Stuart.C

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Posts posted by Stuart.C

  5. School help, Please.

    in All other Nottingham Schools Discussions

    Posted

    This is what happened to Clarendon, no longer fit for purpose, too expensive to heat and to maintain.
    So replaced with a new building to be used as a school.
     

    Clarendon moved to a new site in Broad Marsh as part of a merger of most of the Nottingham and surrounds Colleges, now all called Nottingham College.

     

    jxoR0EN.png

     

     

     

    • Like 1

  6. School help, Please.

    in All other Nottingham Schools Discussions

    Posted

    Just been reading Bluecoat history, think it was written a while ago,,

     

    The Blue Coat School

     

    This was founded in 1706, but the present building, which stands at the foot of the High Pavement, was erected in 1723, on ground given by Mr Wm. Thorpe, a benevolent attorney. It contains a large school room, and a suite of apartments for the residence of the master, who has 100 guineas a year, and he is allowed six tons of coals annually for the use of the school. Two statues, in niches at the front of the building, represent a boy and a girl in their school costume. The charity educates and clothes sixty boys and twenty girls, till they arrive at fourteen yearsof age, when the former are put out apprentice, with a premium of five guineas each, and the latter have each two guineas for the purpose of clothing them for servitude. Mr and Mrs Cockayne are the teachers, and attend as well to the religious as to the moral instruction of the scholars. The charity, which is supported partly by annual subscriptions and collections at the parish churches, is endowed with property which produces upwards of £380 per annum. A new school is about to be erected, on Mansfield Road, for which ground has been purchased.

    • Like 2
    • Upvote 1

  7. School help, Please.

    in All other Nottingham Schools Discussions

    Posted

    Archway Trust, who own / run or whatever, Bluecoat have been given a short lease on the old People's College building on Maid Marian Way for temporary use for their 6th form.


    The space that frees up at Bluecoat is being used for start up pupils for the new Free Secondary school being built on the old Clarendon site, should be finished this year.

     

    When the new Clarendon (not called that) building is open, start up pupils will move and Bluecoat get their 6th form space back.

     

    Whether Archway will run the Free School I know not.
    Edit,, yes they will be, to be called Bluecoat Trent

     

    I think the plan was to demolish the old Peoples building and redevelop the whole site.
    Another Edit, yes to be the "Gateway to the Castle", whatever that is.

     

    Whether all the above is still correct, I also know not, as it was a few years ago when I saw the proposals.

     

     

    • Like 2

  9. Anything Political

    in + Av Yer Say +

    Posted

    For someone with a Frozen pension, it wouldn't apply.

     

    Cut and pasted from Commons Library,,

    The government is legally required to increase the basic and new State Pension each year at least in line with average earnings. The 'triple lock' is a commitment, beyond this legal requirement, to increase State Pensions by whichever is highest of average earnings growth, CPI inflation, or 2.5%.

    • Like 1

  12. Anything Political

    in + Av Yer Say +

    Posted

    Apparently the born after 6th April 1951 scheme was brought in to make it simpler to calculate, but on average make it so that the new scheme doesn't make anyone better off than they would have been in the old scheme.

     

    But as is usual it's not as simple as black and white and the Petitioners, just as Politicians do, have chosen to cherry pick to suit their needs.
    They've only taken the amount paid out in the old scheme verses the new scheme without taking into account anything else.

     

    Not everyone will get the full amount, £221 ish, in 2024, just as not everyone gets the full amount in the born before 6th April 1951 group.
    For the full amount in the new scheme you need 35 years qualifying N.I contributions, verses only 30 years between 1945 and 1951, (but 44 years prior to 1945).
    I'm sure there are other qualifying differences as well.

     

    By 2028 the eligible age for pension will be age 67, not 65 as the older scheme, possibly moving to 68 later, so the new scheme participants will be 2 years payment short.
    Except, like me, people born between 6th April 1951 and 6th April 1961 who will be between 0 and 2 yrs short as the qualifying age rises.

     

    Fortunately for me, I was born 2 days into the new scheme eligibilty so I did not loose any years as I was eligible at 65 birthday.

     

    However as I was still in employment I deferred taking the pension for 2½ years, the benefit of that was I didn't pay 40% tax on it, the drawback was I only get 5.8% per year bonus per year deferred, to make up for the loss, verses 10.4% if I was 2 days older, though on a lower amount.

    The bonus doesn't get the triple lock increase only the rate of inflation, regardless of the rate paid.




     

    • Like 1

  17. Anything Political

    in + Av Yer Say +

    Posted

    This is what the Commissioners will be doing, (from Nottm City Council website)

     

    The Government has announced that Commissioners are to be appointed for Nottingham City Council. 

    The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) has confirmed that the Secretary of State, after considering representations and all other developments since his ‘minded to’ proposals, has decided to appoint Commissioners for the council.

    The Lead Commissioner for Nottingham will be Tony McArdle OBE who was previously Lead Commissioner at the former Northamptonshire County Council and is currently Chair of the London Borough of Croydon Improvement and Assurance Panel. He will be supported by Margaret Lee as Commissioner for Finance, with the intention that a Commissioner for transformation will be nominated in due course. 

