The Burton Joyce junction where residents have to leave home in their wellies

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☔ Burton Joyce residents say they are forced to wear wellies to leave their homes during torrential downpours because drains "just can't cope"

Burton Joyce residents claim they have to wear wellies to leave their homes during torrential downpours because drains “just can’t cope”.

The corner of Whitworth Drive, which links to the original Nottingham Road in the village, is routinely left submerged in water after heavy rain.

Rainwater from a nearby field travels down a ditch along Whitworth Drive, then enters a culvert under the road, where it is released elsewhere.

However, residents living nearby say the drain system “just can’t cope” in extreme weather, and more maintenance is needed on the regularly blocked ditch grates and water pipes.

One couple, who have lived near the culvert for 15 years, say the drain at the end of the their driveway is like a “letterbox” and regularly gets blocked with debris when the corner floods.

One half of the couple, a woman, told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS): “We have floods at the bottom of our driveways to such an extent the only way we can actually leave is either wearing high wellingtons, or in the car – you can’t walk in normal shoes.

“The water coming down is already bringing twigs and debris so it soon blocks it. It just doesn’t work.”

The resident said the flooding happens “more than once a year”, continuing: “The way the climate’s going at the moment, we’ve had much more heavy rainfall this year than ever before, so it’s going to get worse.”

Her partner said two to three inches of mud is left behind once the water clears, and Nottinghamshire County Council has to clear the street with a tractor and road sweepers.

He added: “When it’s steady rain, I think it’s alright, but when you have a sudden downpour, it just can’t cope, it breaches that culvert.”

“That grate [at the bottom of the culvert], the water just bursts over the side, so whether they could raise the banks up? When it gets into the pipe, it’s just not a sufficient diameter to cope with the volume.”

Jillian Archer, 69, who has lived at the flooding hotspot for 22 years, told the LDRS her husband decided to raise the entrance of their driveway to stop the water that was coming “seven feet up the drive”.

She believes more regular maintenance is needed on the culvert.

Ms Archer said: “The water’s got to obviously come down off the field, so if they put some more barriers or a drain barrier somewhere further up to try and stop it.

“We’re pre-fortified against it with the driveway being slightly higher. If it comes down we’re out with brushes when it subsides to wash the mud away… we try keep our own spots clear, but there’s not really much else we can do.”

A section of land in between the junction and the Colwick Loop Road serves as a bund – a mound of earth used to control water flow – where residents say the ground underneath is filled with cages and stone dozens of feet deep to help collect and filter rainwater.

Ms Archer said: “If it did, if that functioned as it’s supposed to do, any water coming down from that culvert would go straight into that.

“When that gets to capacity it filters it straight off into the dyke across the road which then filters down towards the River Trent.”

A 466-signature strong petition was given to Nottinghamshire County Council in September 2025 by Conservative Councillor, Mike Adams, calling for improved drainage at the junction.

The authority gave its response in March, where a document stated it was aware of the “historic” flooding problems there, continuing: “Following Storms Babet and Henk, works were carried out to clear vegetation, de-silt the watercourse, and install leaky dams to help trap debris
upstream.

“The grill is now inspected monthly, as well as before and after storm events triggered by severe weather warnings. The grill is cleared as needed during inspections.”

The council says it will be carrying out a survey on the culvert system underneath the road where if it’s found to be working properly, the problems may “stem from water unlawfully flowing” onto the roads from higher up land.

Speaking to the LDRS, Cllr Mike Adams said: “When kids are walking to school then end up walking on the road to navigate themselves through the water.”

“So much water comes down. It’s not just a drizzle, it’s a torrent… It spills into the A612 where if you’re driving inland towards Burton Joyce the whole left lane gets covered in water.

Cllr Adams hopes the pipe carrying the water under the road gets expanded in future or that more drains are put along that section of Nottingham Road.

The LDRS asked the County Council for an update on its survey works. No response was given by the time of publication.

By Lauren Monaghan
(Local Democracy Reporter)

♻️ Major new recycling rules affecting all borough homes now in force

The UK government’s Simpler Recycling scheme is now officially in force across Gedling borough.

Residents can now recycle more of their everyday household items from home.

Households can now place a wider range of materials into their green recycling bins, including:

• Tetra Pak items such as drink cartons.
• Plastic bottles, pots, ice cream tubs, fruit punnet trays and toothpaste tubes.
• Aluminium foil (scrunched into a ball) and metal food trays.
• Aluminium tubes, e.g. tomato purée tubes.

Householders are asked to ensure that all items are empty and clean, with lids put back on where possible, and placed loose in the bin – not inside plastic bags. This helps ensure materials can be properly sorted and recycled.

Glass will continue to be collected in the glass collection boxes as normal.

Councillor Marje Paling, Portfolio Holder for Environmental Services, said:

“These new changes are all about making it simpler and more convenient to recycle from home.

