Walking and cycling can be a great way to exercise and it?s good for your mental health too. However, please follow guidelines on physical distancing and keep at least two metres apart. Nottingham has lots of local cycle routes, so if you?re cycling remember to, ride your bike responsibly and only ride on routes you know well and within your ability level. Where possible,?please wear?helmets and reflective clothing for your own safety and those around you.

If you share your bike with people of the same household, ensure you follow Government guidelines on cleaning surfaces such as handlebars, avoid touching your face, wash your hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds, especially after using your bike, and don?t forget to wash any gloves you are wearing.

Air pollution levels across Nottingham are forecast to remain low for the next few days which makes it the perfect environment for daily exercise, using a bike or taking walk. For more information, please see https://www.transportnottingham.com/coronavirus/?

Talking of better air quality, another thing that benefits from this are plants and wildlife in the city.? We have started to get some positive comments about some of our roadside verges and areas in parks where we are nurturing wildflowers. We have a Council Plan pledge to increase bee-friendly environments in all 20 city wards, and a positive outcome of lockdown has meant these efforts have been accelerated. Public realm operatives who would otherwise have mown grassed areas are working elsewhere in the council, and this along with no herbicide spraying in parks is really letting nature do its thing. As well as the flowers bringing people a little bit of cheer, it helps us towards our target of being carbon neutral by 2028.

Tonight?s weekly clap for our carers will be the last. It has been a joy to see and hear reports of thousands across the city pausing to applaud frontline workers since the start of the coronavirus outbreak. People have gathered in their gardens and at their front doors to create a visual and audible show of support. I would urge people to join in for a final time to say thank you to the critical frontline workers across the city providing care to people every day.