    The Commissioners have been granted extensive powers and will oversee the full range of the council’s improvement activities, including strategies to secure the medium and long term financial sustainability of the council and plans to transform front line services. 

    The appointment of Commissioners replaces the Improvement and Assurance Board with immediate effect, although the Commissioners will be able to draw on the input of Sir Tony Redmond and former IAB members as they see fit. 

    Major pressures affecting local government nationally, including the cost of increased demand for children’s and adults’ social care and rising homelessness presentations, have led to a £23 million overspend in 2023/24 and the need to request Exceptional Financial Support from government in the form of capitalisation which allows the council to use capital receipts from asset sales to meet ongoing revenue costs as a short term measure. 

    In addition, an extensive budget savings package which will have a significant impact on local services is due to be decided on by councillors at a meeting of the City Council scheduled for 4 March 2024. 

    In response to the Government appointments, Councillor David Mellen, Leader of the Council, said: “Our preferred option was to continue to work with the Improvement and Assurance Board which has been overseeing improvements at the council since 2021. 

    “We feel that significant progress was being made across the council. However, we are committed to working constructively and collaboratively with the Commissioners to tackle Nottingham’s current challenges.”

    Mel Barrett, the council’s Chief Executive, said: “The council is committed to working in collaboration with the Commissioners to continue our improvement journey at pace, reshaping the organisation to put the authority on a stable financial footing, while delivering essential services for Nottingham residents within the resources that we have.

    “Our wider transformation work is already well under way and the expert input and challenge from the Commissioners will be invaluable to our officers and councillors as they look to accelerate that process further.”

  18. Anything Political

    in + Av Yer Say +

    Posted

    The boundaries are also regularly changed in the U.K to keep the number of registered voters per ward as equal as possible.

    I'm in Nottingham North which is now changing to Nottm North and Kimberley as the numbers in Nottm North have dropped below the minimum.
    Will it make a difference and get Labour out who have been in seemingly for ever, not a chance.

     

    If 43% got the Conservtives in and 43% got Labour in, then even if 100% voted the outcome would still be the same.

     

  19. Anything Political

    in + Av Yer Say +

    Posted

    I was aware of talk of proposals for the East Midlands amalgamation and now assume that I must have thought that others, not the residents would be making the decision.

    I must have been asleep between November 2022 and Jan 2023 as I don't remember any mention or any contact by anyone or by letter of any link to the consultation website, which I've just found.

    Obviously the Have your say section has now been disabled / removed.

    https://www.eastmidlandsdevolution.co.uk/
     

     

    I wonder if the result had gone against, the 4 authorities would have suddenly started pushing for people to respond as I'm sure there must be a good few persons within those authorities who think that they are personally going to do well out of it.

  20. Eating out in Nottingham

    in General Chat about Nottingham

    Posted

    The old Central Police Station and Fire station are NOT being demolished.
    It's been mis reported somewhere and picked up by others.

    The Grade 2 listing remains on both parts, as it still does on the Guildhall.
    The City council have had to reduce the sale price to Miller Birch for the whole site as development of the Fire / Police Station area will be more expensive as it will have to take account of the Listing.
    Presumably it will still be for students but with far fewer units.

     

    Development of the Guildhall Hotel with the additional tower block behind it stands as was previously approved.

  22. Anything Political

    in + Av Yer Say +

    Posted

    When I originally viewed DJ's response it went down and out the box through the bottom lines of the page and into the beyond.
    The strange thing was it let me scroll down through it all to the end.

    I'm on a P.C, I don't know if it would have allowed that on a tablet.

    • Like 1

  23. McDonalds and other food places

    in Owt' Abaaht Nowt !

    Posted

    On 6/4/2020 at 3:41 PM, Stuart.C said:

    I've been in 2 McDonalds in my life.

    Clumber Street, I think it was, in the 80's, was Sunday and nothing else open.

    New Zealand last year with Son and family, I blame the Grandkids.

     

    I suspect McDonalds failed to impress me in the 80's.

    I have no further plans to go to any.

     

    I'm sorry to have to report that I have now been in another McD, Castle Marina, with a former work colleague who was visiting the area for a meeting, fortunately only for Tea / Coffee.
    There was very little choice in the area, we would have gone into Sainsburys Cafe but along with the majority of their  other Cafes around the country it's been closed.
    Pizza Hut was the next choice but they hadn't opened at the time we were there, 10.30am.
     

  24. Our carbon footprint?

    in Owt' Abaaht Nowt !

    Posted

    After years of streamlining the fronts of cars and making them more pedestrian safe in the event of contact, including shock absorbing bonnets with explosive lifters, greater clearance under the bonnet to allow it to collapse etc, the trend now is the style and size of vehicle above, 4x4 style, which I believe, like vans and lorries are allowed to be less pedestrian friendly.

     

    Get hit by the thing above and you'll flattened back onto the road and run over, and squahed, instead of being safely lifted onto the bonnet.