The first meeting of Mansfield District Council's Place Board will take place this month after the Government confirmed a £25m regeneration boost would be made available for the whole district.
Mansfield is in line to receive up to £25m from the Towns Fund, a £3.6 billion scheme to help more than 100 towns across the country, as part of the government’s plan to level up the regions.
The towns eligible for support from the Towns Fund include places with proud industrial and economic heritage but which have not always benefited from economic growth in the same way as more prosperous areas. The fund has a focus on improved transport, broadband connectivity, skills and culture.
This week, the Towns Fund agreed to extend the boundaries of the area to benefit from the money. This means it will include Warsop and other areas of the district that fall beyond the town's boundaries.
Now the district has to make a case to the Towns Fund to show how it would spend the money to regenerate the district. The submission is required by the summer and the public have the opportunity to contribute to shaping the district's future.
The first part of the process to acquire the funds involved setting up a Town Deal Board, which will include councillors, senior council officers and local partners and stakeholders.
Its first meeting on 28 February, at the Civic Centre, will look at how the Towns Fund could benefit the district and how those objectives fit into the council's wider Making Mansfield place-shaping strategy.
The Towns Fund will be seeking evidence of investment priorities and project proposals set out in a Mansfield Investment Plan.
Proposals should show how they would drive long-term economic and productivity growth through investment in connectivity, land use, economic assets, including cultural assets, skills and enterprise infrastructure.
Later in the year, the council will be running a public consultation exercise to engage residents and businesses to find out what is important to them. In the meantime people can make suggestions for how the money should be invested by visiting the MyTown portal (opens in new window).
Cllr Stuart Richardson, Portfolio Holder for Regeneration and Growth, said: "Mansfield will be going all out to make a strong case to gain the full amount available from the Towns Fund and show how that £25m would be carefully spent to maximise the benefit to district and to realise our ambitious plans to revitalise key areas, create local jobs and bring in new business.
"The council has a well-developed vision about what is required to make this district successful but we also want to give members of the public a chance to contribute their own innovative and imaginative ideas about how we spend this money.
"This is an exciting time for this district and we need to make the most of this opportunity to boost investment here.
“We are already working with partners who share our aspirations and we will continue to work with the local community to build a prosperous and sustainable future for our town.”
Hayley Barsby, Chief Executive of the council, said: “We are pleased to have the opportunity to build on the aspirations and vision for Mansfield.
"With funding from the Towns Fund and Future High Streets Fund, Mansfield District Council will be in a position to masterplan and encourage further capital developments to support our place and growth agenda.”
Mansfield's bid for the Towns Fund money is in addition to a bid it is also making for another £25m from the Future High Streets Fund.
Several other projects to revitalise Mansfield are already being realised:
- the £1.4m refurbishment of Old Town Hall
- a £1.7m project to improve the appearance of Walkden Street car park
- Mansfield Townscape Heritage Project, Mansfield Revived, which has benefited from nearly £850,000 of National Lottery Heritage Fund grants, to renovate properties in parts of Leeming Street, the Market Place and Stockwell Gate.