Guest column: Public spaces are a jewel in Worksop's crown

The memorial gardens and the Canch are a beautiful and family friendly part of Worksop town centre.
Coun Simon GreavesCoun Simon Greaves
Coun Simon Greaves

And later this year the gardens will celebrate 80 years since their official opening.

This is a fantastic milestone and here at the council we know how popular and important this public space is to our residents.

This is why, at the meeting of the cabinet last month, we agreed proposals for a Canch masterplan that will drive improvement works over the next three years.

Officers are currently overseeing a procurement procedure to select external specialists who will create this important management plan and we will keep you updated as this project progresses.

However, a number of improvements have already started to take place.

These include taking down the old Lilliput nursery building, which was causing some of the anti-social behaviour issues in the park, and clearing this site.

In the last couple of weeks, the topic of how plastics are damaging our environment has sparked many headlines and people’s emotions.

The focus has been on some of the UK beaches where tonnes of plastic gets washed up every year.

But in Bassetlaw we can still do our bit to reduce the amount of plastic we use and increase the amount that is recycled.

As an authority we are looking at how we can reduce the use of avoidable plastics in our own premises.

And we will be working with Nottinghamshire County Council to look at how even more plastic can be recycled in the county.

However, you can still make a difference and put plastics such as drinks bottles, house cleaning and shampoo bottles, margarine tubs and yoghurt pots in your blue bin.

Just don’t forget to wash them out first.

You can also take larger plastic items to the recycling sites in Worksop and Retford.

More information on recycling is available at www.bassetlaw.gov.uk

Finally, towards the end of last year, I met with the leadership at the county council and asked them to back Bassetlaw’s ambitious plans for jobs, growth, inward investment, town centre improvements and infrastructure.

I will continue to press them for their support and ensure that the north of the county is not left behind.

Follow me on Twitter at @Simon_Greaves

And keep up to date with news from Bassetlaw Council on its website at www.bassetlaw.gov.uk or by following it on Facebook or Twitter at @BassetlawDC.