Political Opinion - Mayor's Column: 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, says Mansfield Mayor, Andy Abrahams.
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 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 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 UK Active Awards in Birmingham, which was fantastic recognition for our Architect partners, Roberts Limbrick 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, who have embraced the new facility with over 121,000 visits.
With more than 2,000 active members, 1,000 pay-as-you-go members, 300 children enrolled in swimming lessons, 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, and the Creative Women Together project which supports vulnerable women through artistic activities to build confidence and foster friendships.
Our creative collections award shortlisting 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.