Category Archives: Nottingham

Closed for business: Nottingham’s empty commercial properties

Posted on July 3, 2011 | 9 Comments
Empty properties, Nottingham, Mark Riley Cardwell
Picture: Mark Cardwell

It does not take too long to spot an empty shop in Nottingham. A walk through the city centre reveals fake window-dressing or boarding on one out of every four shop fronts. But the level of other empty business properties is also proving to be a cause for concern.

A survey by the Local Data Company in February showed the city has the highest number of empty shops in the East Midlands at 23.6 per cent – more than eight points above the reported national average.

In addition, figures released under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 show the city holds 125 vacant commercial properties with a rateable value above £40,000. Meanwhile, Derby – a city four fifths the size of Nottingham – has almost half the number of vacant premises.

The list included 56 office properties, 24 large shop sites, 11 warehouses and eight factory buildings, while the most affected wards were Radford and Park, Bridge and St Anne’s.

Graham Chapman, deputy leader of the Council and portfolio-holder for resources, economic development and reputation, agreed the abundance of empty and outdated office space was a serious issue.

“I think that it is a problem – particularly if we are going to attract new people. What they are looking for is new office development,” he explained.

“Paradoxically the recession has meant a number of people have started businesses up, and some of that office space could be used for smaller firms and start-ups.

If the price was reasonable the space could be divided and let out to smaller businesses, as we have done with council-owned buildings.”

Another idea is to create student accommodation from converted office space, including Lawrence House in Talbot Street, Eastwood.

“There is currently quite a bit of interest in student lettings, and there are a number of applications for conversion to student halls,” he said.

“It is very beneficial because it deflates the student housing market in normal houses and gets students out of the three to four bedroom houses which are much more appropriate for families.”

He added that Chancellor George Osborne’s decision to lower the threshold for empty properties eligible to pay business rates would put further pressure on smaller businesses.

From April 21, commercial properties with a rateable value over £2,600 will be charged full rates after three months, while industrial properties will be charged after six.

John Dowson, head of policy and representation at Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire Chamber of Commerce, said: “The number of empty shops and offices is understandable given people’s responses to the recession. There is always going to be a proportion that are not utilised – whether in Nottingham or elsewhere.

“Having empty properties can attract new businesses, but it does create more of a negative impression of a city.”

In order to lessen the impact of nearly a quarter of the city’s shops being empty, the council has resorted to window-dressing vacant buildings – though some believe it sends out the wrong impression.

Natasha Johnson-Richards is the director and founder of not-for-profit IT training centre Go Digit All, in Bridgeway, The Meadows, which offers training, advice and outreach services to the unemployed.

Mrs Johnson-Richards said: “It is just cosmetics. Sometimes the council seems like it would rather leave a building empty than put it to good use. We have made planning applications for buildings in the Meadows that have been empty for more than eight years, but we have been turned down.”

“I think more should be done to allow charities and not-for-profit organisations to rent these places in stead of letting them go to waste.”

“It would also help people who are out of work to find employment.”

Regeneration of the city

Mr Chapman claimed the proposed redevelopments of both Broadmarsh and Victoria Centre – two of the city’s biggest shopping hubs – accounted for a number of the empty city-centre shops, as store spaces have not been replaced.

“We expect there will be quite a bit of hope for Nottingham in terms of interest for Victoria and Broadmarsh in redevelopment, and they will fill a lot of that empty property in the long run.”

The £500 million Broadmarsh redevelopment is being organised by property group Westfield, while the Capital Shopping Centres-owned Victoria Centre development will cost £200 million. The two projects will create 7,000 new jobs, and will both be finished by winter 2015.

Lorraine Baggs, Invest in Nottingham trade and investment manager, said: “We don’t feel that the city is in a period of stagnation and that there is some confidence in the commercial property market returning.

“The range of properties currently empty are an opportunity for the city as it does give us a good range of properties to target potential inward investors.

