Happy Tuesday everyone and a massive welcome to all our new subscribers. I really hope you enjoy the daily read as subscribers now receive 7 - YES SEVEN FREE newsletters every week.

Todays Quote for the day - "We do not need magic to transform our world. We carry all the power we need inside ourselves already." — J.K. Rowling

Enjoy the read, please email us if you have a story for us and have a great day wherever you are in Bassetlaw.

Justin Doddy, Editor

P.S. Don't forget to subscribe to our newsletter if you haven't already and remember to send us your pictures from around Bassetlaw, we may feature it on our newsletter.

OPERATION PERNICIOUS continues as Officers Tackle Illegal Off-Road Bikes

Officers from the Worksop North Neighbourhood Policing Team together with Roads Policing and the Drone Unit have been out conducting Operation Pernicious, targeting the illegal use of off-road bikes across our communities.

We understand that nobody wants to be taking what some may see as a child's "Christmas present". However, these bikes are often being ridden illegally on roads, footpaths, parks and public spaces, causing significant anti-social behaviour and posing a danger to both riders and members of the public.Off-road bikes can only be used in appropriate locations and must meet legal requirements if ridden on public roads.

Where bikes are being used unlawfully, officers will take positive action, including seizure of vehicles where necessary.

We will continue to listen to residents' concerns and act on reports of nuisance bikes to help keep our neighbourhoods safe and enjoyable for everyone.

Courtesy of Nottinghamshire County Council

Natural Flood Scheme Offers Fresh Protection for East Markham

A new scheme designed to slow the flow of water and reduce flood risk has been completed upstream of East Markham.

The £15,000 natural flood management project has been funded and delivered by Nottinghamshire County Council’s Flood Risk Management team, with construction carried out by EMEC Ecology.

Working with a local landowner, the project has brought a previously buried stretch of watercourse back to the surface by removing an old culvert. The water channel has been reshaped with natural bends and curves to slow the flow of water, while new floodplain areas and a low-level earth bund (a gently raised bank made from compacted soil) will help hold more water during periods of heavy rainfall.

By slowing and storing water upstream, the scheme will help reduce the amount flowing towards the village at peak times. It will also create valuable pond and wetland habitat, providing a welcome boost for local wildlife.

The work follows repeated flooding in East Markham, including during Storm Babet in October 2023, when six properties were flooded internally and many more experienced flooding outside.

Councillor Bert Bingham, Cabinet Member for Transport and Environment at Nottinghamshire County Council, said:

"Bringing the watercourse back into the open will not only help manage flood risk but also reconnect it more naturally with the surrounding landscape. The reshaped channel and new wetland areas will create valuable habitats for plants, insects and other wildlife, while helping to build a more resilient local environment for the future."

The site will now be monitored to make sure the measures continue to work as designed. The findings will also help shape future natural flood management projects across Nottinghamshire.

Credit: Nottinghamshire County Council

Bassetlaw District Council launches 'Call for Sites'

Bassetlaw District Council has launched a ‘Call for Sites’ offering landowners, developers, site promoters and organisations the chance to put forward land that could be considered for future development in the district.

Sites can be suggested for different uses, including housing, businesses, renewable energy, nature recovery, community facilities and open spaces.

This process will help support the development of the new Local Plan which will set out where homes and other developments can be built, and which parts of the district should be protected over the next ten years or so.

Cllr Steve Scotthorne, Cabinet Member for Identity, Planning and Place, said:

“The Call for Sites is a valuable tool to ensure all possible sites across the district that could be suitable for development are assessed properly.

“Anyone can suggest a site to us, and I encourage people to get involved.”

The council will add every site submitted to its Land Availability Assessment and check whether it could be suitable for development.

Submitting a site does not mean it will receive planning permission or be included in a future Local Plan.

The six-week consultation starts on 3 September 2026.  To find out more and submit a site visit www.basssetlaw.gov.uk or email planningpolicy@bassetlaw.gov.uk.

