Nottingham has a wonderfully-diverse selection of independent retailers and places to eat and drink, and next week these will start to reopen after many weeks of closure. We?ll be able to once again visit non-essential shops, hairdressers, barbers, beauticians and outdoor hospitality venues across the city.

It?s been a hugely difficult and uncertain time for many business owners and we?ve done lots of work behind the scenes over the past 12 months to support them with access to Government grants and things like outdoor licences, which give owners the ability to increase capacity to serve people safely.

While we?re all excited about being able to head back into Nottingham and support these local traders, we must remember that the threat of Covid has not disappeared. The city centre will likely be busy with it being the Easter school holidays and queues outside some shops are inevitable. I?d ask that people are respectful of each other and continue to observe social-distancing measures so we can keep everyone safe.

Some shops may be taking advantage of extended opening hours to help spread out the day for people to visit and hopefully avoid pinch-points. Please take some time ahead of setting off to find out if the places you want to go to are staying open later in the day ? this may result in less queuing outside and help to manage demand for the businesses.

Find out more Shops ready to reopen doors ? but message remains to stay safe

The news that we can move onto Step Two of the Government Roadmap is welcome ? as well as allowing many city businesses to reopen, it means we can start to open up more council services to benefit our citizens.

A number of council services, from libraries and leisure centres to markets and community centres, will reopen from Monday, some with certain restrictions in place. While it is important we reopen services, we know it is vital to do this as safely as possible to protect services users as well as our staff. I would ask anyone using these services to follow the rules that are in place, as well as following safety messages such as hands, face, space and fresh air. Find out more about how we opening up

We hope that if this stage of the Roadmap is successful, during the next few weeks we can look to restart more services in line with the latest Government guidelines.

Many household incomes have been significantly impacted by the coronavirus pandemic, leading to more people than ever struggling to keep their heads above water. To help tackle this we used the Government?s Covid Winter Grant fundingto enable qualifying households to apply for supermarket vouchers.

We have now relaxed the eligibility criteria to enable more households to apply for this support. Previously, vouchers were not available to families who were already receiving support through measures such as free school meals or self-isolation payments. However, these exclusions have now been removed for over 4,000 remaining vouchers. This means that from today any city residents who receive council tax support can apply for ?50 vouchers and anyone who has already applied once can also now apply for a second voucher

People eligible for the vouchers can apply for them here. Applications close at midnight on Friday 16^th April.

The Broadmarsh Big Conversation was the largest City Council consultation response ever, attracting over 3,000 individual responses and 11,000 comments from local residents, businesses and business groups, charities, campaign groups, schools, colleges and national architects. The number and variety of responses clearly shows, if we ever doubted it, how strongly local people feel about this site and that we should grasp this unexpected opportunity. I am grateful for the wealth of submissions we received.

It?s no surprise to us that people value open space and would like to see a mix of uses at the site including retail, housing and places to work, which alongside our carbon neutral ambitions we?d want to see reflected across the whole site. There was also a large swell of support for Nottingham?s history and heritage to be reflected and a desire for the area to become an attractive gateway to the city from the south.

The Greater Broadmarsh Advisory Group will use the submissions and their collective expertise to create something special for Nottingham for generations to come.

In the meantime, the City Council?s work to vastly improve the area continues, with the development of the new Broadmarsh Car Park, Bus Station and new Central Library, as well as the new public spaces under development on Sussex Street, Carrington Street and Collin Street.

More here Big ideas for the Broadmarsh Centre site following Big Conversation

It?s incredibly sad news that Prince Philip has died, and the City Council has marked his death by lowering the Council House flag and opening an online book of condolence here:?Book of Condolence for Prince Philip ? Nottingham City Council. Coronavirus restrictions mean large gatherings and laying of flowers in tribute are sadly not advisable and so details of how the city will mark his death will follow in due course.

A key achievement during his long and faithful service to this country is the Duke of Edinburgh Awards scheme, which has helped many thousands of young people to gain confidence in themselves and find their way in life. I?m sure the thoughts of Nottingham people, like mine, are with the Her Majesty the Queen and the Royal Family at this time. More here