2025
Mansfield continues to ‘punch above its weight’ and has plenty to be proud about
Mansfield is punching above its weight with some amazing stories hitting the headlines in recent weeks.
That is quite literally true with our new double world champion in both Kickboxing and Mixed Martial Arts, Will Bingham. Will continued his previous success in the 2023 and 2024 World Championships in Hungary, winning two gold medals which helped his Revolution Club, under coach Neil Huntley, achieve a haul of 11 golds and 14 silver to achieve second place out of 62 competing clubs which is an incredible achievement for our local champions, putting Mansfield’s name on the international stage.
It has been a good autumn for creating world champions and winning awards. Victoria Levitt, of Mansfield Harriers, became the world champion in the T44 100m sprint at the World Para Championships in India and won a silver medal in the 200m. Victoria, who was competing on the world stage for the first time at the age of 29, showed us that you should never give up on your dream. Working part-time at a supermarket, she certainly ‘clicked and collected’ a gold medal. Pat Carlan continues to lead Mansfield Harriers from strength to strength, putting on the fantastic national cross-country relay where 8,000 competitors came from Cornwall to Wakefield to our magnificent Berry Hill Park.
This has been a big year for remembering those who gave their lives for our freedom and democracy. Following on from our VE and VJ day services earlier in the year, we had yet another magnificent Remembrance parade which ended with a salute in front of the Old Town Hall - resplendently cloaked in poppies. Ted Rutland, our 102-year-old Legion d’honneur, launched the Poppy Appeal with the usual incredible support from Royal British Legion volunteers.
Earlier in the week, I was proud to welcome the Mayor of Stryi, Oleg Kanivets, to Mansfield. The visit gave me the opportunity to communicate our solidarity with our twin city in Ukraine which, despite the challenges of the of sustained infrastructure damage because of Russian missile and drone attacks, is developing a new industrial park which aims to attract investment, create about 700 jobs and support relocation of businesses affected by the conflict. The local economy benefits from expanding retail and entertainment infrastructure, with a family mall shopping centre planned to open in 2025. The aim of the visit was to promote human contact, cultural connections, peace and support. Mansfield District Council has shown solidarity with Stryi and Ukraine during the conflict by flying the Ukrainian flag at Mansfield Civic Centre and lighting up the Old Town hall in the Ukrainian national colours.
Warsop Health Hub picked up an award for the ‘Build, Design or Refurbishment of the Year’ at the national ukActive Awards in Birmingham, which was fantastic recognition for our architect partners, Roberts Limbrick and Alliance. Warsop Health Hub was also shortlisted for the ‘Outstanding Achievement Award’ out of hundreds of nominations from across the country. However, the real winners in this story are the residents of Warsop. They have embraced the new facility with over 121,000 visits, more than 2,000 active members, 1,000 pay-as-you-go members and 300 children enrolled in swimming lessons. They have been supporting innovative NHS-led falls prevention sessions; walking groups, family friendly groups and the Small Steps to Feeling Great programme. We believe our £9.1m investment is delivering for the residents of Warsop with our brilliant partners, More Leisure.
More great news, putting Mansfield on the map, was the announcement that Mansfield Museum and Art Gallery has been shortlisted for three national awards at the ‘Power of Place Midlands Museum Awards for its work in bringing communities together. Our projects highlighted for the awards have included the Better by Change project, which supported people living with disabilities in the workplace as well as making the museum more accessible. Also highlighted are the Creative Women Together project, which supports vulnerable women through artistic activities to build confidence and foster friendships. Our shortlisting for a creative collections award highlighted the recent World of Birds exhibition - a collection of around 3,000 bird specimens created by botanist and naturalist, Joseph Whittaker.
As you can see, there’s lots for us to shout about, and I for one am extremely proud to see Mansfield punching above its weight and can’t wait to see what else our town has to offer.
Mansfield Mayor – Andy Abrahams
Democratic, Hardworking and
Ambitions – Mansfield on the up
It has been a very busy and successful month for Mansfield with the District securing an additional £1.5 million through the government’s new Pride in Place Impact Fund. This fund will supplement our existing regeneration efforts to improve services, community spaces, public facilities, high streets, and our town centre. Key projects we are delivering include the Warsop Health Hub, Destination Mansfield, enhancements to Berry Hill Park, the Townscape Heritage programme, refurbishment of the Market Place and the replacement of the former Beales building with our Mansfield Connect £33m town centre transformational project.
On 3 September, MDC and Mansfield Place Board also launched a £20 million call for neighbourhood improvement projects, as part of the ten-year government Plan for Neighbourhoods (PfN). We have invited applications from community and voluntary organisations, educational providers, cultural and heritage organisations, businesses and public sector bodies. The aim is to ensure this investment focuses local priorities and delivers meaningful impact for our communities.
In order to improve the standards of accommodation in some of our most deprived areas of the District and reduce antisocial behaviour, we have introduced a selective licensing scheme for private landlords in designated wards. Nearly 1,200 properties in Central, Bancroft, West Bank and Wainwright, Market Warsop, Eakring, and Rock Hill wards have been targeted to address poor housing conditions and giving MDC powers to enforce standards.
We are determined to increase the number and improve the standard of council homes in the District . We have instigated a new social housing scheme on a derelict town centre site, supported former rough sleepers with a new housing initiative, and strengthened partnerships with Citizens Advice North Nottinghamshire to improve support for private renters.
We have worked hard on developing the structure and business case for the Northern Unitary option (1e) that brings together Mansfield, Ashfield, Bassetlaw, Newark and Sherwood and our neighbours in Gedling that we have to submit to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) on 28 November. It was gratifying to see the public supported our view that this ‘common sense’ North-South split was the more sensible geography that helps keep communities together and respected shared culture and history, compared to the 1b option that the County Council were putting forward that joined us to Rushcliffe. I am pleased we have moved quickly to address the concerns about when the £1.9m repair work to Four Seasons car park would progress by awarding the contract to Cemplas. We have been supporting the shops on Stockwell Gate whilst the Walkden Street car park is demolished by making sure the public know they are open for business as usual.
We also renewed our Public Spaces Protection Order for another three years to tackle anti-social behaviour, and we are continuing our campaign to raise awareness of environmental and community safety measures.
Heritage and community pride were celebrated through the revitalisation of Market Place Conservation Area buildings, the Heritage Skills Fair, and I awarded a Mayoral Commendation to 97-year-old Reverend, Derek Smith, for his services to Mansfield.
There were more consultations with the public on council home allocation policies as we want communities to help make the process simpler to understand, fair, open and transparent.
Our aim to improve public health and wellbeing, continued with the ongoing development of the Warsop Health Hub and active promotion of regional participation events, like the well-attended Mansfield 10k run in September.
I hope you can see we are striving to address immediate operational issues while positioning Mansfield for a sustainable, inclusive future—balancing financial realities with ambitious investment and proactive community engagement. A hardworking, democratic, ambitious Council that addresses the needs of its residents.