She said significant deals from the past year included bringing E.ON, Bonnington Plastics and Jamie’s Italian to the city.

Empty properties, Nottingham, batchgeo, map, data, foi, freedom of information, mark riley cardwell
Interactive map showing empty properties in Nottingham rated over $40,000

Pretty Vacant
A few of Nottingham’s highest rated empty commercial properties

Former HMV store
6 to 8, Wheeler Gate, city centre
Rateable value: £370,000
Liable: HMV UK

Taken over from Zavvi in February 2009, but closed in January as part of HMV’s first wave of nationwide closures after a disappointing Christmas. The retail giant holds on to another two stores in the city – though 40 stores will be closed this year.

Victoria Centre properties
Milton Street, city centre
Rateable value: £312,500
Liable: Victoria Centre Partnership

Four empty shop spaces as well as five floors of offices on Milton Street. Another shop space in the centre has been empty since February. Regeneration plans include a 200,000 sq ft department store and up to 50 new shops.

York House offices
Mansfield Road, city centre
Rateable value: £301,500
Liable: CSC Properties Investment

The headquarters for BBC East Midlands headquarters before becoming the home of Nottingham Trent’s journalism course until relocation to Chaucer Street last July. There are plans to demolish it as part of the Victoria Centre redevelopment.

Furlong House
Queen’s Drive, Bridge
Rateable value: £239,000
Liable: Davidsons Developments

A landmark building on the main route into the city. Previously occupied by BRB (Residuary), a Government-owned company looking after the interests of the disbanded British Railways Board.

* Nottingham City Council approved plans for an office project called the Portal to be built at Furlong House on June 22

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Nottingham Post – Mum who gave birth to city’s first triplets has died

Posted on June 10, 2011 | Leave a comment

Printed in the Nottingham Post on May 10, 2011.

Mark Riley Cardwell, cuttings, Cardiff School of Journalism

A WOMAN who had the first surviving set of triplets born at the City Hospital has died at the age of 85.

Marjorie Daykin had Peter, Paul and Jenny on January 23, 1954. She had also given birth to triplets six years previously but, tragically, they died shortly after being born.

She also had twins Jacqui and Jeffrey in 1951, and daughter Jayne in 1957.

Daughter Jenny Carlisle, of Cotgrave, said: “I think Mum’s proudest achievement would have been watching her children grow up.

“She was never ambitious and just wanted to get on with things – she always liked having her family around her.”

Marjorie was born on August 4, 1925, and grew up in Beeston.

She married her husband Eric after the Second World War but tragedy struck in 1948 when their first set of triplets died during a home birth in Dallas York Road, Beeston.

Following the births of twins Jacqui and Jeffrey, the family moved to a house in Curtis Grove, The Meadows.

The twins were followed by Peter, Paul and Jenny, and this time Marjorie was taken to the City Hospital.

Jenny, 57, said: “She told me none of the hospital staff wanted to take a break because they didn’t want to miss the birth. She was so huge she had to be rolled on to the table.

“She was brave to go through with it. I think having the twins gave her a bit more confidence after losing the first triplets.”

She separated from Eric shortly after their youngest daughter Jayne was born in 1957, and raised all six children on her own in their crowded two-bedroomed house.

Jenny said: “It was very difficult financially – we never had a lot.”

Marjorie went back to work as a sewing machinist in the 1970s at the Ormster Blouse Factory, Castle Boulevard.

When the children left home and parts of The Meadows were destroyed, she moved back to Beeston to be closer to her sisters Mary and Lil.

She was fond of nights out at the Pleasey Club, as well as fancy-dress nights and games of bingo.

In 2002, Marjorie suffered a stroke and moved to warden-aided housing at Templar Lodge, Beacon Road, Beeston, before moving to Ingoldmells, Lincolnshire, in 2006 to be cared for by daughter Jayne.

