in the brisk easterly breeze.