Tag Archives: Sheriff of Nottingham

May 20 2010

Jamie Oliver brings Italy to Nottingham

GUEST BLOG – MATTHEW HANNAH

There was great news for Nottingham yesterday with the announcement that Jamie Oliver is to open a new restaurant in Nottingham – of his Italian variety!

Great chef poor fashion taste?

The ‘Naked Chef’ has come a long way in his short life – he is still only 35… But he has enjoyed huge success on TV and in his culinary books. He has even changed school meals.

With the announcement that he is to take over the Jass cafe and Gallery in Nottingham the building was previously the offices of Warren & Allen and has a stunning city garden to the rear of the property that I am sure Jamie’s team will maximise to the full.

We do have Sat Bains – the only Michelin Starred restaurant in Nottingham. I have eaten there and it is a real experience, but it is not for everyday (for one thing it is a bit on the expensive side!). We also have Harts – which has great food – and is much more affordable – not cheap – affordable. Then there is the World Service, which I like less than Harts, but is still great. I like Merchants too, in the Lace Market.

As one of England’s eight core Cities perhaps it is not surprising Jamie has chosen to open in Nottingham. It is another leading brand which will make a positive contribution to the City Centre. I am looking forward to seeing the completed design so over to Jamie and his team…

[Matt is my fellow Director at Innes England - who looks after all things retail]

UPDATE 1ST AUGUST 2010

It looks like Jass has now closed – so after a quick lick of paint we will be getting those Bolognese dishes served? I can’t wait…

May 10 2010

The Sheriff bows out

I attended a celebration on Saturday at Nottingham Castle to bid farewell to the incumbent Sheriff of Nottingham, Councillor Leon Unczur.

The real Sheriff of Nottingham and his Lady

The Sheriff is an ambassadorial position – and the role is said to be:

To promote Nottingham as a destination for visitors for short breaks, conferences, business and shopping
To encourage local residents to use and take part in cultural/leisure activities opportunities in the city and county

I went to America with Leon last year in search of world class attractions as I blogged about. I think my lasting memory was of Leon’s ability to talk to people – everywhere we went he was doing exactly what the job role says on the tin – being an ambassador for the City. His opening line was well received, “Hi, I am Councillor Leon Unczur and I am the real Sheriff of Nottingham..”

But Leon also opened the bungalows I built at Abel Collins in Beeston – and he did a similarly brilliant job – the residents still talk about the day the Sheriff came to the complex!

In an era when I have little regard for Politicians – especially after the General Election debacle – Leon does stand out as someone who genuinely cares about the City, its residents and his constituents.

Leon was also instrumental in setting up the Sheriffs Commission – a body set up to encourage the City to make more of Robin Hood – and he has made great progress. Even if there is still much work to be done – at least we have got started.

Michael Williams Corporate Director for Communities spoke about Leon’s year and the theme of ‘ambassador’ featured highly. And praise was given the Sheriff’s lady – Adela Hampson, who was presented with flowers by Leon for her help.

The new Sheriff is Penny Griggs – she starts on Monday!

Leon will be a difficult act to follow.

Apr 11 2010

I want one of those – golf carts

I am getting to that age (!) when I am contemplating an electric golf cart. Being a web fox I have been doing some research today.

Hammond, Garratt and Lyle - hi ho silver away

And I have found the answer! It’s not what my golfing mates will be expecting (they too have purchased or are purchasing an electric golf trolley). But I think it will be cool…

I am thinking it can be no more embarrassing than Richard’s remote control buggy that seems to have a mind of its own – it nearly wrapped itself around a bunker! This was just after he had chased it after it went AWOL. “Teething problems” he remarked.

when I was in San Francisco with the Sheriff of Nottingham last year we hired Segways for three hours and went on an amazing tour. They are great fun – but perhaps ‘cool’ isn’t the answer. One of the reasons they have not taken off here in the UK is that there is no clear position on whether you can ride them on the pavement or the road. In San Francisco the rules were that you had to ride on the Road – which was, at times, quite challenging!

So there are no issues here – there are no silly rules on Golf Courses?

On the other hand – I might go for something a little more conservative! Like a Motocaddy!

UPDATE 17 APRIL

I was running out of time before I tear the Borders apart, so headed off this morning for European Golf in Arnold and splashed out on a PowaKaddy… It’s charging up as I blog!

