Mansfield mayor reflects on a busy first year in office

Andy Abrahams has been in office for a year since his dramatic election victory.

My first decision was to set about saving £120,000 over four years by reducing my executive team from seven to five and setting up the Mayor’s 500 Fund from my salary to help voluntary and community projects.

The executive team’s first priority was to start tackling the housing and homeless issues by doubling the target for affordable and council homes to 300, with the aim of also helping first-time buyers.

In June, the council launched its latest homelessness prevention strategy, which aims to prevent as many residents as possible from becoming homeless.

It also intends to tackle rogue landlord who provide unsafe and overcrowded homes.

Making Mansfield a safe and welcoming place was another top priority and so the council funded an additional police officer for the town centre.

In addition, the police have also provided additional officers within Mansfield, which has helped reduce problems within the town centre and across the district.

The council has employed a youth co-ordinator with funding from the police and crime commissioner to help prevent anti-social behaviour by ensuring young people have access to the right support, opportunities and activities.

This has all had a positive effect, attracting more people to town centre events, including record numbers for the Full Shebang Festival, which we hope to host again this year.

Under the council’s wellbeing and place priorities we have become trustees for Berry Hill Park and launched Mansfield Health Partnership with the support of county-wide agencies to tackle health inequalities.

Other initiatives include commissioning the ‘living well in Warsop’ study to review community sports and leisure provision, introducing glass recycling across the district and promoting free health walks.

And so to the next year.

Mansfield’s place board is due to meet again later this month to consider ways to regenerate using up to £25 million from the Towns Fund and up to £25 million from the Future High Streets fund.

It’s going to be busy.

Andy Abrahams is the mayor of Mansfield.