Nottingham Beach opens today, bringing one of the city?s most popular summer attractions back for the first time in three years.

Visitors will find the usual great beach experience on their doorstep, with the free beach, wading pool and boardwalk all set for a summer of fun and sun in the Old Market Square. There will be free salsa every Tuesday and other free activities.

Alongside a revamped mix of children?s rides and side-games, The Starflyer is back to challenge the grown-ups. 40m high, it offers amazing views over the whole beach and city beyond.

There?s a wide range of food and drink choices catering for all tastes from slushies and ice cream to a range of bar drinks at the popular small beach shack bar which will also return. Find out more

Giant Slip ?n Slide inflatables, new for this year?s event, will be open for thrill seekers of all ages from this Thursday, just in time for the main school holidays.?The Arrow at?55m long, 14m wide, 13m high is the largest urban waterslide in the UK, with?a smaller Little John slide for younger children. Hour-long sessions can now be booked in advance, the cost is ?12.78 including the booking fee.

As Nottingham schools reach the end of term this week, I?d like to give a massive thank you and well done to everyone who works in our schools, who have got through record-breaking heat, the continued threat of Covid and other issues this year while so brilliantly supporting our children in their school careers.

So well done to all the teachers, support staff, pupils and parents ? have a great break.

Nottingham City Council and Nottingham City Homes have secured over ?2.8m of Government funding to retrofit council homes in the city. The grants will see 298 homes improved to make them more energy efficient and help residents reduce their bills. The works include insulation that will not only keep homes warmer in winter, but will also help make them cooler in the summer months.

The grants have been secured through the Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund (SHDF) and works will begin this autumn. This scheme contributes to the larger Greener HousiNG campaign in the city which has made over 13,000 improvements to both social and privately owned homes since 2012 and contributes towards Nottingham?s ambition to be a carbon neutral city by 2028.

Find out more

I?m sure we?ll all be behind England?s ladies football team tomorrow night and cheering them on against Sweden in the semi-final. It?s been great to see England teams doing so well in this much-loved sport and I wish them all the best.