She finally moved to Eton Park Care Centre, Owthorpe Road, Cotgrave – where Jenny works as an activities co-ordinator – after having heart problems in January this year.

Marjorie was taken into Queen’s Medical Centre with pneumonia on April 22, and died two days later.

She will be laid in a family grave in Beeston Cemetery where her first set of triplets are buried.

One of the second set of triplets, Peter, died in 2006, but she is survived by her five children and 15 grandchildren.

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Nottingham Post – Both sides of argument finding support over AV

Posted on May 8, 2011 | Leave a comment

Printed in the Nottingham Post on May 5, 2011.

Mark Riley Cardwell, cuttings, Cardiff School of Journalism

Opinions in Notts are divided over today’s referendum on voting reform.

While many residents agree that there are problems with first-past-the-post voting, the possible complications and costs of the alternative vote remain a worry.

Under AV, voters can list candidates in order of preference.

If no candidate gains more than 50 per cent of the vote initially, the candidate with the smallest share of the vote is eliminated, and his or her supporters’ second choice votes are added to the others.

This continues until one candidate has more than 50 per cent of the vote.

But conflicting claims about the system, which has never been used for general elections in the UK, have worried some.

Claire Hamerton, 47, an administration assistant from New Basford, said: “It is hard to make your mind up as there are so many points of view and dirty games being played, so I am probably going to say no.

“The cost is definitely a factor, especially given the cuts. If AV is anywhere near the amount people are saying, it is a waste of money.

“I am not against some kind of change in the future, but I am not prepared to risk a party like the BNP getting in.”

Krzys Kozlowski, 51, a supply teacher and poet from Sherwood, said: “I shall be voting against because I think it is a total waste of time. There has got to be a complete change of the political system.”

Some objected to the cost of the £91m referendum itself, feeling it had been a “botched” coalition compromise.

John Greensmith, 56, unemployed, from Sherwood, said: “They are spending money on a stupid referendum while they are cutting money to hospitals – it is needed there.”

Dr Donald Henry, 79, retired, from Sherwood, said: “They wanted it politically, and the Prime Minister had to please the Lib Dems, but I don’t see any point in doing it.”

But others look more positively on the issue.

Arthur Miller, 77, retired, from Sherwood, said: “We have had first-past-the-post for a long time, and I think we have to give AV a go. If you have got four candidates and three are on the same level but the fourth wins by ten votes, it does not make sense.”

Claims that AV is too complicated for voters to understand also proved contentious.

Mr Miller said: “I am just an ordinary chap and I understand AV – it is a cheek to say people won’t understand it.”

A poll by ComRes for the Independent newspaper this week put the No vote on 66 per cent, 32 points ahead.

Under the present system, critics say votes for non-winning candidates are “wasted”, as it would make no difference if they were to lose by one or 10,000 votes. Additionally, smaller parties tend to do worse.

In last year’s general election, the Liberal Democrats gained 23 per cent of the vote but only eight per cent of the total seats.

Some believe AV will update the old two-party system and remove the ideas of safe seats and tactical voting. But others criticise it for being more expensive and believe it will make hung parliaments more likely.

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Nottingham Post – Stroke research team aiming for award

Posted on May 8, 2011 | Leave a comment

Printed in the Nottingham Post on April 26, 2011.

Mark Riley Cardwell, cuttings, Cardiff School of Journalism

A TEAM of scientists at the University of Nottingham has made the final of a national award with a project that could improve treatment for heart attack and stroke victims.

Platelet Solutions, a university company based at the Queen’s Medical Centre, is working on producing easy-to-use kits for GPs and non-specialist doctors.

The kits monitor the effectiveness of drugs, such as aspirin, which reduce the actions of platelets in the blood that can cause clots.

The team analysed blood samples from more than 350 patients, and believe many patients who are taking anti-platelet drugs could still be at risk of further problems.

