Lakeside Facelift, Rugby Final, Grow Your Own & More

Good morning readers and a happy Thursday to you all. Why not grab a brew and a bourbon, sit back for five minutes peace and enjoy today's newsletter.

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Today's Quote of the Day -"Life is what happens to you while you’re busy making other plans." John Lennon

Enjoy the read and have a great day wherever you are in Bassetlaw.

Justin Doddy, Editor

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Government Targets ‘Fake Discounts’ in New Cost-of-Living Crackdown

Shoppers could soon benefit from stronger protections against misleading promotions as the Government unveils plans to crack down on so-called "fake discounts" and subscription traps that can cost households hundreds of pounds each year.

📢 The proposals would target pricing tactics that can make deals appear better than they really are, including:

🔹 Inflated "was" prices
🔹 Misleading recommended retail prices (RRPs)
🔹 Discounts that do not represent genuine savings
🔹 Prices that are increased before being reduced in a promotion

The Government will launch a consultation this autumn on whether these practices should be formally banned under the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act.

🏡 Why this matters during the cost-of-living crisis

With many families carefully watching every penny, the proposed measures are designed to help consumers make informed choices and ensure advertised deals genuinely deliver value.

✅ Greater transparency when shopping
✅ More confidence that discounts are genuine
✅ Protection from misleading pricing tactics
✅ Potential savings on household spending

The Government estimates that its wider crackdown on unfair business practices could save consumers around £400 million a year.

Prime Minister Andy Burnham said shoppers should be able to trust that when a product is advertised as being half price, it genuinely represents a real saving.

📱 The plans also include tougher action against subscription traps, which can leave people paying for services they no longer use.

Under new rules expected to come into force in January 2027, businesses will be required to:

🔹 Provide clearer information when customers sign up
🔹 Send regular reminders before renewals
🔹 Make subscriptions easier to cancel
🔹 Offer a 14-day cooling-off period after a free trial ends or a long-term subscription renews

📊 Government figures suggest UK consumers spend around £1.6 billion each year on unwanted subscriptions, with customers potentially saving an average of £14 per month for every unnecessary contract they successfully cancel.

🛍️ Retail leaders have noted that many major retailers already comply with promotional regulations and work to ensure discounts provide genuine value for customers.

The measures form part of a wider programme of consumer-focused reforms aimed at helping households manage the ongoing pressures of the cost of living, with further announcements expected in the coming months.

📰 Credit: Grocery Gazette

MIDLANDS PREMIER DIVISION GRAND FINAL DAY

The big one is here!

On Saturday 15 August, Sherwood Wolf Hunt will take on Telford Raiders in the Midlands Men's League Premier Division Grand Final at Debdale Park Sports Club, Mansfield.

This is a true clash of the league's top two sides, with only points difference separating them at the end of the regular season. Both teams claimed one win each in their league meetings this year, setting the stage for an epic decider. ⚔

🏆 Premier Division Final
🐺 Sherwood Wolf Hunt vs Telford Raiders
📍 Debdale Park Sports Club, Debdale Lane, Mansfield, NG19 7NS
⏰ Kick-off: 3:00pm
🎟️ FREE ENTRY

Telford arrive as defending champions after winning the title in each of the past three seasons, but the Wolf Hunt are ready to write their own chapter of history.

After returning from the Yorkshire Men's League, Sherwood Wolf Hunt are making their first Midlands Premier Division Final appearance, and they'll have the advantage of competing on home turf in front of their supporters.

With a place in the Harry Jepson Trophy Final on 22 August up for grabs, the stakes could not be higher.

Let's get behind our local team and create an unforgettable atmosphere for the Wolf Hunt!

Source: RugbyLeague.com. Credit to RugbyLeague.com and Sherwood Wolf Hunt Rugby League Team.

Education hub team celebrate lakeside facelift

A specialist learning hub based at Sandhill Lake in Worksop is going from strength to strength thanks to a growing partnership between staff and Bassetlaw District Council.

Around 18 months ago, the lake was the focus of an intense clean-up that has helped to regenerate one of the town’s natural beauty spots, and in turn provide a safer, calmer and more engaging environment for its students.

It also achieved its objective of reducing anti-social behaviour that had increased in the area, deter drug dealing and usage, and combat fly-tipping.

The seven-hectare public lake and park is located west of the town centre and is also home to Sandhills learning hub, part of R.E.A.L. Alternative Provision. This provides specialist curriculum-based education for vulnerable young people who have previously struggled within a mainstream setting.

