'Make Mansfield a place we are proud to call home' - mayor's message for 2022

In a message for the new year, Coun Abrahams said Mansfield should “look and feel revitalised, positive and hopeful for the future”.

He accepted that 2021 had been “another year of uncertainty and change”. But “regardless of the social and economic climate”, he felt that Mansfield District Council, of which he is Labour leader, “had continued on its journey of transformation and improvement to grow an ambitious, vibrant and confident place”.

The mayor added: “We want Mansfield to be a place where people can achieve, succeed and have a good quality of life”. And he highlighted a number of areas where the town could take pride in its achievements over the last 12 months.

On the environment, he pointed out that hundreds of trees had been planted to create community orchards, while seven of the council’s parks had been awarded the prestigious Green Flag.

"We emptied 1,200 litter bins twice a week and collected more than 1,800 tonnes of street sweepings, fly-tipping and litter,” he said. “Also, a whopping 1,500 tonnes of glass has been collected since the successful launch of the kerbside glass recycling scheme.

"The environment has been high on our list of priorities to create a cleaner, greener Mansfield.

"Council-owned residential projects are a great example of how we can lead from the front through decarbonisation of our housing stock at Bellamy Road and building energy-efficient Passivhaus homes that are future proof in Saundby Avenue.”

The mayor accepted it had been “a tough year” for the local economy. “But Mansfield continues to be resilient,” he said. “We have provided nearly £100,000 in retail support and improvement grants, and provided 200 businesses with much-needed advice and support.”

Coun Abrahams said the council was also proud of the support it had given to communities that needed it most, providing health and wellbeing programmes, including food clubs and holiday activity projects. And it had welcomed back customers to the town’s theatre, museums, cultural events and leisure facilities.

The council’s housing needs team had prevented 617 people from becoming at risk of homelessness, and nine former rough sleepers had been helped back into mainstream accommodation.

The mayor continued: “The year 2021 has also been one of laying foundations for a positive future for Mansfield.

"A total of £12.3 million was secured from the government’s Towns Fund which will help create a skills and technology hub in Mansfield, a new health hub in Warsop, improved business space at Mansfield Woodhouse and a destination park at Berry Hill.

"A consultation also took place on the town centre masterplan, which sets out a blueprint for the economic regeneration of Mansfield over the coming decades.”

The future had also been at the forefront of the council’s “digital transformation programme”, the mayor pointed out.

"An improved website and portal enabled about 40,000 customers each month to access services online,” he said.

"In August, our website was ranked the third most accessible council website in the country and, so far, we have 2,500 more followers on our social media feeds. All of this helps to keep our audiences informed.”

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