'Market must be priority' for Mansfield mayor residents urge as new term of office begins

Your Chad took to the streets of Mansfield to ask what Mr Abrahams should focus on after he was re-elected as district mayor for another four years.

Mr Abrahams massively increased his majority in the latest election, polling 9,987 votes to comfortably take first place for Labour ahead of Conservative candidate Coun Andre Camilleri with 5,832 – he won by just two votes from Mansfield Independent Forum’s former mayor Kate Allsop in 2019.

And after his first week in office, Mr Abrahams has outlined his ambitions and plans for the next four years, including caring for and protecting communities, and building on regeneration projects, such as the planned Mansfield Connect hub at the former Beales site in the town centre.

However, a number of residents have admitted they are unaware of who the mayor is, or “completely disinterested in politics”.

One woman, who declined to be named, told your Chad: “Labour or Conservative. They are all as bad as each other and only in it for themselves. I have no time for it.”

However, Charlie Chiverton said Market Place should be a priority for Mr Abrahams and his team.

“It is a disgrace,” he said. “You look at the stalls, the state of the bins and the paving slabs.

“This market cost more than a million pounds to be revamped. Can they not afford pressure washers?

“We have stainless steel bins, we’ve just been through a covid pandemic and they can’t even be bothered to clean the bins properly. I ask myself why?”

Shoppers Bill and Joy Kirkwood, from Mansfield, called for more to be done to boost footfall in the town centre.

Mr Kirkwood said: “Get something back into the town.

“Mostly regeneration is needed and something to be done with the market. We need to get people back into Mansfield.

“Most of the shops are either charity shops or nail bars. We need something else.”

Mrs Kirkwood, who agreed with the need for regeneration of the town centre, said: “It used to be a thriving town.”