Dear readers, It's Friday and we're about to hopefully enjoy a sunny Bank Holiday weekend. Hurrah! Today, we will be informing you about the appointment of two new mayors for the borough, sharing news of a charge following a police investigation into the attempted strangulation of a taxi driver in Carlton and details of a council plan for thousands of new homes moving forward.

Thanks for reading. See you next week.

David Bratton - Editor

Plans for thousands of homes in Gedling borough move forward

The next stage in a plan for where thousands of homes could be built in one part of Nottinghamshire has been approved.

Gedling Borough Council’s cabinet sat down on Thursday (May 21) to re-address patches of Gedling’s green areas that could one day be allocated for homes.

All local authorities that are responsible for providing housing or land for housing use something called the ‘standard method’ for calculating the housing need in their areas.

For Gedling, this number is 638 homes per year, which is a total of 11,484 new homes needing to be built over its local development plan period to 2043.

Because there are existing housing allocations in the borough and there are various housing developments either currently under construction or with planning permission, this large number drops down to 6,045 new homes being needed by 2043.

To achieve this, the Borough Council has been working towards finding suitable land where these several thousand homes could be built and has now narrowed the areas down, with an officer saying particular focus is on “as much housing as possible” to be part of the urban sprawl of Nottingham.

These patches of green space are part of the authority’s draft Local Development Plan, in which the next stage of it was approved by the cabinet on Thursday.

The proposed allocations near to the Nottingham urban sprawl include:

• The former Sherwood Academy, Gedling – 125 homes
• Lime Lane, Dorket Head – 925 homes
• Mapperley Golf Course – 750 homes
• Mapperley Plains East – 650 homes
• New Farm, Mansfield Road, Redhill – 375 homes
• Teal Close extension – adding 500 homes to the existing development that is under construction between Netherfield and Stoke Bardolph
• Willow Farm extension – adding 140 homes to the existing development that is under construction

Further out and more rural areas have also been included, which could involve quieter, leafy parts of the borough, such as Bestwood Village, Calverton, Ravenshead and the Top Wighay Farm site being expanding by hundreds of homes.

These allocations include:

• Top Wighay Farm site – 880 more homes added to the existing development that is under construction to the north of Hucknall
• Westhouse Farm, Bestwood Village extension – 300 homes added to the existing development that is under construction
• Park Road, Calverton – 500 homes added to the existing development that is under construction
• Mansfield Lane, Calverton – 170 homes added to the existing planning permission for the area
• Kighill Lane, Ravenshead – 120 homes added to the existing allocation
• Land west of Nottingham Road, Ravenshead – 50 homes
• Silverland Farm on Ricket Lane, Ravenshead – 750 homes

Speaking in Thursday’s meeting, Councillor Kyle Robinson-Payne (Lab), said he was supportive of a “robust local plan” but raised existing concerns those living in Redhill have on more development and some negative public feeling already towards the potential building on Mapperley Golf Club.

He said: “[Redhill] residents have already experienced congestion and I know issues on Mansfield Road and the poor air quality issues have been highlighted in the report.

“I do think when people raise concerns about the impact of development on our roads, transport, public health, schools, GP provision, flooding and drainage, I do think it’s important we listen to people’s concerns.

“These proposals are now moving out to consultation and, if there is further evidence that people want to provide for the areas and the locations they have concerns about, then this is precisely the moment for local people to put that forward.”

The council says it is planning a six-week consultation period from late June over the proposals, where residents are being urged to share their views.

The authority’s leader, John Clarke (Lab) said he wants “as much press as possible” over the draft development plan’s consultation period, which will “help the council form an opinion”.

By Lauren Monaghan (Local Democracy Reporter)

Man charged after taxi driver strangled and robbed on Carlton Hill

Detectives investigating the assault and robbery of a taxi driver in Carlton have charged a suspect.

The attack happened while the victim was driving a customer along Carlton Hill Road

Read more HERE

"Today is the day democracy died in Nottinghamshire": Backlash over controversial meeting changes

There are claims Nottinghamshire’s Reform group have set a ‘dangerous precedent’ for democracy after key verbal questioning during council meetings was removed.

In July 2025, a group of cross-party councillors at the Reform-led Nottinghamshire County Council were set the task to review parts of the authority’s constitution to see whether it was ‘operating effectively’ and speed up decision making.

Since March this year, attempts have been made to change part of it – relating to how the authority’s full council meetings pan out – during committee meetings, in an effort to ‘streamline’ meetings.

One attempt was knocked down that month when a Reform councillor voted against her group members but a second attempt was passed in April. The authority formally approved the changes last Thursday (May 14).

Now, overall time for council questions will reduce from 60 minutes to 45 minutes, the 60-minute time limit for motions will drop to 45 minutes and the time spent debating an item will reduce.

But a key element in the changes, continuously drawing ‘anti-democracy’ criticism from opposition members, is the removal of the verbal ‘supplementary’ question during question time, replacing it with a written question-and-answer type response.

Speaking on the constitution updates in Thursday’s meeting, Broxtowe Independent councillor Steve Carr said: “Today is the day that democracy in Nottinghamshire died.”