Dr Yanushi Dullewe Wijeyeratne, a trainee doctor who handles the clinic work for the project, said: “At the moment, patients are treated across the board and there is no tailoring of treatment.

“We can use the information to optimise treatment in the future, which is a very exciting prospect.”

The team has reached the final of the Medical Futures Cardiovascular Innovation Awards, and have already presented their plans in London. They pitched their idea to 15 cardiology experts, and are hoping for a place at the awards ceremony in June.

Professor Stan Heptinstall, of Platelet Solutions, said: “We had exactly six minutes to convince the judges before the questions started. It was a lot like Dragons’ Den.”

The team hopes to gain the approval of NICE – the organisation which provides medical guidelines for the NHS – so kits can be distributed to doctors treating 600,000 patients on anti-platelet drugs around the country.

Prof Heptinstall, who is also a Liberal Democrat county councillor for Bramcote and Stapleford, said: “It is important we convince opinion leaders like those judging the Medical Futures competition.

Liberal Democrat city councillor Tony Sutton, who suffered a mild heart attack last year, said: “Having had a heart procedure, I am well aware anything that anything that helps the doctors to monitor the effects of drugs more accurately is a good thing.

“Prevention is better than emergency procedures later on.”

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Nottingham Post – Isy Suttie talks about her new musical comedy

Posted on May 8, 2011 | Leave a comment

Printed in the Nottingham Post on April 15, 2011.

Mark Riley Cardwell, cuttings, Cardiff School of Journalism

Since appearing as Mark Corrigan’s geeky on-off girlfriend Dobby in Peep Show, Isy Suttie has had to get used to life as a famous face. “I probably get recognised about twice a day,” she laughs. “And it always happens when you look awful – like when you are in a shop in your tracksuit with no makeup.”

The 32-year-old, who plays a lovable misfit IT technician and online gaming enthusiast in the Channel 4 sitcom, certainly does not seem to mind the new-found attention.

“People come up to you because they genuinely know and love the show.

“It makes it a bit easier than if you were a footballer who had just missed a goal for England – I think getting recognised then might not be such a pleasurable thing.”

In the latest season, Dobby becomes an obsession for former workmate Mark, played by David Mitchell.

Suttie, who grew up in Matlock, agrees that her character is the most fleshed out it has been to date.

“I did feel like she had a bit more to her, and I was really happy about that. I know Jesse Armstrong, Sam Bain and Simon Blackwell, who wrote it, a bit more now and I think it makes their job a bit easier when they know how it will sound coming out of our mouths.”

Suttie believes her character will be making an appearance in the eighth series of the popular show, due out next year, and feels “really lucky” to be involved.

When asked how much she has in common with her on-screen self, Suttie admits she could not believe how similar they were when she first auditioned for the part.

“I think people expect me to dress more like her – but in terms of personality I think we are very similar. She is more hardcore than I am – because she says what she thinks – but I am a little bit stronger than her. I would not have gone back to Mark this many times!”

As well as appearing in the sitcom, the actor, writer, stand-up comic and musician has a lot of other strings to her bow.

She has made several appearances at the Edinburgh Fringe festival, is a contributor to BBC Radio 4′s The Now Show, and was a comedy consultant for the Channel 4 teen drama Skins.

Her latest tour consists of a magic-realist musical love story set in an East Midlands supermarket. The show, Love Lost in the British Retail Industry, features Suttie playing all the parts – including an idealistic till worker, shelf stacker and fairy godmother.

“It’s basically about a girl working on the tills who goes on a date with a shelf stacker and it all goes a bit wrong. It is a bit like a panto in some places, but I think it has enough bite to not be cheesy – and it is quite dark in places.

“It was not my aim to say ‘oh everyone lives in this happy musical world’. I wanted it to be like real life.”

She says it reflects a period from her own life.

“I used to work in Somerfields in Matlock, and when I was on the tills I had the slowest scan rate of anyone there because I used to used to daydream about moving to London and becoming an actress. Lisa, the main girl in the play, dreams of becoming a pop star so it is a partly inspired by real experiences.