Crackdown on illegal number plates with new government funded roads policing team

New roads policing centre helping to track down offenders faster and disrupt organised crime groups that rely on England's road network.

• government funds new National Roads Policing Coordination Centre, stepping up enforcement on illegal number plates across England
• police join forces to share tech and data in blitz on organised crime
• part of government’s Road Safety Strategy in action, the first in over a decade, which will save thousands of lives

A new nationwide crackdown on illegal number plates will target drivers who dodge fines and organised crime gangs as the Department for Transport (DfT) funds a new roads policing team.

The National Roads Policing Coordination Centre (NRPCC) will bring together police forces from around England to share intelligence, improve collaboration and make better use of data.

This includes trialling new technology, for example, specialised goggles that can detect number plates where criminals have tried to make them unreadable by cameras.

Illegal number plates are often used for criminal activity to evade speeding, parking or clean air zone penalties and are frequently used for organised crime, including moving illegal goods on the road network.

Vehicles that hide from number plate recognition technology are harder for police to track down when they are stolen or linked to organised crime and other serious offences.

Being able to better detect these illegal number plates will mean police are able to track down criminals quicker and so will not only make the roads safer, but reduce crime on our streets too.

The government is also looking to go even further through its Road Safety Strategy, the first in over a decade, which aims to save thousands of lives.

The strategy has already consulted on stronger penalties for drivers using illegal number plates, reviewing number plate standards and improving enforcement.

Roads Minister Justin Madders said:

We’re cracking down on illegal number plates with new policing resource and innovative tech.

Illegal number plates are used for crimes from evading parking charges to drug trafficking and we’re stepping in to protect drivers.

This is a signal to anyone using illegal number plates that their time is up. We will catch you and our roads and streets will be safer for it.

Illegal number plates can come in many forms, including:

• cloned plates, where a vehicle carries a copied registration belonging to another legitimate vehicle, making it harder to identify
• ‘ghost plates’, where a transparent film is used to make the registration undetectable to cameras
• missing plates, where a car has no number plate at all

Drivers using an incorrectly displayed number plate can be fined up to £1,000.

Chief Superintendent Marc Clothier, Deputy National Coordinator for the NRPCC, said:

Through the National Roads Policing Coordination Centre, our mission is to tackle the biggest risks to road safety, enhancing and developing the police response to criminality both on and off the roads.

The police forces involved in our ghost plates operation have shown how effective a targeted and intelligence-led approach is in tackling offenders as well as educating and supporting drivers in ensuring their number plates are compliant. The testing and sharing of new approaches and developing innovation has been incredibly valuable and we look forward to building on this as we progress to our next operational focus.

Thanks to the funding from DfT, we have a valuable opportunity to support road safety and roads policing across the UK with enhanced national coordination, consistency, collaboration and communication across policing, government and the wider road safety community.

Policing and Crime Minister Sarah Jones said:

Illegal number plates are not a victimless offence. They are used by criminals to avoid detection, move illegal goods and stay one step ahead of law enforcement.

We are determined to give police every advantage in the fight against serious and organised crime, while making our roads safer for everyone.

This builds on work from DVSA and DVLA, which are working closely with police to improve how illegal number plates are identified and enforced against them.

This includes supporting investigations into businesses involved in the illegal supply of number plates and supporting the police in roadside operations.

Courtesy of www.gov.uk

Thanks so much for reading our local newsletter and for supporting us. We’re committed to providing Bassetlaw with the quality local news service it deserves, but sustaining this work may come with some challenges. Our team is currently discussing how to make Bassetlaw Today financially viable in the long term, and one option we’re considering is introducing a subscription model to help cover our costs.

We want to be open with you about these conversations so you’re aware that a fee may need to be introduced in the future. If that happens, we hope you’ll continue to stand with us and support the publication.

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

Justin Doddy, Editor

P.S. Your feedback about this newsletter is important to me. You can email me your feedback to news@bassettlawtoday.co.uk