Latest news with #NottinghamCivicSociety
Yahoo
19-07-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Could wartime-inspired restaurants tackle food inequality?
In the words of senior research fellow Dr Marsha Smith, "we all deserve nice things. Everyone deserves a good, nutritious meal". But for various reasons, not everyone has regular access to them. Now a solution could be found through the civic restaurants wartime initiative, which brought communities together over a warm dinner at a time of hardship. Research into a new "public restaurant", due to open in Nottingham in spring 2026, will help to understand whether society could benefit from a similar model today. Hilary Silvester was about 10 years old when she came across the communal kitchens for the first time in the 1940s, as she walked along Broad Street in Nottingham city centre. What is now the Broadway Cinema was a wartime diner, offering daily meals to the public. "What is British food? I wondered. Not very interesting at that stage. "It was very plain food, but quite nourishing," the now 88-year-old, of the Nottingham Civic Society, said. Hilary said between World War One and World War Two, civic restaurants - as they were known - were commonplace in Britain. The taxpayer-funded eateries were formally brought into law as part of the Civic Restaurants Act 1947, which gave local councils the power to establish and run restaurants to provide meals and at reasonable prices. That followed the British Restaurant scheme during World War Two, initiated by the food minister at the time, Lord Woolton, which provided one affordable hot meal a day per person. In a debate during the second reading of the Civic Restaurants bill in the House of Lords in March 1947, it was described as "small in size but important in its social purpose". The menu of Nottingham's Broad Street kitchen in the 1940s offered a few simple options - sausages, shepherd's pie, boiled potatoes, sometimes mash, and boiled fish, Hilary recalled. "There was nothing fancy about it. It was good food to provide sustenance at reasonable prices. "British restaurants really belonged to that life where you made the best of what you got. "The government and the councils, they were doing the best they could with the supplies available. A very different world," Hilary added. But even in today's world, Dr Marsha Smith, from the University of Nottingham, thinks there is a market for "social eating". "It [the British Restaurants scheme] was one of the biggest public health interventions in the UK, there were more of them than there are McDonald's now. "They were hugely popular and widely used," she said. She added at the time, the government made grants available so the restaurants could be decorated. "The idea was that they were not made to be poverty spaces," she said. The restaurant project has also been inspired by current social eating initiatives in countries like Brazil and Poland. Dr Smith, whose background is in the community food sector - has spent the last 15 years setting up "social eating spaces" - places anyone can go to share a meal with others. She and Dr Simon Welham, also from the university, are part of the research team that will evaluate the impact of the public restaurants. She said: "I'm really interested in giving people opportunities to sit and eat meals together because I think it's one of the most fundamental activities that humans undertake and it does so much more than just feed us physically. "It really helps us to bond socially and it helps us to build community. It's actually really good for our health over the longer term." She added: "What we learned at the time of the pandemic is that at times of crisis, other than health, food and social connections became incredibly valuable currencies." How will the project work? The project, named DISHED, has been be funded by about £1.5m from UK Research and Innovation and will be led by the Institute of Development Studies at the University of Sussex. Two trials of subsidised restaurants will take place - one in Nottingham and one in Dundee - as part of government efforts to tackle food inequality. The pilot will run as a research project for 14 months, during which their impact will be measured and evaluated. They will be shaped by local businesses, people, local government and others - and open to everyone. Dr Welham said the pilot was a "test and learn approach". Locations, menus and prices would be decided collaboratively, he added. Dr Smith said: "We know that in other countries these sort of public restaurants and public canteen initiatives sit amongst all sorts of other for profit business and within the commercial sector. "It's really about diversifying choice, it's about giving people options to access good quality nutritious meals, eating in sociable settings." Community support urged Any wider rollout of public restaurants would depend on the research, Dr Smith said. She added the restaurant model would be akin to leisure centres, public libraries, parks and museums. "I think we really ought to be thinking about how we raise the standard for our public infrastructures," she added. Dan Lindsay, managing director of several restaurants in Nottingham city centre - including Bar Iberico and Iberico World Tapas - said the pilot was a "great idea". "The alternative of fast food is always there and easier, and if there's another option where people could be more healthy, that could be a really positive thing for people," he said. Acknowledging the challenges faced by the hospitality industry, he said the "pool of people dining out" was smaller than it used to be. Dan was a co-owner of fine dining restaurant World Service restaurant, which closed in 2024, after 24 years. "I'd be lying if I didn't say we don't need any more challenges, but I think it would be a good thing for our community to get behind," he added. Follow BBC Nottingham on Facebook, on X, or on Instagram. Send your story ideas to eastmidsnews@ or via WhatsApp on 0808 100 2210. More on this story Could taxpayer-funded public diners be revived? Related internet links University of Nottingham
BBC News
19-07-2025
- General
- BBC News
Could wartime-inspired restaurants tackle food inequality?