Apr 10 2010

Architecture divides again at the Olympic Park

With news last week that Boris Johnson had announced Anish Kapoor’s winning design for a visitor attraction, opinion was immediately divided!

Olympic Tower - courtesy Arup

The steel structure is to form a centrepiece of the 2012 Olympic Park, is to be named ‘The ArcelorMittal Orbit’. It will become the UK’s largest sculpture at 115m in height (22m higher than the Statue of Liberty). It is estimated to cost £19.1m – funded by the steel company AreclorMittal after its CEO Lakshmi Mittal was approached by Mayor of London, Boris Johnson. It is said to offer unparalleled views of the entire 250 acres of the Olympic Park and London’s skyline from a special viewing platform.

Peter Hitchens in his usual diatribe in the Mail on Sunday suggests, “Only a nation on the way down, whose culture was dominated by phonies and jokers, could allow the building of the stupid and ugly tower planned to adorn London’s Olympic Park.”. This is the man who denies that Dyslexia exists.

I think the tower looks amazing!

I also think that there is a clever attraction here. When we looked at world class attractions in the USA with the Sheriff of Nottingham, one of the the features we found was ‘views’. These were obvious at Top of the Rocks in New York and The Space Needle in Seattle. But there were subtle views too – like the live viewing ‘theatre’ at The High Line in New York. We seem to be attracted at looking at our fellow humans from above!

Nottingham has a great opportunity to do this with the Castle. In the short term we keep bringing back the big wheel – offering great views. Imagine having a structure like this – it would be brilliant. We do have some of Anish Kapoors work at The Playhouse…

When the Eiffel Tower was built it was the subject of much criticism – especially from the artistic and literary elite, some saying,

“We protest with all our force, with all our indignation, in the name of unappreciated French taste, in the name of menaced French art and history, against the erection, in the very heart of our capital, of the useless and monstrous Eiffel Tower… Is Paris going to be associated with the grotesque, mercantile imaginings of a constructor of machines? ”

A sense of deja vu? And the Luddites still roam the earth freely….

Mar 23 2010

Robin Hood is back in Nottingham!

Last night I went to the special opening event at Nottingham Castle of the exhibition of Robin Hood film props and costumes.


There were around 100 people gathered, including Robin himself – and the baddy The Sheriff of Nottingham! Robin was banished to the outside whilst the Sheriff welcomed his guests! I stood with my mate John Lyle – both of us making notes for our respective blogs!

We were introduced to a number of people – including the set decorator from the film Sonja Klaus. Everyone was genuinely excited about the exhibition which will run until the end of September – at both Nottingham Castle – but also in Sherwood Forest! There are some of the actual costumes and artefacts from the film – loaned courtesy of Universal and made into a small set.

But I was really interested in the comments made by Jennifer Spencer from Experience Nottinghamshire.

In essence the message from Jennifer was:

1. Nottingham and Nottinghamshire must maximise the opportunities around the launch of the movie
2. We need to aim to have 10% more overnight visitors in 2010 (and a 5% increase in day visitors)
3. Tourism is worth £1.4bn to us! We have 35 million visitors each year
4. A 10% increase in visitors would add £46m to the local economy

But Jennifer also suggested some really interesting facts:

1 in 5 tourists make a visit to a city as a direct result of a film
Visitors are more likely to visit the place portrayed in the film – than the filming location
Hollywood films with their global reach and larger audiences are more likely to have an impact
Films with a strong emotional resonance or where a particular setting plays a key role are particularly effective at drawing tourism

This really is Nottingham’s opportunity to capitalise on Robin Hood. We must do so – and not lose it again. I said in Cannes last week that we seemed reticent sometimes to use the brand – but we shouldn’t be. In difficult times (and I suspect there are more ahead) these sort of opportunities won’t come a long every day! And this is an opportunity.

Nottingham has hosted a number of journalists in the last few weeks – including from France and the USA – each have been impressed with the City. So the word will have started to spread.

But back to Jennifer Spencer – she mentioned that she had been at a Visit England strategy meeting last week – the guest speaker was Joanna Lumley. The message was one of having confidence in our tourism offer – but also looking at the offer through the eyes of a tourist. Some of what we have we take for granted.

We need to shout about we do have – but shout louder about what we don’t – until we get it!

