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Here is the Nottinghamian from Tuesday, January 17.
Hello,
Today's edition of the Nottinghamian takes a look at three Nottingham libraries which have been saved from closure. It comes after the city council decided to alter the opening times in an effort to keep them running.
We will also take a look at a price rise for trentbarton bus tickets and an opening date for a popular sustainable clothing store in the city.
Time change
Three at-risk Nottingham libraries have been saved from closure by altering their opening times, Nottingham City Council has confirmed. The council’s executive board voted in favour of keeping all existing libraries open, but said it would shorten opening times across the library network.
The council will also modify Aspley Library to create a stock distribution and outreach hub while retaining it as a publicly accessible library. Earlier proposals would have seen the closure of Basford, Radford/Lenton and Aspley libraries, with Aspley’s being turned into a distribution hub for the library service.
After some savings were achieved through a staffing restructure in the libraries service, the council said only £79,000 of savings were needed from the original £233,000. The council said this, along with the public feedback demonstrating the desire to keep libraries open, encouraged it to look again at how to achieve the necessary changes and cuts needed to keep the libraries open.
Portfolio holder for leisure, culture and planning, Councillor Pavlos Kotsonis, said: “The decision for the closure of the three libraries was put forward due to pressure to balance our budget. I am pleased we have been able to find ways to achieve the required savings without the need for those closures.” Read more here.
Price rise
Bus company trentbarton is set to increase its bus fares on January 22. The firm said the change comes as the cost of fuel, parts and wages rise. It means the adult mango off-peak day cap is up by 50p and the mango anytime day cap up 20p.
An adult zigzag ticket will cost passengers £7.60 instead of £7. The two person zigzag duo will go from £12 to £13 and the five person zigzag group ticket will rise from £16 to £17. Prices being frozen include the young explorer at £1 and the £3.50 zigzag plus add-on which includes morning peak travel.
Tom Morgan, group commercial director at trentbarton, said: "We are paying considerably more than we were to reward our staff and for fuel and parts. For our services to remain viable, we have had to increase fares. We recognise the pressures everyone is under, but we hope our customers will be reassured that we have worked very hard to keep the average increases below inflation."
Weather and trivia
Weather: Remaining cold, staying dry and mostly bright on Wednesday. Strong winds, and possibly wintry showers. Maximum temperature 4 °C.
UV: Low
Further reading: New jobs created as takeaway business gets £40,000 boost
Trivia question: What is unique about Nottingham City Transport?
The answer to today's trivia question is at the bottom of the newsletter.
Notts nostalgia
The River Trent area, or Sneinton Island as it was once known, has historically been linked to leather making and tanneries. The Turney leather factory on London Road is more than 160-years-old.
The five-storey former factory is Grade II-listed and became flats in 1982. Given its age, the restoration of the building and transformation was a difficult job - in particular, soundproofing, as the construction had been predominately timber and cast iron frame.
Nevertheless, the builders managed it and the front of the building was retained so you can still read Turney Brothers Ltd as you pass by. The leather businesses in Nottingham almost became extinct and the Turney brothers are credited with reviving the dying industry.
By 1838, the industry was in serious decline despite Nottingham once being a leader in leather goods. The Turney brothers decided to open their leather factory in the area known as Sneinton Island in 1861.
Although the site was quite small when it started, it rapidly expanded into a much larger site by the 1920s and became a Nottingham landmark. When the Second World War hit, production increased to help create large amounts of army clothing quickly for troops. Post-war, the company celebrated its centenary as a major manufacturing company in Nottingham in 1961.
Despite this, the company went on to record financial losses in the late 1970s as it began to decline and multiple redundancies from a staff force that had been in the hundreds didn't help matters. It sadly made the decision to close in 1981 as the only remaining tannery in the city, citing increased prices for raw materials and also the economic slump at that time. Read more here.
New opening
Independent ethical clothing brand Lucy and Yak is set to open its first Nottingham store next month. The fashion company, which focuses on conscious clothing, will open its fourth UK store in the city centre on February 18. The shop will be located at 11 Poultry, where maternity and baby clothing retailer JoJo Maman Bebe was previously based.
The Nottingham shop follows the successful opening of the brand’s two newest stores in Bristol and Norwich. The company's flagship store is based in Brighton, located on the bustling North Laine. The hope is that each shop can become a Re:Yak Hub – a space for customers to recycle, repair or upcycle their clothes.
Lucy and Yak is known for its comfy, organic fabrics - especially its dungarees which have become one of its best sellers. Lucy Greenwood, co-founder of Lucy and Yak, said: “We are so excited to be coming to Nottingham next month, and can’t wait to be a part of a city full of arts, culture and history. We’re really looking forward to having a shop in the East Midlands, in such a connected city like Nottingham, so we’re able to reach even more of our community and continue building our Re:Yak network.”
That's all for today
Thank you for joining me for today's edition of The Nottinghamian. I hope you enjoyed it, and if you did why not sign up to receive it directly in your inbox every weekday by clicking here.
The answer to today's trivia question, what is unique about Nottingham City Transport, is it is the largest publicly-owned bus network in England.
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