Mansfield town centre must fight threat of online shopping

Developers, council officials and organisations with an interest in Mansfield came together in a forum hosted by the district council.

Focusing specifically on retail, they discussed how the town’s shopping centre could evolve successfully in the coming years to fight off the online revolution.

The new Executive Mayor, Andy Abrahams, who attended the forum, described it as “a really useful and lively meeting”.

He said: “The way people do their shopping is changing, and we have to work out what that means for Mansfield. We have to adapt to these trends and make the most of what we have to offer.

“I enjoyed hearing all the ideas about how we can improve the town centre and make it more sustainable and relevant.

“We have to look for opportunities to encourage the development of the town as a place to live, work and visit.”

The aim of the think tank is to feed ideas into the preparation of a masterplan for the town centre, which will be drawn up by Mansfield District Council to support the Local Plan.

Martyn Saxton, head of planning and regeneration at the council, said: “The forum heard some adventurous and ambitious ideas.

“There were suggestions on the environment, transport and accessibility, along with attracting a more diverse audience to the town centre throughout the day.”