2015 County Life Enjoy your County Life With residents’ inspiring real-life stories and the latest on your Council services. Could you foster? . How to get better broadband . Where your Council Tax goes . Find out what’s on near you . WIN a great family day out . nottinghamshire.gov.uk 0300 500 80 80 Every day one child goes into care Could you be the one to help? nottscc.gov.uk/foster Figure based on a yearly average. County Life County Life 3 03 Welcome to County Life Contents As the new Chief Executive for Nottinghamshire County Council I’m excited Improving your neighbourhood 4 about my new role and very proud to continue serving the people of Your county news 6 Nottinghamshire. At the Council, dealing with increased demand on our services and with Get involved in volunteering 8 reduced funding, means we have to work much smarter to continue delivering Wedding planning at Rufford 10 excellent services for less money. Getting into work - 12 This copy of County Life includes some great examples of how we are doing Bradley’s story this, from making more services available online to offering rewarding volunteer opportunities that also help support our services. Digital First - fit for the future 13 As usual the focus of this publication is the residents of Nottinghamshire, What’s on 14 this is because we always put the customer at the heart of everything we do, remembering that every person has their own unique needs and story. Faster broadband 18 making lives better I always find these real life stories inspiring, where people have shown strength to overcome adversity or demonstrated real kindness for no other reason than How to become a foster carer 20 to help other people. This is why it’s such a privilege for me to be entrusted with the responsibility of the Chief Executive role, working to improve the lives Library Access Points 22 of all our residents. to communities Also included in this edition is important information on exactly how your Your Council Tax information 23 Council Tax is spent and contact details for your local Councillor. Your Councillor 28 I hope you find all the content of County Life interesting and that in some cases it will inspire people to get involved in new activities that will be both personally Reader survey and prize draw 31 fulfilling and support the communities in our county. Finally please let us know what you think of County Life by sharing your Your annual County Life costs 19p per copy to feedback using the survey on page 31. produce, print and distribute to 352,279 homes in the county. The magazine provides useful information about how your Council Tax is spent and how you can access services. County Life is printed on lumisilk paper which is sourced from well-managed and sustainable resources conforming to the Forest Stewardship Council’s standards. If you would like to receive County Life in a different format, please call 0300 500 80 80. County Life is distributed for the County Council by The National Leaflet Company. If you have any comments about the delivery of your copy or are Anthony May interested in advertising please phone 0115 977 4191 or email Chief Executive of [email protected] Nottinghamshire County Council All information is correct at the time of print, March 2015. Front cover photo: The front cover image was taken on the road between Newark and Aslockton. County Life 04 It was fantastic and Improving your turned out to be a really busy day neighbourhood for shops. Sandy We know just how important your local environment is to the quality of life for you and your community. To improve your neighbourhood, Nottinghamshire County Council is working hard to deliver high quality public buildings and highway improvements. The following are just a few examples that are due to be completed during the next three years. Sandy really does love In August last year, the upper part of from Nottinghamshire County Council Hucknall! the high street was pedestrianised and Ashfield District Council. when the committee organised a High Sandy Singleton is a woman on a Street Bonanza fun day. “This showed mission, as chair of the community us what it will be like when the work group ‘We Love Hucknall’. “The is completed” said Sandy. “It was group is delighted with the plans to fantastic and turned out to be a really pedestrianise Hucknall High Street” busy day for shops. As a community We are all said Sandy, who has lived in the area we are delighted with the plans to looking forward to for more than 15 years. The pedestrian pedestrianise Hucknall High Street”. zone will be between Watnall Road a safer and more and Baker Street and will create an Work is due to start in August 2015 environmentally attractive shopping centre, which will and complete in 2017 at an estimated entice new retailers and promote the cost of £12.9m. The majority of the friendly shopping regeneration of Hucknall. funding is from the Department of experience. Transport (DfT) and the remainder is The scheme which has been Sandy designed and led by the County Council will also address the problems of congestion with the construction of a new road and two new traffic signalised junctions. To find out more information about the project visit ‘We Love Hucknall’ was formed nottinghamshire.gov.uk/ around 18 months ago and its aim hucknallimprovements i: or to get involved contact is to promote local businesses and the ‘We Love Hucknall’ shops and to encourage people to community group at shop locally. welovehucknall.com County Life County Life 5 05 Nottinghamshire Archives extension takes shape The current Nottinghamshire Archives building in Castle Meadow Road, Nottingham was opened by the Princess Royal in 1993 and had almost reached full storage capacity. The new building which Your new Worksop Bus Station is set to open in late April 2015, is part of a £2.5m investment project Worksop’s new bus station is on the also features sustainable design to preserve the county’s rich road to completion with a scheduled elements including low energy documentary heritage. It will include finish date of August 2015. Situated lighting, solar (pvc) cells and rain a refreshments area, two meeting on the corner of Watson Road water harvesting for toilet flush. rooms and exhibition spaces. and Newcastle Street it will feature These innovations have been used new facilities including toilets, baby successfully in other bus stations, Nottinghamshire Archives hold changing room and a café/shopping including Retford, Newark and around four million documents in space. Mansfield. archives with the oldest document being a Henry II Charter dating Designed and funded by There is also an exciting pre-let back to between 1155 and 1165. Nottinghamshire County Council in opportunity for a café/retail unit within There are a wide range of other partnership with Bassetlaw District the new bus station development. documents such as council records, Council, the new bus station historical artefacts and collections For more information visit from families. nottinghamshire.gov.uk/ i: worksopbusstation If you’ve never had a chance to Property awards explore the Archives before, there will be a series of events offering Mansfield’s £9m state-of-the-art bus facility that offers both comfort and residents the chance to do just that. station has scooped a number of protection to visitors and the local prestigious awards for its design and community as a working hub into the Find out more at construction. The bus station beat 11 town”. other regional finalists from across nottinghamshire.gov.uk/ The County Council also received i: archives the country to pick up the Community further accolades at the LABC Benefit Award at the Royal Institution Awards, where its work at Carnarvon of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) Primary School in Bingham and national awards in October 2014 for St Peter’s Primary School in East the contribution it has made to the Bridgford was praised and received town since it opened in April 2013. a Finalist Certificate for the ‘Best It was also crowned ‘Best Public Educational Building’. Service Building’ at the grand final of All of the awards are testament to 2014 Local Authority Building Control the Council’s high standards for Awards (LABC). Judges described workmanship and commitment to the building as “a superb community improving your neighbourhood. Sandy Singleton County Life 06 Your County News Doing things differently The County Council has made changes to some of As a result of your responses: its budget plans following feedback from local people. • Plans to close three ageing care homes in Gedling, The Council must save £77m by 2018 to balance Ollerton and Worksop have been postponed to allow its books. Its ‘Doing things differently’ budget time for further investment in alternatives, such as Extra consultation asked for views on 26 proposals to Care places. provide better value-for-money and provide services in different ways, saving more than £30m towards • A proposal to improve recycling rates by piloting a the shortfall. scheme of smaller general household waste bins will not go ahead, but other measures to reduce the county’s More than 17,000 people responded to the annual £20m waste disposal bill will be explored. consultation by completing the Council’s survey, signing petitions, commenting online or taking part To find out how the Council’s budget will be spent in in focus groups. 2015/16 visit nottinghamshire.gov.uk/whatwespend Libraries working together with your communities In response to its budget challenge, underway with Parish Councils, Nottinghamshire County Council is academies and support groups who looking to work with local communities wish to be involved.