Plan to return popular Mansfield taxi rank to eight spaces as town becomes ‘visitor destination’
Mansfield Council plans to increase taxi rank spaces in the town centre after saying it is becoming difficult for people to access cabs at ‘all times of day’.
The authority has outlined a number of solutions to address the problem and says its plans come in a bid to improve taxi services as the town becomes a ‘visitor destination’.
Under the plans, due before the council’s licensing committee on Thursday, the authority proposes increasing the existing Queen Street taxi rank back up to eight spaces.
The rank, behind the Old Town Hall, was cut to four spaces to accommodate extra disabled car parking spaces, but the council says these are no longer needed due to disabled spaces created elsewhere.
The council is also proposing the removal of the existing Hackney carriage rank at the former bus station, on Rosemary Street, due to a lack of demand as the site is redeveloped into fast-food takeaways and a hotel.
Susie Rhodes-Best, council licensing manager, says the proposals will help visitors to the town as it undergoes a ‘radical transformation’.
In a report ahead of the meeting, she said: “Mansfield town centre has undergone a transformation with improvements to Market Place and the Old Town Hall, with further improvements proposed.
“With these, it is expected the offering Mansfield has to give as a visitor destination will improve and therefore attract more visitors.
“However, it is clear, despite these improvements, the provision of taxi ranks and stands have not only failed to progress in equal measure, but have fallen behind.
“It is a difficult proposition for people to find a convenient taxi rank at all times.”