I am so saddened that Nottingham Castle Trust has declared itself insolvent and that our premier heritage site is currently closed.

The council is focused on finding ways to re-open the attraction as soon as possible and in the meantime our Nottingham Jobs team are doing what they can to support the Trust’s staff who sadly lost their jobs on Monday. A virtual workshop was held for them yesterday to outline the support that’s available, from finding new employment and help retraining to self-employment support and accessing benefits, and we will continue to engage with them and help them in any way we can.

I would like to extend my gratitude to the Nottingham BID, Pitch Presents and Nottingham CQ for stepping in to save the Christmas Market that was due to take place at Nottingham Castle this weekend. They have relocated it to Sneinton Market where it will be held from 11am to 4pm this Saturday and Sunday, November 26 and 27. I hope plenty of people go along to support the local independent traders and pick up some Christmas gifts.

More here

Residents in the city and the wider county area can benefit from a 15% discount for adult and group day tickets on Nottingham City Transport (NCT) buses thanks to Notts Green Rewards.

The Green Rewards app helps residents to support the city’s ambition to be carbon neutral by 2028 as it has lots of ideas to take action on climate change by reducing waste, shopping sustainably, encouraging local biodiversity and more. You can earn points for taking actions and there are £20 vouchers up for grabs for the top performers each month.

You can sign up for free at notts.greenrewards.co.uk or download the Green Rewards app on iOS and Android by searching for ‘Notts Green Rewards’ in the device’s app store to get started and access a code that will let you travel at the discounted price.

I’m really pleased to see schemes like this in Nottingham that save people money and help tackle climate change.

Just a quick reminder that there’s only one week left for Nottingham residents to cash additional energy support vouchers before the 30 November deadline.

These Post Office voucher payments form part of the Government’s Energy Bill Rebate scheme and they’ve been sent out to eligible residents by post and email. Please look out for these, including in your junk email folder. The email would have come from [email protected]

Payments range between £25 and £150 depending on individual circumstances but they cannot be redeemed beyond Wednesday of next week, so please make sure you cash yours before that point.

Find out more 

In partnership with leading electric vehicle company Lime, the council will be launching a scheme to make electric bikes available to hire in Nottingham from spring next year.   

A fleet of up to 700 Lime e-bikes will be available to hire on a pay-as-you-go basis in key city locations, enabling more Nottingham residents and visitors to enjoy the benefits that cycling can bring, from improved health to cleaner air. The new e-bikes feature:

• Built-in front and rear lights – rear lights that brighten when the bike brakes
• Increased motor power to help riders easily climb hills and restart their ride when stopped/stationary at red traffic lights or zebra crossings 
• A phone holder, allowing riders to easily navigate and follow directions without having to stop and check directions  
• Built-in baskets to help people carry shopping or bags  
• Range of 64km with batteries monitored by Lime so they can be charged when they run low.

Find out more here

To reduce waste created in Nottingham, improve our recycling rates, and make progress towards our aim to be carbon neutral by 2028, the City Council is proposing new options for waste and recycling collections in Nottingham.

These include:

• Helping people to manage waste well and recycle the right things
• Starting food waste collections
• Making changes to how we collect recycling
• Offering smaller general waste bins
• Increasing our fleet of ‘alternative-fuel’ bin lorries.

To help us shape the final strategy, we want you to tell us your thoughts on waste and recycling in Nottingham. We would like to hear from as many people as possible to ensure we can create a final strategy that works for the whole city. More information and the consultation survey can be found online.

If you’d like to have your say in-person, drop in to a Q&A session at Bulwell Riverside between 11.15am and 1pm on Tuesday 6^th December.

Find out more