Robin Hood world class visitor attraction here we come…

Mar 17 2010

MIPIM 2010 – Robin Hood makes an appearance

As promised I gave a talk last night about the work of The Sheriff’s Commission on the Nottingham Yacht.

Tourists and Robin


The Yacht was busy – so busy they shut the doors (is that the right term?) – around 40 people were marooned on the harbour wall. Someone told me that at least 50 heard the talk.

As usual, I relied on my trusty MacBook pro and Keynote to deliver and it didn’t let me down! I love Keynote – it is just so much better than PowerPoint – especially as you can embed video! The real Sheriff of Nottingham made an appearance – setting out the reasons we have set up a Sheriff’s commission and what Nottingham wants out of it – for visitors and the public alike. But also there was footage of some of the tourists who were posing around the Robin Hood statute.

The talk was well received – but was rounded off by an exclusive look at the trailer for the new Robin Hood film (released in the UK on 14th May 2010). I have to say the trailer looks amazing – and what an appropriate place to show it – in the film festival capital of the world!

I perhaps don’t need to elaborate on what the talk contained as most of it is on my blog here – but my summing up was that Nottingham needs a world class attraction based around Robin Hood – probably centred on the Castle. We want to make it part of a series of Nottinghamshire attractions – including the Major Oak at Sherwood Forest.

There was real interest after the talk and I have met some potential investors today who might be interested in developing it…

As to whether I wore green tights – you will never know….


UPDATE 28 March 2010

It seems we may have had a premonition! The film is to open the 2010 Cannes film festival. May 12th is the day when Sir Ridley Scott, Russell Crowe and Cate Blanchett are likely to be in Cannes promoting the film. This is likely to be great news for the movie and for Nottingham – as the PR is likely to be even bigger than we anticipated.

Mar 14 2010

Been there – got the t-shirt

Doesn’t a year fly by? Actually five years..

It really is that pink....


I’m off today to my 6th MIPIM conference in Cannes. But unlike some brave folks I will be flying (green people please note that the plane was going anyway).

You might have guessed from previous blog posts that my firm sponsor Invest in Nottingham – along with others from the private sector. We also go because we meet clients out there – old and new.

MIPIM has become an established place for the world property market to go. There are 18,000 participants crammed into the town of Nice, of whom 3,575 are know investors. 1,213 developers are registered this year. 79 Countries are represented – most of whom will have a stand in the ‘bunker’ – which has 20,000 sq m of exhibitions!

The major themes this year are said to be renewed investor confidence, the return of ambitious building projects and strategies for sustainable development in major cities.

My diary is pretty much full – presentations about Nottingham Southside feature heavily – where my Partner Matt Hannah will be speaking. I have the privilege of speaking about the work of the Sheriff’s Commission on Tuesday night – and we have an exclusive preview of the new Robin Hood film! I will also be at the dinner with Krasnodar and Nottingham City Council – where we expect a special announcement. In between all of that there are meetings planned with the leaders of Nottingham City Council and Derby City Council, breakfasts with a number of my private sector contacts and lunches with a similar crowd.

Our day is normally rounded off with a fine kebab – great food after a day of canapes.

It is a fairly frantic week – I usually get through a box of business cards and collect a similar number!

So, time to board the plane to the Cote D’Azur – and sort the t-shirt. If I am honest I am not sure I will bring it back…

Mar 11 2010

Robin Hood – taxing the rich (Banks) to help the poor

I normally have a lot to shout about Robin Hood. But my evangelism is to promote Nottingham with the City’s best loved (?) son.

Robin Hood taxman to the Bank


Yesterday our local MP Graham Allen tabled a motion in the Houses of Parliament promoting a new Robin Hood tax, I quote in part:

As someone born and bred in Nottingham and one of the City’s Parliamentary representatives it gives me a special pleasure to introduce this short debate on the idea of a “Robin Hood” tax . Remarkably the proposal to debate this issue is so convincing that it has the active support of the current Sheriff of Nottingham.

The social contract between banks and society needs to be re-written, so that banks give something back to the societies they serve and ensure we can live up to our commitments to tackle poverty and climate change, at home and abroad.