In the words of senior research fellow Dr Marsha Smith, "we all deserve nice things. Everyone deserves a good, nutritious meal". But for various reasons, not everyone has regular access to them. Now a solution could be found through the civic restaurants wartime initiative, which brought communities together over a warm dinner at a time of hardship. Research into a new "public restaurant", due to open in Nottingham in spring 2026, will help to understand whether society could benefit from a similar model today. Hilary Silvester was about 10 years old when she came across the communal kitchens for the first time in the 1940s, as she walked along Broad Street in Nottingham city centre. What is now the Broadway Cinema was a wartime diner, offering daily meals to the public. "What is British food? I wondered. Not very interesting at that stage."It was very plain food, but quite nourishing," the now 88-year-old, of the Nottingham Civic Society, said between World War One and World War Two, civic restaurants - as they were known - were commonplace in taxpayer-funded eateries were formally brought into law as part of the Civic Restaurants Act 1947, which gave local councils the power to establish and run restaurants to provide meals and at reasonable prices. That followed the British Restaurant scheme during World War Two, initiated by the food minister at the time, Lord Woolton, which provided one affordable hot meal a day per person. In a debate during the second reading of the Civic Restaurants bill in the House of Lords in March 1947, it was described as "small in size but important in its social purpose". The menu of Nottingham's Broad Street kitchen in the 1940s offered a few simple options - sausages, shepherd's pie, boiled potatoes, sometimes mash, and boiled fish, Hilary recalled. "There was nothing fancy about it. It was good food to provide sustenance at reasonable prices. "British restaurants really belonged to that life where you made the best of what you got."The government and the councils, they were doing the best they could with the supplies available. A very different world," Hilary added. But even in today's world, Dr Marsha Smith, from the University of Nottingham, thinks there is a market for "social eating"."It [the British Restaurants scheme] was one of the biggest public health interventions in the UK, there were more of them than there are McDonald's now. "They were hugely popular and widely used," she said. She added at the time, the government made grants available so the restaurants could be decorated. "The idea was that they were not made to be poverty spaces," she said. The restaurant project has also been inspired by current social eating initiatives in countries like Brazil and Poland. Dr Smith, whose background is in the community food sector - has spent the last 15 years setting up "social eating spaces" - places anyone can go to share a meal with others. She and Dr Simon Welham, also from the university, are part of the research team that will evaluate the impact of the public said: "I'm really interested in giving people opportunities to sit and eat meals together because I think it's one of the most fundamental activities that humans undertake and it does so much more than just feed us physically. "It really helps us to bond socially and it helps us to build community. It's actually really good for our health over the longer term." She added: "What we learned at the time of the pandemic is that at times of crisis, other than health, food and social connections became incredibly valuable currencies." How will the project work? The project, named DISHED, has been be funded by about £1.5m from UK Research and Innovation and will be led by the Institute of Development Studies at the University of Sussex. Two trials of subsidised restaurants will take place - one in Nottingham and one in Dundee - as part of government efforts to tackle food pilot will run as a research project for 14 months, during which their impact will be measured and will be shaped by local businesses, people, local government and others - and open to Welham said the pilot was a "test and learn approach". Locations, menus and prices would be decided collaboratively, he Smith said: "We know that in other countries these sort of public restaurants and public canteen initiatives sit amongst all sorts of other for profit business and within the commercial sector."It's really about diversifying choice, it's about giving people options to access good quality nutritious meals, eating in sociable settings." Community support urged Any wider rollout of public restaurants would depend on the research, Dr Smith said. She added the restaurant model would be akin to leisure centres, public libraries, parks and museums."I think we really ought to be thinking about how we raise the standard for our public infrastructures," she added. Dan Lindsay, managing director of several restaurants in Nottingham city centre - including Bar Iberico and Iberico World Tapas - said the pilot was a "great idea". "The alternative of fast food is always there and easier, and if there's another option where people could be more healthy, that could be a really positive thing for people," he said. Acknowledging the challenges faced by the hospitality industry, he said the "pool of people dining out" was smaller than it used to was a co-owner of fine dining restaurant World Service restaurant, which closed in 2024, after 24 years. "I'd be lying if I didn't say we don't need any more challenges, but I think it would be a good thing for our community to get behind," he added.
