People and businesses are being encouraged to take part in Nottinghamshire County Council’s Annual Budget Survey, which launched Monday 30 September.

The formal consultation process has opened in preparation for the next financial year and gives people an opportunity to have their say on how the county council’s budget is spent.

It is part of the council’s ongoing conversation with residents to find out what its priorities should be to provide a ‘healthier, more prosperous and greener’ Nottinghamshire – and strengthen its resolve to invest in Nottinghamshire to support people and build resilience in communities.

Work to build a new school in Mansfield for children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) is progressing well.

To mark the first stages of this work, Nottinghamshire County Councillors and partners gathered at the site of the former Ravensdale School site in the town. It will have capacity for up to 160 pupils across the seven to 19 years age range.

It is being designed, project and cost managed by Arc Partnership, a joint venture between Nottinghamshire County Council and SCAPE, with construction being undertaken by Morgan Sindall. The school is expected to open in 2025.

Nottinghamshire residents are being offered the chance to replace their old or damaged electric mattress blankets free of charge in October.

The county council’s Trading Standards Team will be carrying out electric blanket safety testing at three separate events on 23, 24 and 25 October as part of a winter safety and cost of living initiative.

At last year’s testing events, over two thirds (69%) of electric blankets were found to be unsafe, including one blanket that was 43 years old. Faulty or damaged electric blankets cause countless fires across the UK every year, so it’s vital to check them regularly. In 2022/23, there were three fires in Nottinghamshire with causes attributed to electric blankets, which sadly resulted in two fatalities.

The number of children in Nottinghamshire entering the criminal justice system continues to be below the national average.

Figures published in the Nottinghamshire Youth Justice Strategic Plan 2024/25 show that the number of first-time offenders, aged 10 to 17, reduced to 130 per 100,000 of the population in the last financial year compared with 144 in 2022/23.

Meanwhile, the number of children in Nottinghamshire being remanded to youth detention accommodation or sentenced to custody has reduced year on year and is well under the national average – building on the ongoing drive to support children through community orders

Residents and businesses are being encouraged to help shape new Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG) rules in Nottinghamshire.

New regulations requiring developers to improve the BNG of their sites by at least 10% were introduced in February.  

This means new developments in Nottinghamshire must leave nature better off than before by creating new green spaces, wildlife habitats and healthier ecosystems to compensate for the ones they are eliminating as part of the build.m. 

Schools that have experienced delays converting to academy status in Nottinghamshire have been given a boost after Nottinghamshire County Council’s Cabinet agreed to additional staffing to help speed up the process.

Twenty-two schools in Nottinghamshire are currently in the pipeline for academisation. Three of these schools are subject to what’s known as a Directive Academy Order (DAO) which are issued following Ofsted inspections of Inadequate or consecutive Requires Improvement judgments that legally require them to convert to academy status.