A woman has spoken of how she was "gobsmacked" by a council's decision to reject plans for a Jubilee party on her street. Nicola Gask, 50, who lives on Tollerton Lane, Tollerton had applied through her parish councillor for a closure on Tollerton Lane between the Shell garage on the Melton Road A606 and Burnside Grove, to allow for a street party to mark the the Platinum Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II.
Many roads across the country are being closed for the huge celebration, and around 70 people had planned to come to the Tollerton Lane event. Ms Gask, who works as a online trading manager, said: "We applied for a road closure for part of the road sometime in April, I think. We don't really know a lot of people down the street, so I printed out these little paper invites and sent them around to the whole street and more than a quarter had come back and said 'what a great idea, it would be lovely to meet everybody, lets do it'.
"Our parish councillor had applied for us and the road closure we were asking for was for less than a quarter of a mile of it, where the majority of the people are. But they rejected it for strategic purposes.
Read more: Full list of Nottinghamshire road closures for Platinum Jubilee street parties
"The whole purpose was to celebrate and bring people together and I was surprised to be honest how many people responded, so it is just really deflating. We now don't have anywhere to hold the event and are struggling to find a place, and we have 60-70 people coming.
"I am gobsmacked, if a couple of people had wanted to do it then that's fine but it is the fact that so many people have responded, with some many people across the country taking part. It feels short-sighted, don't get me wrong clearly people at the council are very busy and it wouldn't be easy as I think it is, but we're asking for a closure for a few hours on Sunday where they won't be a lot of traffic.
"There's complete access around the part of the road we would be closing, so I think with a bit of goodwill and intention we would get there. The road has been closed a number of times for gas or water, so it can be done, and the whole county would know what was going on so people wouldn't be surprised by it."
Nottinghamshire County Council said they have rejected just two out of 400 applications for street party applications. The council explained that the refusal was due to Tollerton Lane being a 'major road', which could cause significant problems if closed.
Gary Wood, Nottinghamshire County Council’s Head of Highways and Transport, said: “We’re really pleased that so many people in Nottinghamshire are looking to mark the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee and we’ve tried to do everything we can to allow communities to close roads safely for street parties. We’ve followed the government guidance and also tried to be as flexible as possible taking into account safety considerations.
“Out of approximately 400 street party applications, there are only two that we have had to refuse on the basis that they are on more major roads and have the potential to significantly impact the network.
“Tollerton Lane is the main access route into Tollerton and would impact those travelling into the village.
“Any closure would require a diversion to be put in place, taking traffic on to more residential routes close to other street parties due to be taking place. Additionally, it would require traffic signals on the A606 Melton Road to be changed to facilitate the closure.
“Whilst Tollerton Lane has been closed for roadworks to take place in the past, these have been for essential works and unless an emergency, planned several months in advance. The diversion routes and traffic management have also required detailed plans to be put in place.
“We have provided basic road closures and signage free of charge for almost 400 parties to take place, and whilst we can understand the disappointment of Tollerton Lane residents, we do hope they get to enjoy the Jubilee at one of the other events within their community.”
