Latest news with #BroxtoweBoroughCouncil
Yahoo
17 hours ago
- General
- Yahoo
Relatives 'gobsmacked' after grave mementos smashed
Relatives of people buried in a Nottinghamshire cemetery say they are 'gobsmacked' after wildlife were blamed for smashing mementos left on graves. Families started a petition in protest after Broxtowe Borough Council said it was going to remove the mementos, which then led the authority to put any changes on hold for 12 months. Visitors say they then found flowers, plant pots and crosses had been overturned last week and were told by the council ants, birds, badgers, foxes and muntjac deer were responsible. But families have blamed council grass cutting, going so far as to stake out the cemetery to see whether animals were causing the problems. Lindsey Collins, 46, from Beeston, whose son, Josh, was buried in the cemetery in 2021, said the problems were noticed on Tuesday 10 June. She said: "The gardeners had been in and after mowing, several graves with pots, ornaments and memorials were damaged. "In all the years we have been in the cemetery this has never happened before. "The odd breakage is to be expected, but this damage was over several sections and areas of the cemetery. "I was disgusted, heartbroken. And with Father's Day coming up I was worried how it was going to affect people." Ms Collins estimated around 20 plots were affected with other visitors visibly distressed. But this turned into surprise when Broxtowe Borough Council denied its gardeners were responsible. "They said it was ants," said Ms Collins. "They said the ants were nesting in the tubs and then birds were coming to peck at them and then knocking the vases which then get caught in the long grass and get mowed. "Then apparently badgers, foxes and muntjac deer also knocked over the ornaments. "We were gobsmacked. "So the cemetery committee staked out the area overnight and we never saw any activity from the animals which might explain what happened." A spokesman for Broxtowe Borough Council said: "We have an experienced team that understands the sensitivities of working within our graveyards. "All items are placed at the owner's risk." The wider issue of leaving tributes on graves was discussed by the council earlier this month but a decision was deferred. Follow BBC Nottingham on Facebook, on X, or on Instagram. Send your story ideas to eastmidsnews@ or via WhatsApp on 0808 100 2210. Families 'disheartened' by proposed grave rules Broxtowe Borough Council
BBC News
17 hours ago
- General
- BBC News
Families 'gobsmacked' after mementos on graves smashed in Beeston
Relatives of people buried in a Nottinghamshire cemetery say they are 'gobsmacked' after wildlife were blamed for smashing mementos left on graves. Families started a petition in protest after Broxtowe Borough Council said it was going to remove the mementos, which then led the authority to put any changes on hold for 12 months. Visitors say they then found flowers, plant pots and crosses had been overturned last week and were told by the council ants, birds, badgers, foxes and muntjac deer were families have blamed council grass cutting, going so far as to stake out the cemetery to see whether animals were causing the problems. Lindsey Collins, 46, from Beeston, whose son, Josh, was buried in the cemetery in 2021, said the problems were noticed on Tuesday 10 said: "The gardeners had been in and after mowing, several graves with pots, ornaments and memorials were damaged."In all the years we have been in the cemetery this has never happened before."The odd breakage is to be expected, but this damage was over several sections and areas of the cemetery."I was disgusted, heartbroken. And with Father's Day coming up I was worried how it was going to affect people." Ms Collins estimated around 20 plots were affected with other visitors visibly this turned into surprise when Broxtowe Borough Council denied its gardeners were responsible."They said it was ants," said Ms Collins. "They said the ants were nesting in the tubs and then birds were coming to peck at them and then knocking the vases which then get caught in the long grass and get mowed."Then apparently badgers, foxes and muntjac deer also knocked over the ornaments."We were gobsmacked."So the cemetery committee staked out the area overnight and we never saw any activity from the animals which might explain what happened."A spokesman for Broxtowe Borough Council said: "We have an experienced team that understands the sensitivities of working within our graveyards. "All items are placed at the owner's risk."The wider issue of leaving tributes on graves was discussed by the council earlier this month but a decision was deferred.
