Seized Vehicle, One Big Summer, Faith Transport Axe and More

Happy Monday to you all and I hope you had a great weekend.

Monday morning has come around fast again, it's time to grab a brew, open the digestives, put the phone on silent and kick back for 10 - enjoy a read of today's newsletter covering all things Bassetlaw and surrounding areas.

Todays thought for the day ... “Life’s most persistent and urgent question is, ‘What are you doing for others?’” ~ Martin Luther King, Jr.

Have a great Monday wherever you are reading this.

Justin Doddy, Editor

P.S. Don't forget to subscribe to our newsletter if you haven't already and please forward the newsletter to a friend that you think may like it, especially those that may not be on social media.

Police Operation Pernicious Continues

Nottinghamshire Police have provided an update on their ongoing operations to tackle illegal off-road and nuisance bikes across Bassetlaw

In the last week, through patrols and acting on information from the community Officers have :

✅ Recovered a number of stolen bikes linked to crime and ASB
✅ Reported riders for summons for offences involving illegal bike use
✅ More Community Protection Warnings (CPWs) issued to those linked to offending
✅ Continued enforcement action across the district

Nottinghamshire Police have issued their thanks to the community for their continued support - your information helps Officers identify offenders and take positive action.

Then and Now: Worksop Bus Operator’s Ticket Machine Technology

Pictured: Picture of old and new ticket machines. Old Setright machine designed to be portable. Ultra-modern Ticketer TK300 machines to be rolled out locally

A major Worksop bus operator has celebrated the announcement of new and advanced ticketing technology, which is set to be introduced locally, by releasing a picture of a historic ticket machine from its archive.

Stagecoach East Midlands has released the picture of a Setright machine, which was once a well-known feature of transport across the region. The portable Setright used a number of dials and a handle to crank out paper tickets to local people.

Stagecoach, last week, announced that ultra-modern Ticketer TK300 machines will be rolled out across our region. These latest-generation ticket machines are computer-enabled and can store hundreds of routes across different Depots; they dispense tickets at the press of a button. 💻 They constantly keep track of where the bus is so that customers can see this information on the Stagecoach App. 📱

They also include technology to ensure consistent pricing across the region. A built-in microphone and speakers can allow two-way communications between Bus Drivers and local Depots. 🎙️

Matt Cranwell, Managing Director of Stagecoach East Midlands, said:

“As we work to introduce these ultra-modern pieces of technology, it is important that we remember our heritage of such iconic items as the ticket machine, but also appreciate the modern technology which helps to get our loyal customers where they need to go as quickly and conveniently as possible.

“Having new machines that are faster, have improved connectivity and an intuitive digital pad for the drivers to help them process tickets more efficiently will all help to simplify and speed up the boarding process. Hopefully, in turn, this will help to maintain, and even improve, the excellent results that we already have for our buses being on time.

“The two-way communications, between drivers and the depot, will help our team to adapt more easily to challenges on the road, to provide the best possible service for our customers.”

Two districts, one big summer of family fun

Bassetlaw and Newark and Sherwood join forces to showcase summer holiday events

Families looking for fun things to do during the summer holidays can now find fresh ideas every week through “Two Districts, One Big Summer”, a new partnership initiative launched by Bassetlaw District Council and Newark and Sherwood District Council.

Visit Newark & Sherwood, Discover Worksop and Discover Retford have teamed up to share a weekly round-up of low-cost family-friendly events and activities taking place across both districts. The initiative aims to inspire families to discover new experiences on their doorstep while supporting local visitor attractions, event organisers and town centres during one of the busiest times of the year for the visitor economy.

Every Friday throughout the summer holidays, top picks for the week ahead will be highlighted across Visit Newark and Sherwood, Discover Worksop and Discover Retford social media sites, and will include a mix of local events, outdoor activities, creative workshops, trails, town centre fun and other ideas to help families make the most of the summer.

