Work has begun on drafting a major Mansfield District Council place strategy which aims to rebrand the area and boost the public perception of the town.
Destination Mansfield is one of the projects in the district to benefit from the council’s £12.3m Towns Fund allocation and aims to deliver a new place shaping strategy to promote Mansfield as a great area to live, work and visit.
Following a series of public consultations, work has now begun on drafting the strategy. More details will be announced later in the summer.
The main drive of Destination Mansfield is to devise the most effective ways to promote and present the district with the result that it will nurture confidence and pride in its communities, stimulate interest and demand for housing, schools and jobs, encourage more visitors and support successful business activity.
As well as being a standalone project, it will also draw direction from and bolster current flagship council strategies focused on Growth, Aspiration, Wellbeing and Place. Equally, it will support the Mansfield Place Board and its partners drive forward its ambitious agenda for the district.
Cllr Stuart Richardson, Portfolio Holder for Regeneration and Growth, said: “We would like to thank everyone for taking the time to respond to the surveys and focus groups and various other engagement activities. Their contributions have been central to how we develop this strategy and take it forward.
“It was enlightening to hear how local people, partners and businesses perceive their area – in both good and bad ways – and we will be using this information to guide this important new vision for Mansfield.
“There were many positive sentiments from those who took part about the people of Mansfield being proud, resilient and honest, and that community was important.
“What was also obvious was an appetite for change and improvement. People want a better quality of life along with more aspirational opportunities for employment and learning.
“Improving and revitalising the town centre was another must that came through strongly, along with ensuring cleaner and safer neighbourhoods.
“There is still a lot of work to be done but these consultations have been a productive first step to overcoming some of the longstanding challenges faced in this district.”
Arch Communications has been selected to work with the council to create the strategy following a series of public consultation and engagement exercises.
They included digital and printed surveys, which drew 505 responses, three focus groups, 115 face-to-face engagement meetings, discussions with more than 75 local businesses, plus consultation events with the Mansfield Place Board and Mansfield and Ashfield 2020. A promotional campaign for the research reached 49,900 people.
Destination Mansfield has received £500,000 from the council’s Town’s Fund award from the government. The £715,000 project is also being funded by the council.
The other projects receiving a share of the £12.3m are:
– £4.3m to create the Future Tech Skills and Knowledge Exchange, a new £8.6m teaching and innovation space at the Chesterfield Road Campus of West Nottinghamshire College.
– £3m towards Warsop Health Hub, an £8.2m project for a new swimming pool, fitness suite, a multi-purpose hall, cafe and a new and improved multi-use games area.
– £2.94m towards a £3.27m plan to improve Berry Hill Park, making it more accessible and including a new visitor centre.
– £1m towards Smart Mansfield, a dual aspect scheme, firstly to develop a Long Range Wide Area Network across the district enabling data and information transmissions to support public service provision and business growth and secondly, to harness new technology to make it easier for residents, businesses and visitors to find available parking.
– £506,000 to build three business units next to Mansfield Woodhouse Station.
More details about these projects can be found on the council website (link opens in new window).