"Most of us use items like foil, cartons and toothpaste tubes every day, so being able to pop them straight into your recycling bin is a big step forward.

By making small changes together, we can reduce waste, protect our environment and keep Gedling a cleaner, greener place to live.”

As part of Simpler Recycling, councils are also required to collect food waste for households, however this is not due to start across Nottinghamshire until October 2027. 

A small trial of food waste collections will take place later this year in some areas of the borough. More information about this will be made available from the council nearer the time. 

For more information about the changes and a list of what can and can’t be recycled, visit www.gedling.gov.uk/recycling.

⚠️ Heads up...

🌤️ Weather: Any early mist or fog patches will soon clear today to leave a largely dry day, albeit cloudier than on Tuesday, with bright or sunny periods. Chance of a few showers breaking out into the afternoon. Staying mild, with light winds. Tonight, it will become dry with variable cloud and clear spells overnight. Light winds.

After a cool start, tomorrow will be a dry day, with variable amounts of cloud and some bright or sunny spells. Feeling cooler compared to previous days. Light winds.

👓 Industry award nod for top team at Arnold opticians

The team at an Arnold opticians is celebrating after being shortlisted for a top industry award.

Specsavers on Front Street, which is locally owned and run, has reached the final stages in the Awards for Excellence’s Dispensing category. The annual awards recognise the achievements and professionalism across all UK and Ireland Specsavers stores.

The dispensing team at Specsavers Arnold, which has many years of collective experience, combines extensive product knowledge and clinical expertise with a passion for personalised customer care. From helping people find the best glasses for their needs and their lifestyle through to carrying out repairs and adjustments when required, the team is committed to delivering excellent service at every stage of the customer journey.

"We’re delighted to have made the top three in the Dispensing category," Vineet Nehra, optometrist and director at Specsavers Arnold, said.

"As a team, we’re always striving to be the best we possibly can be, and being recognised by the wider business for this prestigious award reflects the amazing job the team does every day.

"It’s a testament to the dispensing team and their skill, hard work and ongoing dedication to excellence. We’re looking forward to the awards ceremony taking place at the ICC in Birmingham at the end of the month, and hopefully we’ll be celebrating on the night!"

🏉 RUGBY MATCH REPORT: Belgrave 17 - 45 Paviors

Last weekend, Pavs travelled away for the third time in four weeks to Belgrave RFC in the penultimate round of the Midlands Regional 2 North competition.

With the league going to the wire this year, it was imperative that Pavs took maximum points from the game which explained the rather tense excitement pre match. 

On a particularly British spring day, with heavy rain and alternating bright sunshine, it was Pavs who grabbed the early initiative. Two minutes in, the powerful Phil Eggleshaw touched down following some impressive back.

George Billam added the extras to give Pavs a 0-7 lead. A leaping Matt Molyneux caught the resultant kick off, before making metres. From the ruck, full back Dan Flint, outpaced the Belgrave to cross the line and give Pavs a 0-12 lead with four minutes gone.

Belgrave then struck back following a series of penalties at the ruck and some effective forward drives to narrow the score to 7-12. Moments later, prop Conner Tomlinson was forced off by a calf injury and replaced by debutee Dylan Cameron. Pavs kept the ball in hand and continued to attack.

This resulted in two further tries for scrum half Jonty Green and centre Dan Stokes on twenty-three and twenty-five minutes along with two Billam conversions to give Pavs a 7-26 lead. Belgrave closed out the half with another powerful series of drives to score a try of their own to take the half time score to 12-26. 

Right the beginning of the second half, Pavs seemed to engage the official’s wrath, with first the unlucky prop Dylan Cameron going to the bin followed by quickly George Billam. Due to the injury to Tomlinson, and the move to the following unopposed scrum, Pavs also had to remove Conner Burney and so found themselves down to twelve for the sin bin period.

Pressure told and the home side drew close at 17-26. With both players restored and nerves calmed, Pavs resumed their attacking style, resulting with wing Jack Stanford diving in at the corner to score his third try in three games to give Pavs a 17-31 lead on sixty-three minutes.

Danny Green then replaced Luke Snowden on the wing. Centre Dan Stokes outpaced the Belgrave and went in for his second and third tries on sixty-nine and seventy-five minutes and with more Billam extras, gave Pavs a 17-45 lead.

Sam Bradley then replaced Connar Burney as the game drew to a close. Things became a little fraught by the end, but Pavs were more than pleased to achieve their aim in taking five points away from home with a 17-45 victory. 

Pavs next game is Matlock RFC at home on April 11. A huge game for both sides. All support welcome to support the boys . Kick off 3.00pm. There is also a Paviors Beer Festival that weekend with beer, cider and rugby available from Friday through to Sunday.