Councillor Charles Adams, Cabinet Member for Business and Skills at Bassetlaw District Council said:

“There is so much happening across our districts and we want to make it easier for families to find ideas in one place.

"By working together, we can help more people discover local events, support town centres and enjoy affordable days out close to home.”

Two Districts, One Big Summer runs until the end of August, giving residents and visitors a simple way to discover what is happening locally and plan days out.

Among the planned events in Bassetlaw are Family Art Fun day, Party in the Square, Clumber Park’s Summer of Play and Summer Activities at Bassetlaw Museum. Events in Newark and Sherwood include Newark-on-Sea, Newark Festival, Robin Hood Festival and Southwell Music Festival.

Councillor Claire Penny, Portfolio Holder for Sustainable Economic Development at Newark and Sherwood District Council, said:

"We know families are always looking for fun, affordable ways to keep children entertained during the summer holidays, and our districts offer a fantastic variety of events, attractions and experiences.

“By working together, we can shine a spotlight on everything that makes this part of Nottinghamshire such a great place to visit, explore and enjoy.”

Families can follow the weekly event recommendations at the following social media sites:

Facebook: Visit Newark and Sherwood, Discover Retford and Discover Worksop.

Instagram: Visit Newark and Sherwood, Discover Retford and Discover Worksop.

To discover all the events taking place across Newark and Sherwood and Bassetlaw, visit the official event sites: www.whatsonnewarkandsherwood.co.uk www.discoverbassetlaw.co.uk

The Two Districts One Big Summer initiative has been created for the North Notts Tourism Group, where visitor attractions across the Sherwood Forest and Dukeries area meet to network, share ideas and initiatives. The group is attended by the East Midlands County Combined Authority (EMCCA), district councils and supported by Nottinghamshire County Council and is coordinated and chaired by Bassetlaw District Council.

Our three interesting facts for today ....

In 2007, the Swiss Army invaded Liechtenstein by accident: it was dark, and they couldn't see where they were going.

Bear Castle is the literal translation from Swedish of tennis legend Bjorn Borg.

Canada has a strategic maple-syrup reserve

Missed a school vaccination? There are catch-up opportunities available!

If a child has missed a vaccine at school or they are home educated, Nottinghamshire County Council have advised that there are opportunities to catch up.

IntraHealth delivers the School Aged Immunisation Service (SAIS) and offers catch-up clinics during the school holidays for school-aged children living in Nottingham and Nottinghamshire.

Vaccines available at the catch-up clinics

Human Papillomavirus (HPV) One injection is given in Year 8 to protect against some cancers and genital warts linked to the HPV virus.

Tetanus, Diphtheria and Polio (3-in-1 Teenage Booster Vaccine – Td/IPV) One injection is given in Year 9 to complete the five-dose course, providing most people with lifelong protection against tetanus, diphtheria and polio.

Meningococcal (Men) ACWY Vaccine (MenACWY) One injection is given in Year 9 to protect against meningitis and septicaemia caused by four groups of meningococcal bacteria – A, C, W and Y.

Measles, Mumps and Rubella (MMR) Two doses of the MMR vaccination are usually given before children start school. This provides long-term protection against measles, mumps and rubella. If your child has missed one or both vaccinations, they can receive them at the catch-up clinics. The MMR vaccine is also available through your GP practice for anyone of any age who is not protected.

Flu A nasal spray is given annually each autumn/winter to school-aged children. It helps protect against the flu virus, which can cause serious illness. A porcine-free alternative is available if required.

Catch-up Clinic Dates in Bassetlaw

Friday 21 August Retford Family Hub Spa Lane Retford DN22 6EA

9.30am – 3.30pm

Wednesday 29 July Retford Family Hub Spa Lane Retford DN22 6EA

9.30am – 3.30pm

Further information on vaccinations and details for all the catch-up clinics available across Nottinghamshire can be accessed via https://www.nottinghamshire.gov.uk/care/health-and-wellbeing.

