Graham Wright

Traditional Hedge Laying at our Country Park

13th January 202413th January 2024 Graham Wright

Visitors to Ruddington’s top tourist attraction may have noticed a time-honoured hedge laying technique to help manage its hedgerows sustainably, which aims to provide a valuable habitat and food source for wildlife. Further winter work is being undertaken at Rushcliffe Country Park by its Park Rangers and Friends of Rushcliffe Country Park (FoRCP) volunteers using a traditional, manual technique which involves cutting the hedge tree thinly at the base and lying them on their side, as can be seen above. It’s an annual practice they have used for decades in certain…

Starting a Business in Ruddington?

11th January 202411th January 2024 Graham Wright

If you’ve decided to take the plunge to work for yourself – either from home or perhaps eyeing up one of the currently vacant shop or office units in Ruddington – here’s something which could really help. Village entrepreneurs are being invited to sign up to a free two-day online workshop covering the fundamentals of running a successful business, which it’s promised will provide practical insights and tools to help boost the survival rates of new businesses. The so-called ‘Nottinghamshire Start-up Bootcamp’ is available in our village and some other areas…

‘Rudd Awards’ is BACK!

8th January 20248th January 2024 Graham Wright

Following its successful debut in 2022, the team behind a biennial, Ruddington-focused awards ceremony has announced nominations for this year’s event are now OPEN. As before, ‘Rudd Awards 2024′, organised by Ruddington Village Community Partnership (RVCP), will recognise villagers’ favourite individuals, community groups and businesses in six categories, as follows: Sports, Leisure & Culture Village Retailer or Service Village Hospitality Community Group Champion Volunteer Young Star The awards are again sponsored by Okarno (formerly Artex Ltd) on Pasture Lane, with RUDDINGTON.info proud to continue as the awards’ official media partner. RVCP Chair Mike Ader…

Ruddington Roadworks Resume

6th January 20244th February 2024 Graham Wright

The very welcome, festive respite for Ruddington’s long suffering residents and motorists – especially for those wanting to get in and out of our village at ‘rush hour’ – is now at an end. Since lengthy junction layout improvements and new utility installations at the Kirk Lane/Loughborough Road/Flawforth Lane crossroads began in July 2023, they have caused significant frustration, with long, peak-time delays for drivers and bus passengers; most recently due to months of temporary 4-way temporary signals for pipe-laying by Severn Trent Water. Unfortunately, this major work resumes this Monday 8th January 2024,…

Apply Now for UK Shared Prosperity Funding

4th January 20244th January 2024 Graham Wright

Ruddington organisations delivering a project are being reminded they can apply for up to £40k from the UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF) and Rural England Prosperity Fund (REPF), supported by the UK Government. Applications should be made as soon as possible via Rushcliffe Borough Council (RBC), which is currently inviting community groups, businesses, voluntary or public sector organisations from our village to apply for the support by the deadline of Friday January 19th, 2024. Projects can cover a broad range of initiatives, and examples include: • Creating and improving local green…

Our ‘Outstanding’ New School

2nd January 20242nd January 2024 Graham Wright

Staff, pupils and parents at a new Ruddington school, which only opened its doors just over a year ago, are celebrating the highest possible ratings following its first Ofsted inspection. Operated by Polaris Children’s Services at 165, Loughborough Road (formerly known as ‘Easthorpe House’ and the home of NHS Rushcliffe Clinical Commissioning Group up until June 2020), the Grade 2 listed building has been sympathetically modified to create ‘Easthorpe School’ – which is specifically for pupils aged 7 to 16 with special educational needs. Two Ofsted inspectors visited its premises from November 14th to 16th…

Twixmas Roundup from our Railway

30th December 202331st December 2023 Graham Wright

With Nottingham Transport Heritage Centre now closed until 2024 (3rd January) here’s a quick progress report as we reach the end of another busy year at Ruddington’s popular railway. Firstly, Great Central Railway (Nottingham) (GCRN) reports that all the main building work on its new carriage shed here in Ruddington is now complete. Not only will this substantial new structure protect four, 1950s-built carriages from the elements and damage, but also the planned flat floor means it will be suitable for indoor events, and there is also a small workshop.…

Ruddington’s Roadworks Respite

27th December 20237th January 2024 Graham Wright

Since long-overdue junction layout improvements and new utility installations at Ruddington’s Kirk Lane/Loughborough Road/Flawforth Lane crossroads finally began in July 2023, they have caused significant frustration for drivers and bus passengers. N.B. THERE’S NOW AN UPDATE >>HERE<< Thankfully this very disruptive ‘first phase’ – mostly requiring temporary 4-way temporary signals for pipe laying work by Severn Trent Water – finished just before the festive period, slightly ahead of schedule. This means the old junction traffic lights have been brought back into use over the Christmas and New Year holidays, allowing a welcome respite from months of…

Ruddington Pub Plans Approved

23rd December 202324th December 2023 Graham Wright

A revised planning application with a slightly scaled down extension to an historic Ruddington public house has been approved by Rushcliffe Borough Council (RBC). Original plans revealed in July, to substantially expand The Frame Breakers at the corner of High Street and Kirk Lane by way of a three storey side extension with two storey side and rear extension to the existing building, received a negative reaction from some villagers and Ruddington Parish Council. Consequently these proposals were withdrawn before even being put in front of the authority’s planning committee for consideration. The revised extension, once…