Digital Recovery Grants Still Available

Ruddington’s high street businesses and established village centre business groups are being reminded they may still be able to receive support for their online presence from Rushcliffe Borough Council (RBC). It’s thanks to the ‘High Street Businesses Covid Digital Recovery Grant’ which aims to help eligible traders to adapt further to improve their online profile or sales. Small to medium sized retail, hospitality, personal care, leisure, tourism and other enterprises here in Ruddington and elsewhere in the Borough can now access up to £1,000 – over and above other pandemic-related central government grant…

Read More

Leia Looks Back on 2022 Summer Holidays

What a whirlwind 2022 has been for travel writes Ruddington’s Leia Morales. Two and a half years after starting my business as a Travel Counsellor and the world of travel is back to normal (almost!). This summer saw my customers reaching all corners of the globe and enjoying exploring new countries or finally being able to visit family. By far the most popular destination for my customers has been the USA, with Orlando proving my top seller. I’ve had a family drive over 2000 miles around the west coast of America in…

Read More

A Plethora of New Village Businesses

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…

Read More

Goodbye Bridge As Rail ‘Reunification’ Gets Closer

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…

Read More

Ruddington Ally’s Grand Designs

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…

Read More

The Bottle Top – Café, Beer & Eco Shop

When Glyn Thomas’s much loved Greengrocers closed its doors in 2018, locals feared the heart and been ripped out of Ruddington and that our village centre would never be the same again. It was clear that a shop dedicated solely to selling fresh fruit and vegetables may no longer be viable, nevertheless 2, High Street has now become a new hub of the community thanks to the vision of husband and wife team Anthony and Alex Preston. Together they brought to Ruddington a brand new business called The Bottle Top, which opened on May…

Read More

Have Your Say on Ruddington’s Polling Stations

Rushcliffe Borough Council is asking residents for their views on its polling districts and polling places when we vote in local, regional and national elections. A consultation period has begun, inviting comments on where polling stations are located and the ease of accessing them for those with a disability. For Ruddington, this currently means either our Village Hall on Wilford Road (pictured top) or St Peter’s Rooms on Church Street (pictured bottom), depending upon where we live. Hundreds of new-build houses in Ruddington are increasing the number of eligible voters on our…

Read More

Surgery Opening Hours Cuts Planned

Following an earlier consultation in January for patients registered at Ruddington’s Church House Surgery, it’s been revealed the next, proposed stage is to make our village practice part-time permanently. Pre-pandemic, the Shaw Street doctors was open from 8.30am to 6.30pm weekdays – except on Thursdays when it was 7am to 12.30pm. The latest plans from The Village Health Group (VHG) would see its hours halved to 8am until 1.00pm on weekdays on a permanent basis. A letter sent to VHG patients and stakeholders explains: “General practice has remained open throughout the pandemic and patients…

Read More

Wendy’s Walkers Are Good to Go!

Staff from our Ruddington chemist’s are finally getting to do their big walk in aid of a leading cancer charity this weekend – exactly a year later than they’d originally planned it. After it was postponed in 2021, due to continuing COVID-19 concerns, five employees from Evans Pharmacy on Charles Street are taking part in the ‘Peak District Mighty Hike 2022’ this Sunday, July 24th*. It’s a 13 mile trek starting at Darley Moor and concluding at the Biggin Village Playing Fields. They’ll be taking in some beautiful Derbyshire scenery along the way…

Read More

It’s RuddFest Weekend!

With surprisingly little ‘fanfare’ this year, Ruddington’s much loved annual beer, cider, gin, food and music festival is back – running from today (Thursday 9th) until Sunday (12th June 2022), starting each day at noon. The popular, four-day, village event usually takes place each year following the second Bank Holiday in May. However, in 2020 ‘RuddFest’ was cancelled altogether due to the COVID-19 pandemic and then delayed by the Coronavirus until August last year. Now, in 2022, it’s very nearly on schedule again – just a week later because of last weekend’s ‘Platinum Jubilee’ celebrations…

Read More