Bassetlaw District Council’s Leader excited and optimistic for the future

Cllr James Naish, speaking at the Council’s Annual General Meeting held on Wednesday 15th May, highlighted how the Council’s Vision 2040 and Corporate Plan for 2023-27 have been adopted and supported as a positive, long-term future for the district.

The Council has secured £62 million pounds of regeneration funding since August 2022. This will be spent over the next 10 years as part of several Levelling Up schemes including the Long-Term Plan for Towns, Levelling Up Partnerships, and the UK Shared Prosperity Fund which the Council is already mobilising.

Elsewhere, over £117m is being invested in the Council’s homes and estates, with award-winning modernisation taking place at its independent living schemes in Worksop and Harworth and Bircotes. More independent living schemes will be upgraded in the next 12 months.

Cllr James Naish, Leader of Bassetlaw District Council, said:

“When I look back over the 12-month period, I believe that it is one which lays the foundations for a successful administration delivering on the priorities that were presented to the electorate only one year ago and received overwhelming support during last summer’s consultation.

“I remain hugely excited and optimistic for the district’s future and look forward to seeing the administration mature and evolve further over the next 12 months.”

Rural areas of the district have been benefitting from investment over the past year via the Rural England Prosperity Fund. It has helped to fund dozens of projects including stabilising the beck at North Wheatley, creating a new footpath in Clarborough and supporting Treswell-based Retford Logs with its work producing carbon neutral fuel.

The future also promises more inward investment for the district via the STEP fusion energy project. The first UKAEA office opened its doors on site at West Burton in February and the UKAEA continues to work with the Council on its wider skills offer, with a new full-time role being appointed in the coming weeks.

A site on the edge of Worksop will also help to drive inward investment via the £160m East Midlands Investment Zone which has now been formalised. The Zone is spread over three sites and, collectively, it’s expected to bring in over £380m in private investment and more than 4,000 jobs to the East Midlands.

The Council has continued to work throughout the year to raise flooding risks through senior stakeholder engagement; to provide direct support to local people through a broad range of cost-of-living measures, and will be moving towards a vote on Local Plan adoption following an independent report by Planning Inspectors which was published in early 2024.

The Leader also reflected on the support provided to former Wilko employees in the immediate aftermath of the high street brand going into administration last August, noting that “the evidence suggests that many Wilko workers have successfully found work despite our initial concerns, and we should be proud of the part that the Council played in this effort”.