“If you were in a supermarket and you started making a mosaic based on the shelves, they would have a bit of a problem. They would try and get you out gently but if you said “why can’t I do this, customers like it”, they would be like, ‘actually I suppose there is no reason’.”

This will be her first full show in the city, although she is a regular at stand-up comedy night Just The Tonic.

“I always like coming back to Nottingham. Sometimes, people from school who I haven’t seen for ages come and see me.”

She adds: “I do think there is a certain kind of humour in the area – I don’t know if I could explain it in a sentence!”

Isy Suttie brings Love Lost in the British Retail Industry to Nottingham Playhouse on Monday. Tickets are £12 from the box office, call 0115 941 9419 or go to http://www.nottinghamplayhouse.co.uk

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Nottingham Post – IT training firm to lose £30,000 funding for training unemployed

Posted on May 8, 2011 | Leave a comment

Printed in the Nottingham Post on April 15, 2011.

Mark Riley Cardwell, cuttings, Cardiff School of Journalism

Cash cuts are threatening the future of a centre which provides computer and training services to unemployed people in The Meadows.

Go Digit All, an IT training company at the Bridgeway shopping precinct, expects to lose £30,000 a year as a result of government changes to funding for adult learning.

Director Natasha Johnson-Richards said: “We are still running the project but, long-term, there are doubts.

“We were granted funding for three years from the Home Office, but the funding was renamed and now we have to apply again to cover the next two years.

“Over the last two years we used the funding to set up an online radio station and engaged young people who could otherwise have been involved in gang culture.”

The centre received money for every unemployed person using its services, but now it will only get money for those taking an online skills course.

It has employed 16 young people over the last nine months, through the Future Jobs apprenticeship scheme for 18 to 24-year-olds.

The national scheme has now been axed by the government, and the centre’s staff will be reduced from 12 to three.

Last week Shane Henson, 23, finished a technical support course at the centre through Future Jobs.

He said: “If it wasn’t for the scheme I would not have found work. The course I wanted to do would have cost thousands of pounds.”

The company, started in 2001, opened The Meadows centre seven years ago. It has another one in Alfreton Road, Radford.

Ms Johnson-Richards said more than 200 people used the centre each year, while 500 unemployed people were helped through outreach work.

“IT is a core skill, but the Government is limiting people’s access,” she said.

“There is going to be a lack of opportunity.

“People are going to be restricted, which will stifle creativity and make them more demotivated.

“But we are not going to be deterred – this is just a challenge we are going to overcome.”

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Bioscience team Platelet Solutions wins backing

Posted on September 22, 2010 | 1 Comment

 

Printed September 9, 2010.

Nottingham team wins science competition at University

SCIENTISTS at the University of Nottingham have secured £20,000 for their latest invention.

Platelet Solutions, based at the Queen’s Medical Centre, was one of five teams of researchers from the UK and India who competed in the final of BioPharm 2020 – a new contest held at the university.

The team claims to have developed a method of improving life-saving treatment for heart attacks and strokes.

Its pitch impressed a panel of business experts, winning £20,000 and business start-up resources.

Professor Stan Heptinstall, head of Platelet Solutions, said: “Winning the contest will give us the opportunity to convert our research findings into a way of improving health care for patients at risk of cardiovascular diseases.

“What we proposed is a kit for doctors to test the effectiveness of prescribed drugs, such as aspirin, which reduce the actions of platelets in the blood that can cause clotting and thromboses.

“Patients who use these drugs can often still be at risk, and our product would see to what extent platelets have been reduced in order to optimise treatment.”

Platelet Solutions won the best UK entrant award. The best Indian entrant was won by Chalk2Salt.

Organiser Dr Jennifer Townsend said: “The teams put together a range of great business plans and presentations. We had a very strong panel of judges and a lot of high-profile support and interest.”