In March 2025, working in partnership with the hub’s Learning Manager Claire Colley, the council used funding from the Nottinghamshire Police and Crime Commissioner’s Safer Streets initiative to carry out significant environmental improvements.

Hub Manager Tessa Holland said she and her team were delighted to have played a part in helping the local community reclaim their lake.

She said:

“Our learners are quite vulnerable and it’s not helpful to be surrounded by some of the behaviour that was taking place around our hub. It was important for us to be able to steer our learners away from that so they could make better decisions.”

Improvements included removing three redundant shipping containers, cutting back several trees to enable clearer sightlines for CCTV cameras, clearing large areas of undergrowth, making pathways easier to navigate and access, and clearing around eight-tonnes of fly-tipped waste.

Cllr Darrell Pulk, Cabinet Member for Neighbourhoods at Bassetlaw District Council, said:

“After some elements of anti-social behaviour were driven out of the nearby Sandy Lane estate, we became aware that Sandhill Lake was beginning to suffer. Thanks to this partnership with R.E.A.L. and Nottinghamshire Police, we have been able to make a significantly positive impact for the students based here and the wider park so that everyone can benefit from the improvements that have been made.

“We were also able to draw up a management plan for the site, which allowed us to make our first submission for a Green Flag Award. Unfortunately, we weren’t successful on this occasion, but the improvements we’ve made for the young people who use this park is equally rewarding for us.”

The partnership has also brought about a stronger relationship between the Council’s Anti-Social Behaviour (ASB) Team and the hub. Now, if staff at the hub witness any anti-social behaviour, they immediately alert the council and police who can both access live CCTV footage to determine what action to take.

Cllr Pulk added:

“We’re grateful to the staff at R.E.A.L.’s Sandhill hub for being our eyes and ears at the site. Bassetlaw’s parks staff did an excellent job whilst our ASB Team has also been actively engaging with students at the hub. As a result we’ve seen a dip in reports of anti-social behaviour and brought about a positive change in the community.”

Sandhills Learning Manager Faye Serjeant said she feels they’ve finally created a safe haven for their young learners. She said:

“Our young learners are so much more settled and therefore they can engage in the sessions and achieve more.”

Beat Surgery in Tuxford

Officers from the East Bassetlaw Neighbourhood Policing Team will be holding a Beat Surgery at The Beeches Community Centre, Birch Court, Tuxford on Thursday 13 August 2026, from 6:00pm to 8:00pm.

This is an opportunity to meet local officers, discuss any concerns or issues affecting your area, and find out more about the work of the neighbourhood policing team.

📍 Venue: The Beeches Community Centre, Birch Court, Tuxford
📅 Date: Thursday 13 August 2026
🕕 Time: 6:00pm to 8:00pm

Come along and speak with members of the team about matters that are important to you and your community.

Nottingham Forest propose new park and ride plans as part of stadium expansion

By:Joseph Connolly, LDRS

Nottingham Forest is proposing new park and ride plans for fans attending home games – in the hope of easing traffic congestion ahead of their huge planned stadium expansion.

The Reds, who were promoted to the Premier League in 2022, have long hoped to make the City Ground bigger and are in negotiations with Rushcliffe Borough Council to take it from its current capacity of 31,000 up to 52,500 – an increase of nearly 70%.

But as part of its application to the authority, the club has had to detail its plans to mitigate the impact of an additional influx of fans visiting the local area.

On Monday, August 3, the club published a detailed travel plan and transport strategy, explaining how it wants to implement a “multi-layered approach” to ultimately reduce the number of people coming to games in the car – and encourage them to use public transport instead.

The document includes proposals for a Controlled Parking Zone (CPZ) within an approximately 2km (1.2 mile) vicinity of the ground, to stop people from parking on streets and blocking driveways in West Bridgford, Lady Bay and the Meadows.

Anyone parked there within four hours of kick-off or four hours after a match starts (or around two hours after full-time) would be fined.

But for those who still want to drive, even after the club has attempted to dissuade them from doing so, there are proposals to encourage them to use the city’s park and ride sites, rather than parking on the street, and to offer incentives for those who do.

The club intends to partner with tram park and ride site operators, as well as tram operator NET, to allow fans to pre-book parking spaces when booking their match tickets at a proposed cost of around £7 per car for an “all-in-one package”.

This price will guarantee a parking space at the park and ride in a designated Forest fan area and include an NET day ticket for up to four vehicle occupants (normally £5.80 each for adults), worth £22.40 if buying all four separately.

