News – Page 7
Pandemic News From Egypt
You may not have heard this on the news, but the government in Egypt has instructed the cities’ taxi drivers to drive around Cairo sounding their car horns.
It’s hoped that a return to familiar city sounds will help restore calm following the pandemic.
Operation “Toot N Calm Em” will last for a week.
Gedling Police Newsletter For December 2020
(Received January 2021)
Please follow the link to read Inspector Pearson’s latest newsletter:
Gedling Police Newsletter Dec 2020.pdf – 475.5 KB
Update from the Songbirds
We would like to thank Woodborough residents for their amazing generosity and support regarding our now infamous carrol singing tour. As a village we raised £597 for Nottingham University Hospitals Charities and we know that money will be put to very good use in helping both patients and staff in these most challenging of times.
We have been in touch with Nottinghamshire Police and Inspector Chris Pearson was able to confirm that the carolling tour was indeed legal and that things could perhaps have been approached differently by the officers that night, as well as in the subsequent press statement.
We hold no ill feelings towards the police force, we understand that they are under immense pressure and like the rest of us are just trying to do their best.
Nottinghamshire police are supportive of this year’s tour and will assist us in putting on the event again, even if we are still trapped in a world of Covid-19 restrictions!
We would also like to thank Gaynor Smith and Clive Wisdom for their wonderful community spirit in allowing safe spaces for us to stop off along our route.
Next Christmas we will also make it up to Sunningdale/Doverbeck Drive but until then we wish you all a happy and healthy 2021.
Woodborough in Bloom
February is usually a dismal wet month but thank goodness a short one. Soon the soil will begin to warm up again with the spring sunshine.
Whilst we wait for this to happen, on your walks around the village look at the many planters and troughs as the bulbs begin to peep through the soil. We have planted over 1000 crocus bulbs to bring some cheer to the grey days.
Unfortunately once again we will be unable to hold our AGM, but our accounts will be audited and a copy sent to the Parish Council.
A special thank you to Timmermans, without whose very generous support we would be struggling to maintain our high standard of planting at this difficult time.
Our funds are a little depleted as we have been unable to hold our fundraising coffee morning. Any donations to Woodborough in Bloom are greatly appreciated.
We aim to plant for the summer as normal
Thank you to all our supporters. Keep safe.
The Woodborough in Bloom team
Jan, Jane and Elizabeth
Poem for February
Home
J K Cave.
FIBRE-OPTIC BROADBAND FOR WOODBOROUGH?
Nottinghamshire County Council is investing £750,000 in order to step up efforts to deliver high-speed broadband to rural parts of the county. Broadband speeds in Woodborough are at best variable, and only part of the village is currently able to connect via a Fibre To The Cabinet (FTTC) connection. Whilst considerably better than the older copper-cable connections, broadband speeds can still be slow by today’s standards and also somewhat unreliable. Full fibre connections are being made across the country (Fibre To The Premises – FTTP), but progress is very slow, especially in rural areas.
One way that this is being speeded up is via the Community Fibre Partnership, whereby a Community scheme is designed around businesses and residential needs of those keen to have a better connection; Woodborough is one such village that Openreach are happy to consider. As a result, I have taken it upon myself to collate a list of potential people interested in such a scheme. To date 50 have expressed interest, and whilst this great, I suspect that we need many more if we are ultimately to be successful at an affordable price.
Unsurprisingly, the first question that people ask is “What will it cost?”. Unfortunately, no-one is able to answer that question until a bespoke scheme has been designed; what is certain is that the cost will be lessened by the more people that can be encouraged to join. Once the full cost is known, vouchers are potentially available from both Government & Nottinghamshire County Council, to defray the cost. The funding from the council will ‘top-up’ the Government’s existing Gigabit Broadband Voucher Scheme (GBVS), which helps homes and businesses in hard-to-reach locations achieve a fast and reliable broadband service.
Through the GBVS voucher scheme, rural homes and businesses with broadband speeds of less than 100Mbps, (which are not in any existing government funded plans for an upgrade), can apply for the vouchers worth up to £1,500 per home and up to £3,500 for each small and medium-sized business (SME) to help support the cost of installing new gigabit capable broadband connections. The Nottinghamshire County Council ‘top-up’ voucher will effectively double the existing voucher value, meaning that homes could claim up to £3,000 per installation and small and medium-sized businesses could claim up to a maximum of £7,000 funding per installation.
The funding from the County Council is available on a first come, first served basis – so it is imperative that interested parties register their details quickly. No financial commitment is required but it is important for us as a Community to obtain a quotation for any intended Partnership scheme to see if the available subsidy from the gigabit voucher schemes can cover the cost. If a financial contribution is required, then that will only become apparent once a quotation has been received. If you suffer from poor internet service, please consider this scheme as a good potential opportunity to rectify that.
For anyone interested, please email the following details to farm@woodboroughpark.co.uk :
NAME
ADDRESS
LANDLINE TELEPHONE NUMBER
BUSINESS or RESIDENTIAL USE
Thank you
John Charles-Jones
PLEASE NOTE: AT THIS STAGE NO FIRM COMMITTMENT IS REQUIRED, MERELY EXPRESSIONS OF INTEREST.