I?m pleased with the progress we?re making towards meeting our target of delivering or supporting the development of 1,000 affordable homes. We are building good quality homes with high energy efficiency standards, giving the opportunity for more local families to choose a decent home which is so important towards ensuring good health and wellbeing.

The current projection, including newly built homes, new acquisitions and homes for the homeless such as temporary accommodation, is for 1,049 units available or due for completion. This includes new council homes, some affordable homes on private sites the council acquires to add to our housing stock, converting properties above council-owned shops into affordable flats and new housing association homes available to people on our waiting list. The total also includes homeless accommodation provided by the council and our partners.

More here

Adding to the number of affordable homes, including homeless accommodation, is increasingly important as sadly homelessness is on the rise, in part due to the cost-of-living crisis. Thankfully there is a great support network in Nottingham to help but it needs extra funding to continue providing that support.

The launch of Nottingham Street Aid is good news, providing an alternative giving platform that will make it much easier for people to donate money with confidence that it will be used to help homeless people in Nottingham.

Supported by the City Council and business community, Nottingham Street Aid will establish contactless donation points around the city, as well as allowing people to donate by texting STREET followed by a number from 1-20 to 70560 to donate ?1-20 pounds to the fund.

Charities and other referral agencies will be able to apply to this fund to provide help to individuals who are homeless to enable them to leave the streets behind.

You can find out more about the fund here.

Cold weather, fewer daylight hours and post-Christmas bills can mean many are feeling down and lacking motivation at the moment ? no wonder today is known as Blue Monday.

So, it?s really important that you take care of your mental and physical health. To help lift your mood, and to manage stress & anxiety, try getting out and about in what daylight there is as this can help a lot ? why not explore one of our beautiful award-winning parks in Nottingham ? https://www.mynottinghamnews.co.uk/first-steps-to-a-healthier-you-in-2023-making-the-most-of-our-parks-leisure-centres-and-more/.

Worrying about money, can affect our mental health.? So exercising regularly, eating a well-balanced diet and trying to connect with other people can all help.

For mental health support visit?www.asklion.co.uk/mentalhealth?

If you?re also stressed due to money worries, especially as bills continue to raise due to the Cost of Living Crisis and the additional cost of Christmas starts to have an impact, help is available. Get advice and support on debt, energy bills, benefits, budgeting and more at www.asklion.co.uk/money

If frost, ice or snow is forecasted, the team will start gritting routes a few hours beforehand.

Did you know?

• The gritting team cover 445km (277 miles) of Nottingham?s roads every wintry night
• There are 200 grit bins in priority locations around the city for you to use
• We have 3000 tonnes of grit available

Our top priority is to keep the city moving and the roads clear, especially those used by emergency services and public transport.?

Find out more about gritting here