BBC News
11-05-2025
- Business
- BBC News
Former tax office to become new business school in Nottingham
A former Inland Revenue office block is to be turned into a business school for the University of Nottingham. The tax office was home to about 2,000 staff from 1994 after the Inland Revenue expanded outside London. In 2021, it was put up for sale for £36m after the Inland Revenue (now His Majesty's Revenue and Customs) moved to a new Unity Square block off Sheriff's Way, near Nottingham railway site was bought by the university, and in 2023 the city council granted planning permission for it to be used as a base for Nottingham University Business School. However, the university had to get special permission to begin work after the site was given Grade II listed status, following a campaign by the Nottingham Civic Society and Twentieth Century permission was granted by Nottingham City Council on Friday, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.
BBC News
02-03-2025
- Business
- BBC News
How a closed building reflects Nottingham's 'social changes'
Built more than 90 years ago as the headquarters of bike manufacturer Raleigh, the Howitt Building in Nottingham went on to become a business centre and community the Grade II-listed building on Lenton Boulevard is now facing an uncertain future after Nottingham City Council ordered it to close at the end of December over safety concerns about the fire authority, which said it would work with tenants and businesses to "minimise" disruption, has not yet confirmed its long-term plans for the Silvester, from Nottingham Civic Society, says the building reflects "the social changes the city has seen", adding it would be "the greatest shame if that legacy was lost". The Howitt Building was completed in 1931 to the designs of architect T Cecil Howitt, who was also responsible for the city's Council House and Home Brewery Silvester said Raleigh was "one of Nottingham's 'big three', along with Boots and Players"."The owners of the businesses wanted their buildings to reflect their importance," she explained."Raleigh was worldwide business, so it wanted offices which would project that status."But its influence wasn't just about money, it had a big social impact."It was known for employing women and Nottingham gained a reputation for being a women's city." The offices were described in the company's commemorative booklet as "probably unexcelled in architecture, business equipment and hygienic planning".One of the striking features is the ballroom, which featured a sprung floor, a stage, and dressing rooms for upper floor also housed a dining room and a reading Silvester said: "At this time companies were more family-minded, they actually provided facilities for their staff and workers."They had societies like drama and ballroom dancing and sports."My father worked there for 30 years and I remember going in and being so impressed by this big entrance hall and what the company was doing." Ian Wells, also from the Nottingham Civic Society, said: "The building has a sleek, Art Deco look."It also has these friezes of near-naked cherubs, which are a mark of Howitt's work, but it looks a little unsafe as they work on building bicycles."It is an excellent example of architecture and all the more impressive for how well it is preserved, with so many original features like panelling and stained glass windows."At its height, Raleigh employed well over 8,000 people and was producing more than one million bikes a World War Two, workers from across the Empire were invited to Britain and many came to work at Nottingham, with Raleigh again playing a central role in the sometimes difficult social to Historic England, Oswold George Powe, a leading member of Nottingham's African-Caribbean community, succeeded in changing the firm's employment policy following a bicycle boycott in is said to have then become the largest employer of African-Caribbean workers in Nottingham. When the offices were sold to the city council in the 1980s, the building hosted the Marcus Garvey Centre, named after a civil rights activist, which catered for the needs of older African and Caribbean Taylor, the chairperson of the centre, said: "The centre has been here for 35 years."Initially it was a luncheon club and we would have 40 to 50 people attending daily."A lot of people are isolated and this was somewhere where people would be missed."If someone didn't come, we would notice. It was a community link, it kept people together and it avoids that isolation." 'Critical concerns' A document, seen by the BBC earlier in February, stated the council is considering various options for the building's future, including remediation works or potentially selling authority said on Friday that "no decision regarding the long-term future of the site" had been it said a recent risk assessment highlighted "critical concerns" regarding the fire doors and compartmentalisation throughout the building, which "present a significant risk to life in the event of a fire".A "comprehensive survey which will determine the full extent of the works and costs required to address the outstanding issues" is under way, the council complete, "all viable options will be considered in consultation".
