In a week when coaches have begun operating from the new Broad Marsh Bus Station and we have announced the opening of a new route across the former shopping centre site, it?s particularly pleasing that the new Broad Marsh Car Park, Bus Station and Central Library building has won a major construction industry award.

The project was winner of the Integration and Collaborative Working Award and came runner-up in the Building Project of the Year at the East Midlands Construction Excellence Awards, which are recognised as the biggest celebration of best practice across the East Midlands.

The new building represents the largest urban regeneration project ever delivered by the City Council, who worked with over twenty stakeholder groups and partners to deliver the scheme. The project created 50 full-time local jobs, 90 apprenticeship weeks, ?30m supply chain spend within 40 miles of Nottingham and ?2.3m worth of social value.

It has been delivered in the face of a number of challenges and, along with the public realm improvements surrounding it, creates a completely fresh feel to this fast-changing part of the city. I am delighted with the new building and immensely proud of the team who richly deserve this recognition for their outstanding efforts.

More information here

Volunteers and staff have been busy with the final piece of the Woodthorpe Park centenary celebrations. The old rose garden next to the Grange has been restored to its former glory with the help of the Mapperley and Sherwood Co-op stores and the Friends of Woodthorpe Park. Our landscape team rotavated and turfed the site ready for the amazing roses and lavenders from our Woodthorpe Nursery. The garden was designed by our Green Space Development Officer Jo Tarrant and contains 148 roses plus over 300 lavender plants.

It's been over 50 years since there has been a rose garden at Woodthorpe and it's been so lovely to see the community enjoying it already.

Nottingham Refugee Week is an annual cultural festival that unites communities and organisations across the city. It celebrates the culture of sanctuary we have built here in Nottingham, and is an act of welcome, a gesture of solidarity and a shared celebration with people who have sought refuge here. It exists both to raise awareness of the reasons why people are forced to seek refuge ? persecution, war, poverty and conflict ? and also to celebrate the contributions made by refugees and asylum-seekers to the economic, cultural and social life of the city.

This year?s theme is ?Healing.? The festival launches with a fabulous line-up of music, dance, food, craft, family fun, wellbeing goodies and stalls from refugee organisations across the city at Sneinton Market this Saturday. The Ukrainian Cultural Centre choir and ensemble will launch the festival at 11am and the festival will continue until 4pm; please join in to celebrate sanctuary in the city. Everything is free and all are welcome.

Find out more at: https://nottinghamrefugeeweek.org/2022/

It?s lovely to see the city come alive in the warm, sunny weather ? our parks and open spaces have been packed today as the country basks in the mid-summer sun. We?re all enjoying this long-overdue sunshine ? but when the temperatures start to hit 30 degrees, like they did today, then we all need to take care. Please remember to stay out of hottest, midday sun, wear sunscreen and drink plenty of fluids.

It can be very tempting to use our rivers and lakes to cool down, but this is extremely dangerous. Tomorrow marks the start of Drowning Prevention Week which aims to raise awareness about the danger of unsupervised open water swimming. Almost 44% of accidental drownings happen between May and August ? and two-thirds of these are in inland water. This is because the temperature of our rivers and waterways stays very low and can cause ?cold water shock? or hypothermia. The water also hides other dangers such as sudden dips and drops, weeds and mud, and very strong currents. It?s not worth the risk. Let?s all stay safe this summer.

Nottingham is really showcasing itself as the City of Sport lately. Fans have enjoyed a Test Match to remember at Trent Bridge, which took the brilliant decision to open the gates for free on the final day. And if England?s run-chasing performance has whetted appetites, the T20 competition returns today as the Outlaws come home to attempt to regain the trophy they last won in 2020.

Over at the Nottingham Tennis Centre have had another fantastic Nottingham Open, with Britain?s Dan Evans taking the men?s trophy and Brazil?s Beatriz Haddad Maia winning her first WTA title and along with Zhang Shuai also won the women?s doubles.

And Nottingham Forest fans can look forward to their first match back in the Premier League which has been announced as 6 August ? a real historic occasion for the club and the city.

That?s before we even get into the other great teams and venues in our city, including the Nottingham Panthers and National Ice Centre, the National Watersports Centre at Holme Pierrepont and many others that bring fans and participants great enjoyment and add so much to our city?s life.

I would like to wish a very happy Father?s Day this Sunday to all our fantastic fathers in Nottingham, from dads and grandads to step-dads, foster dads and soon-to-be dads.

There are plenty of ways that people in the city can celebrate the day and thank their fathers for everything that they?ve done, including visits to some of our heritage sites and parks such as Wollaton Hall or Newstead Abbey, or buying a gift from one of the city?s many independent shops.

If you?re still in need of some more day-trip and gift inspiration, see the Father?s Day page on the Visit Nottinghamshire website: https://www.visit-nottinghamshire.co.uk/whats-on/fathers-day-in-notts