A Robin Hood Tax is a timely solution that can tackle, head-on, the major financing challenges we face while renewing the social contract between banks and society. Continuing public anger at the institutions that caused the crisis makes the introduction of the tax not just possible but popular. Reputationally helpful for bankers and politicians

It would be quick to implement and would raise significant funds. The UK could unilaterally introduce a levy on wholesale trades of sterling, no matter where in the world they take place, with the proceeds being captured automatically at the point of settlement. This would raise at least £3 billion a year and would not adversely affect UK trade, as a 0.005% FTT would be comfortably absorbed in the current margins.

So Robin is now being turned into a tax man – something he must surely would have him turning in his grave.

It all sounds very compelling – a tiny tax. With no impact on consumers. £3bn a year for doing nothing. Reputationally helpful for Bankers and Politicians. It also seems to have widespread support judging by the website set up.

On the face of it, it’s probably a good idea. But, we are a nation obsessed with taxation. I do have a concern about this; top rates of income tax for the highest earners are now 50%. National Insurance creeps ever higher – and is nothing short of a stealth tax. VAT has slipped back up to 17.5%. We are told it’s not going to get better. Of course some people just avoid the UK tax system!

I wouldn’t mind all of this if I thought the Government were any good at spending the money they collect. In reality, and in my opinion, they’re not… You don’t have to look far for examples.

Mar 8 2010

Nottingham Castle in the winter sun

As I continue to write my presentation for MIPIM I decided to spend an hour at Nottingham Castle yesterday morning.

Nottingham Castle by Jak Garratt


I needed some stock shots – and with the bright blue sky, this was an ideal day! My son, Jak came with me.

Although I am convinced that Nottingham should capitalise on Robin Hood by building a new visitor attraction, there have been doubters. They come from all walks of life. Some write to the Evening Post and bemoan any sort of ambition the City has. Some work for the Council and think that the current Castle is just fine as it is (an Art Gallery). Some people tell me they have heard it all before and nothing will ever happen (the defeatists!). Some believe that only the private sector can get the thing to fly.

My personal view is that Nottingham needs to think big. We do ‘own’ Robin Hood – he doesn’t belong at the side of a runway in Doncaster.

And yesterday, in the sunshine I watched a coach load of tourists arrive. I think they were German! There were Japanese tourists too – trying to get their picture by the statute of Robin Hood. All were talking excitedly in their own mother tongue.

I couldn’t help but wonder though whether they would leave Nottingham feeling ever so slightly let down? The Castle isn’t a real Castle – it’s a Ducal Palace. There’s no real story of Robin Hood being told. There was no Robin Hood and his band of merry men wandering around. This is where we are missing a trick – people want to come and be part of the story.

My son said afterwards that there was ‘nothing there’. Perhaps that’s a bit harsh – but I know what he means. The offer is limited!

With the film coming out in just over two months time – the visitors will not lessen! Now’s the time for the City to get Robin back and make something of him – the benefits for the whole City could be enormous!

Mar 2 2010

Robin Hood at MIPIM 2010

In amongst the chaos of last week I did some “Sheriff’s Commission” work.

Maid Marian aka Cate Blanchett


I have been asked to do a small talk at MIPIM 2010 – explaining the work of the commission. So the pressure is on to get a presentation together. Some of the work I have done before about the lessons we learned from the USA trip is really helpful.

There is also some ‘new’ news to share – Nottingham is to get an exclusive exhibition of the props and artefacts from the new Robin Hood film. The exhibition is being designed by the set designer of the film.

But Nottingham is also having a Robin Hood month during May 2010 – to coincide with the release of the film. There are lots of events planned.

Castle Brewery are making a special Robin Hood brew. And a cheese is apparently fermenting as I blog!

We are also hoping to have the trailer for the film at MIPIM. Rumours that Russell Crowe and Ridley Scott will visit Nottingham are unconfirmed – but this will be a great boost for us.

At last Nottingham is starting to capitalise on the world brand that is Robin Hood. There are lots of ideas emerging – and some big ones for a major attraction. We have a long way to go. MIPIM is an excellent platform on which we can evangelise about the story.

The only thing that I won’t surprise anyone with is that, despite rumours to the contrary – I will not be wearing green tights!

Nor, apparently, is Cate Blanchett making a guest apperance in my talk…I have asked!

UPDATE 5.3.10

See here for the latest edition of Notice Nottingham all about MIPIM, also here specifically about the Sheriffs Commission and my talk!

UPDATE 9.3.10

See the story in tonights Nottingham Evening Post (online here) about the Broadway Cinema – which will be showing films during Robin Hood month.