Community still a village at heart
RUDDINGTON RETAINING ITS SPIRIT DESPITE EXPANSION
RESIDENTS have shared their thoughts on how their village has grown over the past decades prompting some to fear it’s “in danger of becoming a town”.
Some people who live in Ruddington now consider it a “commuter village” where parking has become a big issue and motorists drive through from south Nottinghamshire to get to Nottingham, while others have expressed their belief that it is still hanging on to being a village.
Ruddington has a population of 7,216 according to the latest census and this looks set to increase with housing developments approved for the village.
Despite some concern over these new estates causing problems with traffic and parking, residents said the village had not changed significantly and had kept its “village spirit”.
Local historian Gavin Walker, 54, vice-chairman of uddington Local History and Amenity Society, said: “It has not changed much over the last 20 years.
“It is still a village but an expanding village, but in my view places like Bingham have had a lot of development in comparison.
“We have the new developments but they’re mostly spreading outwards so there’s not a real change going on inside of the village.
“The real building boom here was in the 60s and that was very different, a different scale to what is going on now.”
He added: “The spate of houses in the 2010s were perhaps the worst as they were not really very nice and were not for old residents here to buy – whether people can afford to live here is a different issue.
“People do moan that Ruddington is going upmarket, but I think it still has the same village feeling. “That being said there are a lot of big employers around here now, so I can see why people would class it as a commuter town.”
Local businesses and residents thought the area had kept a close knit community spirit, despite the ongoing growth of the once small village.
Jenny Smith, 82, a retiree who has lived in Ruddington for 56 years, said: “It’s in danger of becoming a town.
“There has been a lot of change with the traffic. It is the infrastructure here that will be a problem I think.
“It’s a good village but is certainly becoming more than a village at the moment. Everyone is very friendly around here and it’s a nice place to be.”
Zoe Parton, 58, manager of the Honeycomb charity shop on Church Street, said: “We have noticed that we have been busier as the village grows.
“I have lived here for a long time, since 1987, and there have been some changes but they haven’t been huge changes.
“There’s a lot here for a small place. There’s still a lovely village mentality where everyone is very friendly and will help out anyone that needs it. Families that come here to the new developments tend to stay here.
“There’s a lot of appeal to Ruddington, and I think that that it will keep that appeal but older people here might be starting to notice some differences as it grows.
“The only issues I can think of in Ruddington are the traffic and parking here as a result of more people living here or driving through.
“In an ideal world it would also bring business and businesses here.”
Retiree Karl Barnes, 68, said: “I think the developments aren’t too much at the moment but I think they could be in the future.
“As long as there’s not too much change in the village itself I don’t really mind. The High Street is still pretty much the same and a lot of people have lived here for years.”