Bingham Town Council has received the Foundation Award as part of the Local Council Award Scheme. This achievement demonstrates that the Council operates lawfully, follows good practice and is training its officers and Councillors to set the foundation for continual improvement and development.

The Local Council Award Scheme is a peer assessed programme that aims to help councils reach their full potential through sharing best practice and driving up standards and celebrates the hard work and commitment shown by councillors and officers.

Bingham Town Council’s Mayor, Cllr Rowan Bird, was quoted as being “delighted to be recognised for the hard work and commitment of the officers and Councillors. The Council is constantly reviewing ways in which it can keep on improving the offerings and facilities for the local community”.

The Council welcomes input from residents, businesses, and partners on this and meetings held at the Old Court House are open to the public. The Council will continue to work on its ambitious plans for the Town, striving to keep residents informed by expanding its communication channels and consulting the public on the larger objectives including car parking and new and improved community facilities. Alongside new projects, the Council also continues to recognise its responsibilities for its assets, including play areas, Bingham cemetery and the recreational facilities in the Town, to make sure these are protected for future generations.

Rushcliffe Borough Council Chief Executive Kath Marriott added: “Congratulations to Bingham Town Council on securing the Local Council Award Scheme, highlighting the progress it is making to drive up standards and continually improve and develop.”

The Mayor, Cllr Rowan Bird and the Deputy Mayor, Cllr Gareth Williams met with representatives of Barratt and David Wilson Homes at Archers Lake this week. The Town Council were updated on work plans earlier in the year and are delighted to hear that work to the pathway surfaces around Archers Lake and work to install additional paths will start on 07 August 2023. Although there will inevitably be disruption to the area whilst work takes place, the improvements will be of great benefit to residents. The Town Council will continue to work positively with Barratt and David Wilson Homes as the site continues to evolve.

An update on the work from Barratt and David Wilson Homes is below:

Barratt and David Wilson Homes are pleased to confirm that works to improve the footways to the Archers Lake open space area will commence on Monday 7th August and will have a duration of approximately 6-7 weeks. The works will include;

1. Resurfacing of the perimeter pathway with a bound gravel material.
2. Construction of incidental paths as marked on the map below, which serve Parsons Hill and wider areas of the open space with bound gravel material.

Works of this nature will cause disruption to the enjoyment of this area whilst the works take place and we do apologise for this. However, where possible this will be kept to a minimum whilst ensuring the safety of the general public and our contractors during this time. Therefore, general public access around the Lake will be restricted whilst the works take place. Alternative access around localised footpath closures will be made available if safe to do so. Please be aware these routes will be over the existing grass surface and uneven in parts.

Following completion of the path improvement works, Barratt and David Wilson Homes will then progress with the landscaping improvements to the area during the next planting season ( November 23 – March 24).

Further to the Criminal Damage to a tree on Butt Field, the Town Council are appalled to discover that damage has taken place to trees on Langtree Gardens.

The police are actively investigating, and the Town Council will continue to work to assist the Police with their investigations. Residents with any information are urged to urgently report it to Nottinghamshire Police on 101, referencing the incident number 0114_31072023.

The Town Council have been alerted to an incident at Butt Field Sports Ground and can report that due to the severity of the criminal damage to a well-established tree, it has been felled for safety.

The criminal damage has been reported to the Police and the Town Council will work to assist the Police with their investigations. Residents with any information are urged to report it to Nottinghamshire Police on 101, referencing the incident number 0114_31072023

Rushcliffe Borough Council’s Streetwise team will tackle chewing gum hot spots in the coming weeks with an initial focus on the Borough’s larger towns and villages.

The Authority recently received £25,000 from the Chewing Gum Task Force, administered by environmental charity Keep Britain Tidy, enabling the Streetwise team to extend their work to prevent the sticky issue of chewing gum litter.

The funding has enabled the purchase of three electric eco-friendly gum removal machines that will safely remove chewing gum whilst being kinder to the environment.

The team will use the new equipment to safely remove gum on the local streets in Bingham, Cotgrave, East Leake, Keyworth, Ruddington, Radcliffe on Trent and West Bridgford town centres from next week.

Rushcliffe Borough Council’s Cabinet Portfolio Holder for Environment and Safety Cllr Rob Inglis said: “We welcome this new £25,000 funding that has enabled us to put plans in place to further clean our streets and encourage behaviour change to prevent gum litter.

“Our Streetwise cleansing team are fully trained in using the new gum removal equipment and are ready to start further work to clear areas that are spoilt by chewing gum as part of our campaign with Chewing Gum Task Force and Keep Britain Tidy.

“Our three new eco-friendly gum removal machines are a fantastic asset for our cleansing team. The machines are fully electric which aligns with our Carbon Clever priorities to further protect the environment.

“We can all agree chewing gum creates an eyesore and it can stick to footwear and clothing, and we want to encourage people to bin their gum, there are no excuses.

“We are also implementing specially designed signage in hot spots across the Borough to encourage people to bin their gum. Littering of any sort is not acceptable and we want to see a change to keep our streets clean and even tidier.”

Rushcliffe Borough Council’s Streetwise Manager Luke Colaluca added: “This is the first year Rushcliffe has applied for the funding and we are delighted to receive the full £25,000 available.

“We are looking forward to delivering this project as it’s one that we hope local residents and business can relate to.

“A huge thank you to Keep Britain Tidy and the Chewing Gum Task Force, as well as Eco Removal Solutions for providing the new equipment and training for our staff.”

The Council is one of 56 across the country that have successfully applied to the Chewing Gum Task Force, now in its second year, for funds to clean gum off pavements and prevent it from being littered again.

Established by Defra and run by environmental charity Keep Britain Tidy, the Chewing Gum Task Force Grant Scheme is open to councils across the UK who wish to clean up gum in their local areas and invest in long-term behaviour change to prevent gum from being dropped in the first place.

The Task Force is funded by major gum manufacturers including Mars Wrigley and Perfetti Van Melle, with the investment spread over five years. This year the selected councils will receive funding totalling more than £1.2 million.

Monitoring and evaluation carried out by Behaviour Change has shown that in areas that benefitted last year a reduced rate of gum littering is still being observed six months after clean-up and the installation of prevention materials.

The cemetery is now open after the removal of the dangerous tree limb. The Town Council thank residents for their patience and understanding whilst the cemetery was not accessible.

The cemetery will remain closed until further notice due to a dangerous tree. Tree surgeons have attempted to make the tree safe but cannot safely carry out the work as a wasp’s nest has been discovered in the tree. The Council are working with all parties to ensure the cemetery can open as soon as it is safe to do so. The Council thanks residents for their patience and understanding whilst it remains closed.