The panel was chaired by Stefano Pessina, executive chairman of Alliance Boots, and included Lucy Marcus, chairwoman of the board audit committee of BioCity Nottingham, and Nottingham businessman Professor Nat Puri.

The teams’ pitches consisted of a business plan, a 20-minute presentation, and a poster display viewed by 500 delegates.

The competition was led by the university in partnership with the Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur and the Indian Institute of Management Bangalore.

It was set up to foster links between biotechnology researchers and entrepreneurs in the UK and India. It is estimated that India’s biotechnology industry is growing by more than 50 per cent year-on-year.

The event was part of UK-PharmSci 2010, held at the East Midlands Conference Centre, which also showcased new research and technologies.

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Raleigh Artwork

Posted on September 22, 2010 | Leave a comment

 

Printed September 4, 2010.

Lots of interest in Notts bike manufacturer Raleigh’s history

VINTAGE artwork from Nottingham bike manufacturer Raleigh will go on view tomorrow ahead of an auction next week.

A private collection of historic posters, illustrated catalogues and other memorabilia of Midlands cycle companies such as Raleigh, Rudge, Humber and Triumph is going under the hammer at Mellors & Kirk.

The items, which date from the 1880s to 1950s, show the progression of the cycling industry, and depict changing styles and attitudes in the Midlands through the early 20th century.

Auctioneer Nigel Kirk said: “For anyone interested in the history of cycling, this is a wonderful collection.

“It shows the dawn of bicycle manufacturing, when Britain was a world leader in the industry.”

“It’s remarkable to see how things have changed. In one of the 19th-century catalogues there is a penny farthing listed for £18 and 10 shillings, which may not sound like much to us now but would have been the average yearly wage of a working chap at the time.”

One Raleigh poster from the 1950s depicts a young woman, seated on her bike, proudly holding a cigarette.

Mr Kirk said: “It’s fascinating to see the different styles of advertising they used back then.

“The cigarette in the poster seems to say ‘with a Raleigh bike you can go where you like and do what you like’, which you certainly would not see now.”

Another shows two women relaxing in what auctioneers believe to be Wollaton Park in the 1950s.

Also included is a Raleigh board game dating from 1935, in which players start in Nottingham and make their way through the countryside, ending at a pier on the south coast.

Items from the collection, included in a fine art sale of around 1,000 lots, have reserve prices ranging from £40 to £200.

The auction starts at 10.30am on Thursday and Friday. Viewing is from noon to 5pm tomorrow at Mellors & Kirk, Gregory Street, Nottingham. Entrance is free.

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Cat Cruelty/Open Gardens

Posted on September 22, 2010 | Leave a comment

Printed September 4, 2010.

Cat cruelty cases on the rise

A NOTTS animal rescue shelter says there has been a rise in the number of cases of cruelty against cats.

Staff at the adoption centre of Cats Protection, Nuthall, believe the recent national case of a cat being dumped in a wheelie bin reflects a growing trend of poor treatment.

Sam Arnsby, cat-care assistant, said: “In the last couple of months there has been a succession of neglected cats found in boxes, baskets and abandoned properties.

“We have admitted six cases since the end of July, and a further six have been reported.”

In one case, a kitten was found trapped in a cardboard box beside Catfoot Lane in Lambley.

Debbie Heathcote, deputy manager, said: “When he was brought in, Armstrong was very underweight, and had the worst case of fleas I have ever seen.

” Since we have taken care of him he has become more alert and is playing well.”

Christabel, an 18 month old tortoiseshell and daughter Lucinda were found by a woman after they were thrown into her garden one night.

The centre, who currently care for around 40 animals, also received a report of a cat discovered in a box at Trowel service station.

Staff are unsure why there has been such a sharp rise in cases over the summer, but believe that there has been a gradual increase over the last few years due to the recession.

