Warsop residents agree 'more investment on parks needed' for community use

In 2019, a survey, Living Well in Warsop, was carried out by Strategic Leisure, on behalf of Mansfield Council, Vibrant Warsop, Active Notts and Warsop Parish Council.

It followed the closure of Meden Sports Centre, which included a swimming pool, sports hall and gym.

The survey found, out of the 672 people surveyed, most residents in the Parish felt "forgotten" and experienced some sense of “loss of identity”.

Findings also suggested residents “did not feel part of the wider Mansfield district” and “perceived that their area gets no investment or resources”.

In 2020, a public council meeting heard the £25 million town planning fund did not cover Warsop parish, leading to a recommendation it should be reviewed and widened to benefit areas such as Warsop.

In the last three years, funding has been ringfenced for Warsop parish by Mansfield Council, with plans well under way for a new Warsop Health Hub at Carr Lane Park.

The plans have progressed after the council was offered a kickstart £1.8 million capital grant by Sport England, alongside £3m from the Government’s Towns Fund, £1.5m from council reserves and a loan of £3.5m.

Once completed in October 2024, the hub will be home to a 15 metres by 8m swimming pool, splash play area, a changing village and a fitness suite, as well as a multi-purpose hall, café viewing and IT area, multi-purpose community space, and a new and improved multi-use games area.

However, resident Edwin Tattersall said he had “many concerns with the plans”, especially its location.

He said: “Carr Lane is a vandalism hot spot and the pool proposed is only two thirds the size of the former pool at Meden Sports Centre.

“Those millions could have invested in a new centre, offering multiple types of leisure facilities and a full-sized pool for the community.”

And some residents have recently spoken out about the “need for greater investment” on the existing green spaces and parks.

Paul Lawrence, aged 42, who has lived in Warsop for four years with his five-year-old son, said his biggest concern was the need for more leisure facilities for children.

He said: “We have two amazing parks in Warsop which are lovely and well-maintained, but could there be more use made of them?

“For example, I have to take my child to play football at Meden Vale which is a 10-minute drive away when we have two parks here. Why is there not some sort of youth arrangement or football club based locally?

“Some things in Warsop are very well looked after, but there are definitely areas that need more funding. Should that be a council or private enterprise? I don’t know.”

Mr Lawrence said he pays more council tax in Warsop than he did previously for the similar-sized property in Warrington, Cheshire, and “could not understand” what the extra money was spent on.

He said: “I don’t think Warsop is any worse off than anywhere else, but I do wonder why council tax is slightly higher than other places in the country.”

Fellow resident Ken Bonsall, 52, agreed with the need for more investment on parks and leisure facilities for all ages.

He said: “Money always runs out at Mansfield Woodhouse. The country as a whole has been bled dry by years of austerity and Tory governments. I don’t think any money is coming through to Warsop at all.

“It is hard to see what your council tax goes on and it is hard to know what each council is responsible for unless you attend regular meetings.

“It is all right to spend money on Warsop town centre, but the people living out in the outskirts are not getting benefits from paying their council tax.

“There should be more facilities for older people. The Town Hall should be used more and money should be made available to help. Improvements are needed for young people too.”

He said more money could be spent on upgrading the parks with greater sport facilities.

A Mansfield Council spokeswoman said the entire district was benefiting from substantial investment.

She said: “Mansfield District has been awarded multi-millions under various fund applications recently, including the Government’s Towns Fund and Levelling Up Fund.

“It is anticipated further funding will be made available through the recently announced Levelling Up Partnership and Devolution.

“This will help stimulate regeneration change in Mansfield, and with some projects getting close to – or already successful – in the planning process. Residents will begin to see the landscape of Mansfield change.

“Mansfield Council has been working closely with the residents of Warsop for the last four years to get to the root cause of what they want to see in their communities and to see what we could do to improve the health and wellbeing of people living there.

“There are also some fantastic community champions in Warsop already doing their best to help the community and make things better.”

Nottinghamshire Council said it did not have a breakdown of its spending in Warsop parish.

A county council spokesman said: “We do not record financial transactions by parish council areas. Indeed different budgets within the council will be set in different ways and are not necessarily ringfenced to a particular geographic area.”

It is clear that although some funding has been allocated to Warsop parish in the last few years, there is still a feeling of “neglect” among residents, with many feeling “more investment” in leisure and community facilities are needed, even if thoughts on who is responsible for that funding differs.