Coronavirus – RUDDINGTON.info

Carriage Shed Takes Shape

23rd September 202323rd September 2023 Graham Wright

Volunteers at Ruddington’s heritage railway report that work has got underway on schedule to finish building the long-planned covered storage area for its vintage carriages. This will complement the existing locomotive shed and engineering works at Nottingham Transport Heritage Centre on Mere Way. Great Central Railway (Nottingham) Ltd (GCRN) reveals that contractors have been onsite at building number 4, their new ‘Carriage Shed, for about two weeks now. Work completed to date includes the installation of new rear security door, marking out the position of the new steelwork and necessary work…

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…

What’s Happening with the Old Youth Centre?

7th July 20237th July 2023 Graham Wright

If you’ve walked, cycled or driven past The Green in the last couple of days, you’ll almost certainly have noticed the metal security fencing and scaffolding just erected at Ruddington’s former Youth & Community (‘Young People’s) Centre. Originally owned and maintained by Nottinghamshire County Council (NCC) it has lain empty and disused since December 2016, with the main building having to be boarded up in 2018 following repeated acts of vandalism. In December 2019 Ruddington Parish Council (RPC) announced it had purchased the facility from NCC to refurbish it and put it back into use…

Ruddington Shops Update

25th February 202330th August 2023 Graham Wright

Earlier this month we revealed how a new ‘Farm Shop’ has opened at The White Horse Inn on Wednesdays to Saturdays. There are now further, exciting Ruddington shop changes to report – and some still to come. Firstly, ‘ASDA On The Move’ which RUDDINGTON.info reported a year ago would be coming to Euro Garages’ expanded Ruddington Service Station premises along Loughborough Road, has finally arrived! It stocks up to 2,500 ASDA own brand, premium own-label ‘Extra Special’ and branded products – including bakery, fresh, chilled and ‘ambient’ groceries – along…

Ruddington’s ‘Big Trains’ Could Restart Soon!

30th January 202330th January 2023 Graham Wright

For almost three years now, a previously familiar weekend sound drifting across Ruddington has been sadly missing – that of the distant whistles and gentle chugging of steam trains making their way in and out of Nottingham Transport Heritage Centre. Since RUDDINGTON.info published the news piece ‘What’s Happening at our Heritage Railway’, back in January 2022, it’s continued to be one of our most searched for items – as villagers and visitors alike seek the elusive answer! In particular, the legendary ‘Santa Specials’ in the run-up to Christmas have been…

New Rail ‘Reunification’ Bridge Arrives!

23rd November 202225th November 2022 Graham Wright

Reaching the stage when trains will once again be able to run all the way from Ruddington to Leicester has got another step closer this week – with the lowering into place of a replacement Great Central Railway (GCR) bridge over the A60. As RUDDINGTON.info reported last month, this brand new structure was needed to replace the old bridge (number 326) near the Brush factory, on the outskirts of Loughborough, which was in such poor condition that the line over it needed to be closed on safety grounds back in September…

A Plethora of New Village Businesses

20th October 202225th February 2023 Graham Wright

Whilst many high streets up and down the country continue to struggle in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic and people’s changing shopping habits, it seems Ruddington is coping better than many. Although there have been shop closures here, generally our retail units in the village centre don’t stay empty for long. Currently there are plenty of new arrivals. In fact the opening of ‘The Courtyard’ two years ago – an attractive new shopping precinct where mainly derelict old buildings used to be – plus the redevelopment of the former Barclay & Cook site…

Goodbye Bridge As Rail ‘Reunification’ Gets Closer

17th October 202218th October 2022 Graham Wright

A future era when trains will once again be able to run all the way from Ruddington to Leicester has got another step nearer this month – with the removal of an unsafe railway bridge over the A60. The old bridge near the Brush factory, on the outskirts of Loughborough, has been a landmark for road users visiting the town during the last 125 years. Originally it was not anticipated having to replace this historic structure as part of Great Central Railway’s ‘Reunification’ plans – an ambitious railway reconnection project to…

Ruddington Ally’s Grand Designs

4th October 20224th October 2022 Graham Wright

A village resident who lost her job in graphic design during the Coronavirus pandemic has literally carved out a brand new career – which has proved so successful she’s been invited to showcase it to a national audience! Ruddington’s Ally Booker is over at the Birmingham NEC from this Wednesday to Sunday (5th – 9th October) for Channel 4 TV’s ‘Grand Designs – Live’ doing demonstrations in their ‘Sustainable Future Theatre’. Organisers found out about Ally and her upcycled furniture business Restoration Hut from her linked Instagram account. “They are really invested in discovering and promoting…

COVID Is Not Over, Ruddington

20th September 202222nd September 2022 Graham Wright

Whilst it’s no longer a cause for alarm for most of us, villagers may still be interested to see this latest Government map – indicating a surge in COVID-19 cases detected in Ruddington this month. The latest statistics from the official Coronavirus website show our village went ‘purple’ again for the 7-day period ending 10th September 2022 – recording a case rate of 442.3 people per 100,000 of population – making Ruddington rather an unexpected UK ‘hotspot’ for current infections. Now that there’s so little testing done, it’s likely actual…