Mrs Heathcote said: “Every year it gets worse. In the current financial climate, owners are less willing to pay for important medical costs, such as neutering and flea-treatment.”

The centre believes there could be a silver lining to the incident of Coventry woman Mary Bale dropping kitten Lola into a bin.

Mr Arnsby said: “While we don’t agree with the lady’s life being threatened, it is good to see that cases of cruelty like this are exposed nationally.

“It helps to spread the message that this is not an acceptable way to behave towards animals.”

Gardens: Late summer open days in Notts

PLANT-LOVERS will have an opportunity tomorrow to view three of Notts’ finest privately owned gardens in the last of the summer sunshine.

Open gardens in Mansfield, Coddington and Keyworth will be raising money for charity as part of the National Garden Scheme (NGS).

Gill Hill, owner of The White House, in Nicker Hill, Keyworth, is looking forward to the event.

“We open our garden throughout the year, and really want to raise as much money for the charities as possible,” she said.

Gill, who tends a three- quarter-acre garden with husband Tony, says that the garden changes a lot with the seasons. “We have lots of warm orange, yellow and purple tones, with plenty of dahlias, zinnias and michaelmas daisies.”

As well as a host of “loose, informal country planting”, the garden, open from 2pm to 5pm tomorrow, boasts three pristine silver birches, a small apple orchard and a group of Italian cypruses.

The garden, which will also be open this Wednesday, September 8, backs on to harvested wheatfields, and open views of the Wolds around South Notts can be seen.

Hard to find plants grown in the garden will be sold on the premises.

Bruce and Marian Richmond’s cottage garden at Roselea, 40 Newark Road, Coddington, which is open from 11am to 5pm, is showing lots of autumn colour.

“We have lots of clematis, echinaceas, grasses and unusual alpine plants.” says Bruce.

“The garden is surrounded by trees, including a group of impressive beech trees. We have been here for 34 years, and it has changed completely in that time.”

In addition, the garden of Laurence and Margaret Brown at 29 Lime Grove, Forest Town, Mansfield, will be open from 1 to 5pm.

This 1.3 acre garden features many varieties of colourful perennials, colourful herbaceous borders and a koi pond. Money raised will be donated to various charities including Macmillan cancer support, Marie Curie cancer care, Help the Hospices, and Crossroads care for carers.

The White House and Lime Grove cost £2.50 for admission, and Roselea costs £2.

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Doctor Who monsters in Nottingham

Posted on September 22, 2010 | Leave a comment

Printed September 2, 2010.

Doctor Who monsters descend on Old Market Square

THE scariest monsters from the world of Doctor Who descended on the city’s Old Market Square.

Infamous creatures from the television series, including a Cyberman, Ood, Scarecrow, Silurian and Clockwork Robot, confronted shoppers and visitors to Nottingham Riviera yesterday.

They were there to spread the word about the Doctor Who live tour which arrives in Nottingham next month.

Dave McEvoy, stage manager for the live show, said: “We have had a brilliant reaction. Children have been scared, excited and filled with wonder, which is what Doctor Who is all about.”

The monsters, who were played by actors from the TV and live show, drew a large audience from a range of young to seasoned fans.

Karl Greenwood, who reprised his TV roles as an Ood and Cyberman, said: “It has been a tremendous day, and we have had a captive audience as the Riviera is so popular. We have attracted young children and long-term Doctor Who buffs – though as long as people are scared I am happy.”

Mark Poole, 39, of Forest Fields, said: “The monsters are excellent. I have always been a fan of Doctor Who, and would love to see the full live show.”

Sai Ragunath, 20, of Radcliffe-on-Trent, who was with her brother Ashwin, 8, said: “The costumes are awesome, and very realistic. My favourite was the Ood.”

The event will come to Nottingham Trent FM Arena on October 25 and 26. It will feature live music, characters and monsters from the series.

Mr Greenwood said the show would have something for everyone.

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