Season ticket holders would be able to book through an email link.

The club says that currently, the seven tram park and ride sites – at Clifton, the Forest, Wilkinson Street, Phoenix Park, Moor Bridge, Hucknall and Toton Lane – are not frequently used by fans because of their distance from the City Ground and because they are not advertised.

But most car parks used by Forest fans cost an average of £10, the club says, meaning fans will save at least £3 if they take advantage of the incentive.

There’s also, due to the reserved spaces, the benefit of there being no risk that the car park is full when they arrive – as may be the case with the pay-on-the-day car parks they use currently.

Documents say:

“Whilst the travel time to the City Ground is slightly longer than for those who currently park very near to the stadium, it is believed that a combination of all of the above benefits will convince a notable proportion of car-based spectators to change their driving habits to use the NFFC-supported Park & Ride sites.”

The nearest tram stops to the City Ground currently are the Nottingham Station and Meadows Embankment stops.

As well as the tram sites, the club also hopes to partner with the East Midlands Combined Authority (EMCCA), which runs public transport in Nottingham, to promote the city’s two bus park and rides – at Queen’s Drive and the Racecourse.

Both currently operate on a limited schedule on Saturdays and are closed on Sundays, but the club hopes that both sites can be open for a minimum of 10 hours on matchdays, allowing fans to park for up to four hours before kick-off and six hours after.

Fans will also be able to pre-book spaces at these sites in advance, which, while costing a bit more than a tram park and ride ticket, are still proposed to cost less than a typical £10 car park, and will include up to four shuttle bus tickets.

The club wants to put shuttle buses on from both sites, with fans who’ve parked at Queen’s Drive being dropped at the pedestrian Wilford Suspension Bridge, a 12-minute walk from the ground along the River Trent, and fans who’ve parked at the Racecourse being dropped right outside the stadium in the Brian Clough Stand car park.

This is because the club wants to help ease traffic congestion on Trent Bridge from the west, and is why the club will encourage tram users to get off at Meadows Embankment rather than Nottingham Station.

The walk from there to the ground is around 30 minutes, and fans will be directed over the Wilford Suspension Bridge.

Queen’s Drive park and ride users would get back on the shuttle bus in the same place they got off, while Racecourse users would get picked up at the junction of Meadow Lane and Lady Bay bridge.

Shuttle buses would leave every 10 minutes, or when they’re full, from three hours before the match and after the match.

Regular bus services would not be affected by the proposed park and ride changes.

Further details on potential traffic alleviation schemes are likely to be released in the future, in conjunction with Nottingham City Council, Nottinghamshire County Council and the East Midlands Combined County Authority (EMCCA), pending permission being granted by Rushcliffe Borough Council.

East Midlands Mayor Claire Ward has previously spoken about how Rushcliffe “needs a transport solution” due to its sporting offering, which includes the City Ground, and is now being marketed as the “Trent Sports District”.

She has previously mooted the idea of a tram extension to the area, and local leaders have also welcomed ideas for a water taxi up and down the River Trent to help transport fans – although neither of these ideas are included within Forest’s immediate proposals.

A Nottingham City Council spokesperson said it would not comment on the proposed CPZ while discussions were still ongoing.

A Nottinghamshire County Council spokesperson said:

“The details of any planning obligations have yet to be determined.

“Officers from both authorities are continuing discussions on how any additional parking demand arising from the development, if approved, could be appropriately mitigated.

“Until our assessment of the recently updated transport information is complete, we are unable to share any further information in addition to that available in the public domain regarding these discussions.”

🌱🥕 Lettuce Celebrate National Allotment Week! 🌻🍅

Looking to grow your own fruit, vegetables or flowers? Now's the perfect time to get started! 🌿🌼

As part of National Allotment Week, Bassetlaw District Council is giving away FREE 'Grow Your Own' bags to residents across the district. 🎉🌱

Whether you're a seasoned gardener or a complete beginner, each bag contains everything you need to get growing, including:

✅ Packs of seeds
✅ Pots to grow them in
✅ Savvy shopping information and helpful tips

📍 Collection Points:

🌿 Worksop – Queen's Building Reception
🌿 Retford – 17B The Square Reception
🌿 Harworth – Harworth and Bircotes Town Hall Reception

There’s nothing quite like enjoying something you've grown yourself, so why not give it a go and let your gardening journey blossom this National Allotment Week? 🌞🌷

Credit: Bassetlaw District Council

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Have a great day and I look forward to seeing you read our next newsletter.

Justin Doddy, Editor