BBC News
30-05-2025
- General
- BBC News
Families 'disheartened' at proposed Broxtowe grave rules
Campaigners have said they are upset at a council's response to their bid to get more freedom for tributes on graves in Broxtowe.A group of families has been lobbying Broxtowe Borough Council since October, when it said it would restrict remembrance items on plots in cemeteries it Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) said the objections led to the change of the rules being suspended by the authority for a campaigners said their trust had been broken by the council ahead of its cabinet meeting to discuss future cemetery rules on Tuesday - as council papers showed new collaborative rules for tributes have been rejected as some are "not acceptable". The initial dispute led the council's leader, Milan Radulovic, to call for a 12-month suspension on the ruling in October was to create a collaborative working group between impacted families and the council – to find a "common sense" then, updated, collaborative rules have been developed and these proposals were finalised in March include those with existing grave plots – purchased before August 2023 - with existing decorations and memorial gardens remaining as they are, in line with health and safety rules. Safety risks They also said hazardous items would have to be removed – even from graves bought prior to August the collaborative rules were approved, they would also allow grave plots purchased after August 2023 to have tribute items within two and a half feet (76cm) from the front edge of the headstone documents from the council's bereavement service released ahead of next week's cabinet meeting show a rejection of the rules, citing some are "not acceptable".Officers said: "The council has inadvertently weakened its own position by granting a 12-month extension for the removal of decorative items and memorial trinkets despite clear, ongoing well-documented health, safety and accessibility risks associated with them." Bereaved families in a joint statement called on cabinet members to reject it."We are disappointed with how things have been handled, but remain firm on our stance and will continue to push for council support on the original compromises and proposals agreed."It's been extremely disheartening to have our trust broken by [the bereavement service]."We have all suffered so much emotional and mental distress since October, we are just ready for closure on all of this." A council spokesperson said: "A number of departments have been involved in producing the report, not one individual officer."We understand our Democratic Services Team have spoken with one of the families and advised them how our cabinet system works."The report makes recommendations which will be debated at the meeting before a decision is taken. "They are also free to lobby their local councillor with their views on the matter to inform their decision-making process if they wish."
Yahoo
18-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Council leader backs plans to expand city boundary
Nottingham City Council leader Neghat Khan has supported proposals to merge the authority with two Nottinghamshire neighbouring councils. The Labour politician set out her thoughts on the future political map of the city and neighbouring county at a council meeting on Monday night. The government plans to streamline local government and have a mayor for every region of England. Councils have been given until 21 March to submit interim proposals ahead of final plans being lodged in November. Khan said she was in favour of the so-called "Nottingham + 2" model which could see the city form a new combined authority with either Broxtowe Borough Council and Gedling Borough council or, alternatively, join with Broxtowe and Rushcliffe Borough Council. In either case, the remaining five Nottinghamshire districts could be joined together to form a second single-tier authority. A third option has been proposed which would see the city council remain within its current boundaries and the eight other districts form one authority. Khan said: "Nottingham is a significantly under-bounded local authority, covering a population of 328,000 at the centre of a built-up area of well over 750,000 - and a wider county population of 1.17 million. "We are responsible for delivering the services expected in a core city, but many of the people who work in the city, and use council services currently live in the suburbs, meaning they can't vote in city elections, and pay council tax elsewhere. "We need to address that imbalance." She added: "While this process has been understandably emotive, Nottingham has remained silent on preferred options, as our approach has been to take an objective view of the data, with a genuine interest in what is best for the people, and the delivery of services. "At this point we believe that the most sustainable model would be two new unitaries, likely meaning a new authority that combines Nottingham City Council with any two of Broxtowe, Gedling and Rushcliffe." She also said she would be open to other "Nottingham + 2" models, yet to be explored, subject to any feedback from the government. Ashfield District Council and Mansfield District Council were due to meet on Monday to debate their preferred options for the future. Bassetlaw District Council is set to meet later on Tuesday with the remaining districts and borough discussing the issue at meetings later this week. Three options to reshape Nottinghamshire councils How could Nottinghamshire's political map change? Follow BBC Nottingham on Facebook, on X, or on Instagram. Send your story ideas to eastmidsnews@ or via WhatsApp on 0808 100 2210. Nottingham City Council
BBC News
08-03-2025
- General
- BBC News
New Library of Things in Beeston offers help in 'tough times'
A new Library of Things will "reduce waste" and help people struggling for money, organisers will operate from Beeston Library in Nottinghamshire and open in the coming weeks, although an exact date has not yet been service will allow people to borrow household items, rather than books, such as carpet cleaners, sewing machines, and children's party Hartley, an organiser, said: "These are typically things that might be a bit more expensive, and then you only use them once or twice, and then they sit in your cupboard unused." She said times were tough at the moment and "this is just something that helps people save a bit of money and a bit of space in their homes". 'Excited at the potential' The project has received funding from the Beeston Civic Society and Broxtowe Borough Council to help with the purchase of items - totalling £1, money will be spent on purchasing supplies and items to stock the Hartley said there was a "growing movement" behind Libraries of Things nationwide. Similar projects have been set up across the wider East Cribb, the district manager at Inspire, which runs Beeston Library, said he was "excited at the potential"."It's not something we've done before, you know we do loan out non-book items, but they're on a one-off basis," he the service starts, people will use an app to book an item they wish to use. Library staff will then retrieve the maintenance of the items and the app will be operated and paid for by the volunteer groups, Mr Cribb said, and the library's role is to act as Stainer is the chairwoman of the volunteers and said she first had the idea for the Library of Things over one year she struggled to secure funding for the project until recently."The underlying motivation really comes from environmental issues, not being wasteful of stuff, not throwing stuff away," she said."It's going to be very exciting after this weekend, when we've bought all the stuff."
