Gavin Bevis
BBC News

Designs for a new-look central bus station in Leicester have been shared by the city council.

The authority is planning to rebuild St Margaret's bus station as part of a regeneration scheme.

The authority said the new facility would include solar panels plus electric bus recharging points.

Image source, Leicester City Council

The authority has already received a £10.5m government grant towards the £13.5m cost of the project.

It hopes to start demolishing the existing bus station early next year.

Image source, Leicester City Council

Sonia Kataria
BBC News

Councils in the East Midlands have backed Marcus Rashford’s campaign to tackle holiday hunger among school children by funding it themselves.

Leaders have said "times are still tough, external" and it was the "right thing to do" during the pandemic.

MPs voted to reject the England footballer’s appeal to extend free school meals to children during the holidays.

The government said it had already given £63m to councils in England to support families facing financial difficulties.

However, Nick Rushton, leader of Leicestershire County Council, said the money was given in the summer to spend by the end of September.

"Leicestershire's money was £500,000 and we spent it funding food banks and community groups and it was fully spent for that purpose," he said.

"So, for them [the government] to say it's to fund free school meals is not true."

BBC Weather

It will be a cool and blustery day with some sunny spells this morning but cloud and showers will sweep in this afternoon.

A maximum temperature of 11°C (52°F).

Image source, David e

BBC Radio Derby

Derby is set to be put under tier two restrictions "imminently", according to the city council.

Robyn Dewis, the director of public health for Derby, said a sharp rise in cases - especially in people aged over 60 - was of concern.

According to the latest data, the city's infection rate was now 315.6 per 100,000 people in the week up to 24 October - up from 167.1 the previous week.

That's a bigger rate than some authorities already in the "high risk" alert level.

Chris Poulter, leader of Derby City Council, said: "There's a process to go through but it does look like we'll be going into tier two...probably later on this week."

He "urged" people to act as though the city was already in tier two.

Image source, Google

East Midlands Today

Jonathan Morgan, leader at Charnwood Borough Council, says he expects the area will come under increased restrictions following the next government review.

The borough now has the highest infection rate in the East Midlands and is currently in the lowest tier one - medium risk category of restrictions.

With the nearby boroughs of Broxtowe, Gedling, Nottingham and Rushcliffe all set to enter tier three from Thursday, Mr Morgan said the increasing spread across the borough makes a move into a higher category more likely.

Sonia Kataria
BBC News

The tier three measures, which will affect about 700,000 people in Nottingham and surrounding boroughs from Thursday, are supported by a "majority" of residents, the leader of Rushcliffe Borough Council said.

Councillor Simon Robinson told the PA news agency people were showing "a lot of resilience, because people understand we need to get on top of the virus", but they were also "weary".

"What I've seen consistently is that people understand that we have to get a grip on this virus," he said.

Image source, PA Media

"Not just the virus itself but also the effect it's having on our hospitals.

"When there are hundreds of people in hospitals with Covid - we've seen ICU beds usage increasing - people really understand that and it becomes very real and that's where people are very fearful.

"I am confident, if we get on top of these restrictions, get compliance from business [and] from our residents, we are going to see the infection rate coming down."

David Pittam
BBC News Online

Tracy Boardman, from Basford, said it was "rubbish" the restrictions have been going on for months, but, despite not wanting to, she would follow the rules.

The 46-year-old said: "Now children are allowed to go to school and adults can work but I can’t see my family.

"I know we can meet outdoors in a public place, but look at the weather. I feel really sad.

"But we all had a feeling this was going to happen – it was no surprise."

Sonia Kataria
BBC News

The leader of Gedling Borough Council said he had to fight the potential closure of gyms, hairdressers, cinemas and theatres during meetings with the government on tier three restrictions.

"There was a battle yesterday," he said. “We were fighting to keep some form of normality open.

"There was some tough talking on the money. I’m still waiting to see what we will get as a borough council."

Image source, Joseph Raynor

Mr Clarke said there were "still some grey areas" such as hairdressers visiting homes.

“It’s very vague, all of it," he said. "Even after all this time and going through all these different things the clarity isn’t there, and I said to the minister yesterday ‘you’ve got to make these things more clear because people are so confused’."

However, he said the agreement was a "good deal, which makes people safer".

David Pittam
BBC News Online

The landlord of the Lord Roberts in Nottingham said it was "heartbreaking and sad pubs are getting the blame".

Craig Pennington said they have had "really strict" Covid-19 measures in place since they reopened after the lockdown.

Now, with tier three rules, he said he was “95% sure” they would close again as the kitchen was not big enough to make staying open worthwhile.

He said: “Tier two had already cleared business.

"The town is dead at night. People are scared and you can’t mix with friends – people go to the pub to meet mates."

However, Mr Pennington was optimistic and added: "We will be back, without a doubt. The pub was booming before lockdown and we’ve got amazing plans for the future".

David Pittam
BBC News Online

Teresa and Andrew Harvey from Mansfield came into the city today because they're concerned essential shops might close, and want to finish off their Christmas shopping,

Mrs Harvey said: "It's devastating to see how quiet town is - when the tram came round the corner into the market square and it was just empty, it was heartbreaking.

"It's a shame that the first lockdown didn't work as well as they'd hoped. I can understand why they've brought in the tier system, but I'm not sure it's right."

"If we're going to try and save any of the year, if we're going to have to have another lockdown, let's just do it now. I can see cases rising where I work - it's getting scary out there, it feels real.

