Mayor's Column: Mansfield is ready to take off towards positive future

Mansfield was ready to take off toward a positive future where everyone can make it in life.

Understandably, the historical underinvestment in Mansfield has made communities and local businesses sceptical and have some negative views about our town.

We will not hide away from these negative perceptions, which include over 50 per cent who do not believe Mansfield is a good place to take your career forward.

People want better shops, entertainment, and leisure facilities. People are proud of our history, but more than 50 per cent want change.

Now is the time to sweep these negative perceptions away. Mansfeld is already showing the blueprint for a town centre regeneration by putting people and services back into the town centre with the £20m Levelling Up Mansfield Connect project and the £16m White Hart Street housing development.

These projects will breathe a new life, putting people and services back in the heart of our town centre.

We have shown you can Make it in Mansfield for business, as Mansfield was identified as one of the most entrepreneurial towns in England for small business startups.

We are Making it in Mansfield with respect to the green agenda. The Severn Trent Flood Alleviation Scheme and Urban Greening have never been done anywhere else on this scale in the UK, and we are leading in retrofitting local homes.

We are Making it in Mansfield for entertainment with our Film Festival, One Fest, and the 72 events we put on this year with partners that has stimulated the local economy; it has given our residents something to enjoy.

We have the £20m Levelling Up Partnership investment, which will help continue the redevelopment of our town centre and our communities that have been left behind.

We have another £20m over the next ten years as part of the Long-Term Plan for Towns funding and potentially billions of pounds of investment in the East Midlands as part of Devolution.

Last week, we started the £7m redevelopment on the Bellamy estate, which will see 22 high-quality, affordable homes built to be rented to families on the council’s housing list, built around the newly installed village green area.

The council’s in-house architects have designed the homes in line with the government’s carbon reduction targets to the Future Home Standards, resulting in vastly reduced energy bills, saving residents money.

This project will revitalise the estate by constructing a new single-storey parade of retail outlets with a convenience store, café and takeaway, a community orchard, a new traffic calm through road and improved bus connections.

The project will support new employment and supply chain opportunities for young people and businesses in line with the council’s procurement policy, which means earning and keeping money within the local economy.

Partnership working is what we do best in Mansfield through public sector and business contributions to the Place Board, Mansfield health partnership, Mansfield CVS, Vision West Nottinghamshire College and Nottingham Trent University, and Mansfield BID.

We will build a confident, ambitious district with the right skills for the future, well-paid jobs, and a vibrant economy with healthy and active communities. This won’t happen overnight; it’s time to be bold. Our partners and the public are essential to this journey, so let’s get out there and spread the

word that Mansfield is the place where everyone can make it in life!