Graham Wright

New Hedgehog Highways Opened!

16th August 202316th August 2023 Graham Wright

Unlike for Ruddington’s road traffic at the moment, progress for one of our nocturnal creatures has just been made a little easier thanks to some generous, nature-loving volunteers from a nearby village. It’s after RUDDINGTON.info teamed up with Wild Things Keyworth this summer to ‘Help Our Hedgehogs’ by creating a hedgehog gap in a deserving Ruddington garden – which would be fitted with an especially carved and decorated ‘Ruddington Hedgehog Highway’ surround, too. In the end, the group’s founder, Jennifer Manning-Ohren, agreed with carpenter Simon Dunstan, artist Liz Waddell and chief gap-driller Nick Ellerby they’d…

Green Memory Café to Continue

14th August 202321st November 2023 Graham Wright

After successfully trialling the idea a couple of months’ ago, organisers of a new initiative in Ruddington for people living with memory loss (and their carers) is set to be held here every two months. The ‘Rushcliffe Green Memory Café’ will continue to take place in and around the newly refurbished Visitor Centre by the lake in Rushcliffe Country Park – with the next one happening this Wednesday 16th August. Once again you’re invited along to experience nature-based activities, short walks or simply to relax, socialise and enjoy the beautiful surroundings. Indoor and…

Further Disruptive Ruddington Roadworks Announced

12th August 202315th August 2023 Graham Wright

The patience of Ruddington’s long-suffering motorists is to be tested yet again between now and next Easter with a raft of different highway works taking place in our village. The most significant ones, liable to cause the biggest delays, are associated with the long-awaited junction layout improvements at the Kirk Lane/Loughborough Road/Flawforth Lane traffic lights*. These works to add extra turning lanes there started in July, with preparatory work by National Grid. The package of agreed improvements is now continuing – as all the different parties undertake their respective tasks. Although VIA East Midlands says…

Cash Boost for Ruddington’s Railway

10th August 202310th August 2023 Graham Wright

The carriage shed interior as it looks now

Volunteers at Nottingham Transport Heritage Centre on Mere Way have revealed one of their projects has been awarded significant grant funding by Rushcliffe Borough Council to help them complete it. The £40,000 being given to the Great Central Railway (Nottingham) Ltd (GCRN) ‘Carriage Shed Project’ comes from the UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF) and Rural England Prosperity Fund (REPF) – part of the UK Government’s ‘Levelling Up’ agenda providing funding for local investment. The money, combined with match funding from East Midlands Railway Trust and LNER (GC) Heritage Trust will allow the already…

New Secondary School Applications Warning

8th August 202313th August 2023 Graham Wright

Parents of Ruddington children who will be starting Year Six this September are being told they can now apply for their secondary school place. Nottinghamshire County Council (NCC) is once again urging families to utilise all FOUR preferences to avoid losing out on their preferred school or academy in September 2024. An NCC spokesperson says: “Parents sometimes think that selecting just one school will ensure that a place is allocated, but that is not the case. It is important that you make use of all four preferences for a better chance of being…

Flowers and ‘Busy Bug Trail’ in Ruddington

6th August 20233rd September 2023 Graham Wright

You may already have spotted the new, knitted floral displays adorning parts of our village centre this summer, thanks to the collective creative talents of those ‘Ruddington Yarn Ninjas’. What perhaps you might not realise is that, as well as this latest ‘yarn bomb’, there’s a ‘Busy Bug Trail’ around Ruddington for the kids to follow, too. Ninja Katie Goy explains: “Some of the lovely traders around the village have been visited by our busy bugs this summer. How many can you find and where are they?” “ALSO enter our free prize…

£1.18 Million for James Peacock School!

4th August 20234th August 2023 Graham Wright

It’s been announced over a million pounds will be spent on improvements to Ruddington’s Infant & Nursery School. £1.18 million of funding will be given to upgrade the building infrastructure, replace its flat roof covering and insulation, and improve the environmental performance of James Peacock School in Manor Park – much of which dates from 1967. It’s a significant portion of the latest programme of school infrastructure expenditure on twenty of the county’s primary and infant schools which has just been unveiled by Nottinghamshire County Council (NCC). Worth a total of £9.2m,…

Good News for Ruddington Cyclists

1st August 20233rd August 2023 Graham Wright

It’s been 13 years since Nottinghamshire County Council spent £350,000 on an accessibility scheme for Ruddington – which included installing cycle paths on Wilford Road and Clifton Road. The Wilford Road one in particular has been well used – by all but the most ‘serious’ cyclists (who it appears still prefer to ride on the road!). However, since 2010, a lack of maintenance has resulted in overgrown trees and a ‘creeping’ verge quite dramatically reducing its width. This is especially problematic given that bikes share the path with pedestrians –…

THREE Day Christmas Market Revealed

30th July 202323rd November 2023 Graham Wright

Organisers of our monthly Ruddington Village Market have announced yet another departure from the norm for their festive offering this year; they’re planning to run it over THREE days! Ruddington Village Community Partnership (RVCP) has revealed the 2023 dates and times will be Thursday 30th November 4pm – 9pm, Friday 1st December 4pm – 9pm and Saturday 2nd December 11am – 5pm. However, it’s not until the final day the Christmas Market will include additional stalls on High Street and Church Street – which is also when the usual road closures…

Ruddington Holiday Fun!

27th July 20233rd September 2023 Graham Wright

With the summer school holidays upon us, village families are again on the lookout for things to do locally – especially those with younger children. The good news is that Ruddington has plenty to offer kids who’ll be staying close to home during some or all of the coming weeks. Whilst ‘Ruddington Fun’ called it a day in 2018, in terms of organising its own programme of children’s activities, founder Barbara Breakwell has continued to maintain its popular Facebook page to share news about all manner of events and initiatives organised…