"I think it doesn't make sense Mansfield is not in tier three with Nottingham - people are crossing the borders."

David Pittam
BBC News Online

A Nottingham pub landlord said the delay on the tier three announcement has "made things difficult" for his business.

Ezra Watson, landlord of Six Barrels, said he had not known whether to buy extra stock or not.

The 28-year-old said: “It’s a bit overdue. It’s felt difficult at times – for months we’ve been doing everything the government asked. Then we’re the ones they come down hardest on.

"A week ago, tier two had hit custom so much I would have welcomed tier three, but then the government announced new support for tier two and that would have made us viable."

Mr Watson said the pub would close and restart as a takeaway service for beers and street food.

David Pittam
BBC News Online

Laura Austen, 26, from Hucknall, comes to work in Nottingham but lives in a tier 2 area.

She said: "It was expected that Nottingham would go in to tier 3 - but we're going in to these local lockdowns and no one seems to make sure people are following the rules."

Alex Regan
BBC News

The University of Nottingham Sport group is awaiting "full details of the restrictions and how they will apply" to recreational and exercise venues.

In some tier three areas, gyms and sports venues have been allowed to remain open.

An announcement on the specific restrictions in Nottingham is expected later today.

The group said its "sports facilities and activities remain open" as long as restrictions permit it.

Meanwhile, other sports events have been cancelled, including a golf tournament that was due to start at Nottingham's Wollaton Park Golf Club on Friday.

Organisers said: "We and the venue have taken the decision to cancel our sold out winter series."

Non-league football team Whiten FC, based in Sandiacre, has also taken the decision to cancel a month of fixtures as a result of the impending restrictions.

David Pittam
BBC News Online

Jason Weliczko, 48, who sells jacket potatoes in Nottingham, said: "Everyone I've spoken to has not got a clue what the difference is. It's all a bit confusing.

"And yes, if they do it for 28 days the 'R' rate might drop, but when they stop it'll go right back up again - I remember when shops first reopened round here, it was like a busy Christmas shopping day."

David Pittam
BBC News Online

Charlie Lever, 27, a PGCE student from Gedling, said: "My first thought when I heard was: 'Oh finally, something's happened'.

"I'm for it - I'm not saying the more restrictions the better, but it's better to be safe than sorry. But I do feel like now is quite an odd time to bring it in, seeing as cases have dropped so much here."

David Pittam
BBC News Online

Gerald Crampton has had two hip operations cancelled since July because of Covid.

The 59-year-old said: "I'm resigned to tier three, but frustrated - why didn't they bring it in earlier? It surprised me how long it took and now it's going down and they've imposed it.

"It will affect my social life - I was seeing friends and family outdoors in pubs. But the weather isn't nice for meeting outdoors in public now."

Mr Crampton's wife works for an events company, and he believes the restrictions will also have an impact on her income.

Neil Heath
BBC News Online

More than 50 Conservative MPs, including two from Nottinghamshire, have written to Boris Johnson calling for a "clear road map" out of lockdown restrictions.

They have warned that northern England and the Midlands could risk being "left behind" and that the pandemic threatens the PM's pledge to "level-up".

All the areas under the strictest restrictions of the three-tier system for England are in the North or the Midlands.

It was announced on Monday that people living in Nottingham, along with Rushcliffe, Gedling and Broxtowe, will move into the top tier of Covid restrictions.

Mansfield's Ben Bradley and Ashfield's Lee Anderson, who are MPs in areas that remain in tier two, both signed the letter sent by the Northern Research Group.

No 10 said it was "committed to levelling up across the country".

BBC Radio Nottingham

The owner of a pub in Eastwood said she feels pubs which do not serve meals "have been targeted again".

The Dog and Parrot in Eastwood will need to close under the new tier three restrictions due to come in place on Thursday

Kathryn Boam said they will need to shut for a least 28 days and have "been told nothing about how we're going to get out of it".

She added: "We were hoping we were going to stay in tier two. It still reduced the income down, but to go into tier three... it'll hit us even harder than the ones which do food."

Image source, Google

Further details about the lockdown restrictions are expected to be formally announced today.

She said: "There are a lot of publicans that are hoping we will be able to survive all of this, but we are heading very close to Christmas which is our busiest time and it doesn't look like we'll be trading as normal, by the sound of it.

"We understand the health of everybody is the priority and we've all been sticking with the guidelines. A lot of the customers say they feel safer in our pub then they do going out shopping so I can't understand why we've been targeted again."

David Pittam
BBC News Online

David Erentz from West Bridgford said: "This has been on the cards for a while so it's not much of a shock.

"I won't be able to go round my parents anymore. And I was seeing my friends outdoors at the pub, which will have to stop. I'm turning 30 soon but I suppose not being able to have a few beers with my mates is a fairly minor problem in the grand scheme of things.

I think it's fair enough to include West Bridgford, it would be hard not to - people would be coming out the city for drinks there."

David Pittam
BBC News Online

Ishtiaq Asgher has been a taxi driver for 14 years and said it's the "worst he has ever seen".

The 59-year-old from Wollaton said he could be waiting four hours for a job and earning £40 for a day's work

He added: "It's very very difficult and it just gets worse and worse. But I think it's the right thing to do - we have to accept it, behind all this are real lives."

Fellow taxi driver Shakeel Ahmed agreed times were difficult. He said: "We're not in tier 3 yet and this is what it's like. People are just going to get worried, and those that were coming out will not do so much any more."