GUEST COLUMN: Biker record attempt was really something to see, by Mansfield Mayor, Coun Kate Allsop

I attended the attempt to break the world record for the most Triumph bikes on one stretch of road.

The attempt was to raise awareness for brain tumour victims and money for the University of Nottingham’s Children’s Brain Tumour Research Centre. The current record is 362 bikes and on Sunday September 4, that was nearly doubled as 668 bikers united together to help Jessica Simpkin, a 29-year-old Mansfield woman to tick off another wish on her bucket list, of raising £29,000 for the charity. Jessica really enjoyed the day and rode in front to start the procession of bikes, supported by her mother. It really was a sight to see in Mansfield. I would like to congratulate all of the organisers of the day who worked tirelessly to bring this great morning to fruition. We now await the official confirmation of the record; fingers crossed.

I also attended the Public Health England East Midland Migrant Health Day in Nottingham with the portfolio holder for housing Coun Barry Answer. We both really got a lot from the day, hearing about what immigrants face, not only in their own countries but in ours too. We learned how we are best placed to support them and help them integrate better within our communities.

Public Health England was very interested to hear how Mansfield has contributed to house Syrian refugees and the lessons we have learnt along the way.

Recently, I took an executive decision to extend the current councillors’ ward allowance from £1,000 to £5,000. Using the current £1,000 as a capital fund and the additional £4,000 as a revenue fund, this will cover council services.

This was always my intention to bring this manifesto pledge into working practice, this gives councillors more opportunity to plan works within their ward, and respond quickly to unforeseen issues, making them more effective for the residents. This approach to funding is more in keeping with how money is managed at the council and will make the £1,000 capital funding go further.

With this new approach the works are costed and will include services such as weed spraying, street cleaning, grass cutting, litter picking, in fact all the services that help improve the look and feel of our district. Councillors will be empowered to make a real difference within their communities.

This decision has now been ‘called in’ and will be reviewed by a committee of councillors.This will give me the opportunity to consider once again how the scheme will work; ensuring residents get the best service. I will reconsider this decision again in six weeks.

Finally, history enthusiasts were happy as they were given the opportunity to have a sneaky peek behind the scenes of the museum last Thursday. We have lots of hidden gems as we only have so much space to display items. I

am so pleased we are still lucky enough to have a museum and also to still be able to offer this great experience free of charge.