Councillors are able to verbally ask cabinet members questions on their departments during these meetings, but these are submitted in advance, meaning the verbal response given by a cabinet member tends to be pre-written by a council officer.

The verbal supplementary question – which has now been removed – acted as an ‘add-on’ for opposition members, where they could ask a follow up to their original question to gain clarification, detail or further scrutinise a topic – it was a verbal tool of holding the in-control party to account.

Cllr Carr said the changes were a ‘dangerous precedent’ for the authority, saying: “An administration that received only 35 percent of the vote is imposing constitutional changes that attempt to stifle scrutiny, opposition and alternative views that don’t fit in with Reform UK limited’s ethos.

“Attempts to stifle opposition are set to backfire. Opposition is a bit like water, it will always find a way. I finish my speech with two words – expect resistance.”

Cllr Jody Stoll, cabinet member for communities and public health, said the changes will mean members will get a “far more complete” answer to their questions and they will be “more robust” and “more accurate”.

Cllr Teresa Cullen (Brox Alliance) said: “People need to know this is the Reform way, to silence questions, to not allow people to know anything – it’s not good enough.”

Former Conservative leader of the authority, Cllr Sam Smith, called it “an erosion of democracy”, adding: “What on earth are you scared of? If your iPad can’t load what the officer’s going to send you in response to the supplementary questions?”

The Reform group on the authority have long maintained their ‘open door’ policy and that the changes are not an attempt to ‘stifle’ debate but to actually ‘streamline’ lengthy council meetings to ensure more council business gets done on time.

Authority leader Mick Barton (Ref) said: “We’re not getting rid of scrutiny, we’re not getting rid of democracy – we’re improving it.

“More people are going to be allowed to speak in this chamber, which is democracy for the people we represent, it’s that simple.”

Cllr Wendy Lukacs (Ref) said residents were not paying their taxes to “watch [councillors] scrapping like vultures” and to ‘point score’.

She added: “It is about being effective and efficient and getting business done which we are frequently not doing in these full council meetings.

“Reducing times for debate and increasing the overall time for constituency speeches empowers more members who don’t currently speak to raise issues and concerns in their wards that are important to their residents.”

Councillors can still ask their original questions verbally, but they will have to submit written follow up questions within five working days and await a written answer.

The ‘constituency issues’ part of council meetings will now be increased from 15 minutes to 20 minutes

New mayors announced for Gedling borough

Gedling Borough Council this week appointment of its new Mayor and Youth Mayor at the annual council meeting at the Civic Centre in Arnold.

Councillor Sandra Barnes has been named as the new Mayor of Gedling and has announced that she will be supporting the Nottingham Hospitals Charity, helping to raise funds for premature babies at Nottingham City Hospital, for the upcoming year. 

Mayor Sandra Barnes said: “It’s a great honour to be chosen as Mayor of Gedling. I’m excited to get out and meet people across the borough, support the fantastic work happening in our communities, and shine a light on the premature baby charity at the local City Hospital that helps so many people in difficult times. I’m really looking forward to the year ahead.”

In her address to the chamber, Mayor Barnes thanked the outgoing Mayor, Councillor Kyle Robinson-Payne, for his excellent service and charitable efforts over the past 12 months. He raised £20,174.85 for the Motor Neurone Disease Association to support vital research, as well as MNDA Nottingham, which meets at Mapperley Plains Social Club and provides support to local people diagnosed with the disease.

Outgoing Mayor, Councillor Kyle Robinson-Payne, said: “During my year as Mayor, I have been met with so much kindness and selfless generosity across Gedling. I leave this role full of admiration for our borough, a place defined by compassion, community spirit and people who always look out for one another. Gedling is truly a special place, and I feel lucky to have had the opportunity to serve the place I call home.”

The Youth Council also re-appointed Lydia Yates as Youth Mayor. Lydia will once again represent the voices of young people in Gedling and work alongside the Mayor and council officers on youth-related initiatives throughout the year. 

Youth Mayor, Lydia Yates, said: “I’m proud to continue as Youth Mayor and to represent young people across Gedling for another year. I want every young person to feel listened to, valued and included, whatever their background or experience. To me, leadership means speaking up for others and making sure every voice has the chance to be heard.”

Councillor Kathryn Fox, Portfolio Holder for Life Chances and Vulnerability, said:  “Lydia has been a brilliant Youth Mayor over the past year and I’m delighted that she has been re-elected by the Youth Council and will be continuing in the role. She has shown real dedication to representing young people across the borough, and I know she will continue to be a passionate and effective voice for them in the year ahead, including being on the Greater Carlton Neighbourhood Board. I look forward to working with her again.”

🌦️ Weather Update

☀️ A dry and very warm to hot day with hazy sunshine. A gentle breeze will strengthens slightly during the afternoon before easing light by the evening. Maximum temperature 29 °C. There will be a dry start to the night but it will cloud over with outbreaks of rain in places during the second half. The wind remains light for most.

☀️ THE WEEKEND: Any rain should quickly clear on Saturday with sunny spells to follow. Sunshine turning a little hazy by the evening. On Sunday it will be largely bright and sunny throughout and notably hot. The wind generally remaining light.