Eight charged with regionwide theft conspiracy

Eight suspects have been charged with conspiring to steal from addresses across the region.

That's after a Nottinghamshire Police investigation into the planned theft of property led to several arrests this week.

Multiple victims from across the East Midlands were reportedly targeted during the conspiracy, between January and July this year.

An investigation into the plot revealed plans to steal various goods, including counterfeit cigarettes, so that they could then be sold on for profit.

Some of the people targeted were also reportedly blackmailed too, with threats made to try and force victims to hand over drugs and cash.

Police executed a series of warrants across Nottinghamshire on Tuesday (21 July) and Wednesday (22 July) that have now led to the following eight suspects being charged with conspiring to steal from another:

Paul Bradley, 40, of Butler Street, Arnold
Simon Bradshaw, 46, of Skegby Road, Kirkby-in-Ashfield
Dane Broadley, 31, Marwood Road, Carlton
Dylan Broadley, 30, Coningswath Road, Carlton
Jermaine Moran, 37, of Manor Road, Eastwood
Steven Palmer, 39, of Hathern Green, Nottingham
Lee Southall, 40, of Castellan Rise, Bestwood
Simon Upton, 39, of Eltham Drive, Broxtowe

Bradley, Bradshaw and Dane Broadley have all been charged with conspiring to blackmail too, with Bradley also charged with conspiring to supply cannabis and being concerned in the supply of cocaine.

Bradshaw and Moran have also been charged with being concerned in the production of cannabis and being concerned in the supply of cannabis, respectively.

All eight suspects attended Nottingham Magistrates' Court on Thursday (23 July), where they were each remanded into custody until 20 August, when they are due to appear before Nottingham Crown Court.

Detective Chief Inspector Nick Hall, of Nottinghamshire Police, said:

"An investigation remains ongoing into this conspiracy, which revolved around the theft of items from across the East Midlands.

"Multiple victims from different parts of the region were reportedly targeted – and blackmailed in some cases – as part of this, over the course of several months.

"We can confirm that eight suspects have now been charged in connection with this conspiracy and that they've now appeared before the courts."

‘They’re stripping away access on a whim’ – Parents left angry and disappointed over faith transport axe.

By: Lauren Monaghan, LDRS.

Nottinghamshire parents have been left ‘furious’ and ‘disappointed’ after their children’s transport to faith schools was axed.

Reform-led Nottinghamshire County Council has been reviewing its discretionary bus service that serves more than 500 pupils attending Catholic and Church of England schools.

Currently, 520 pupils attending these faith schools travel there on council-subsidised transport, with parents covering around 20 percent of the cost and the council paying the remaining 80 percent.

It costs the authority around £1 million a year to run the service, with the council estimating the cost over the next six years would be up to £7.5 million.

But in a recent cabinet meeting, the authority agreed to end its discretionary transport to faith schools from September 2027 after it was facing “significant financial pressure” across its departments, where any savings could help the council achieve its multi-million-pound savings plan.

Councillor James Rawson (Ref), said:

“It doesn’t feel right the majority have to pay for the minority. The majority have got uniform costs, the majority have got travel costs.”

Cllr Martin Wright (Ref) said: “The authority faces financial issues around statutory services which we have no option but to provide. As more children are diagnosed than ever with increasing requirement for SEND provision throughout the county – it comes at great cost.

“Secondly, a number of children placed in the care of the local authority increases substantially year on year. The cost of accommodating one child in a children’s home can be as much as £250,000 per annum.”

Cllr Rory Green (Ref), said the decision had “weighed on us all very heavily”, adding: “I even think there’s an opportunity here for the church… As someone who is a Christian I have toiled with this for weeks.

“It is not the state’s responsibility to drive your child to school based on your choice of place. I say that not in an aggressive way but in a peaceful way.”

Hannah Jones, 42, from Nuthall, is a single parent and will have two children attending Bluecoat Academy Wollaton by September 2027, when the council’s proposals would come into effect.

Speaking on the transport cuts, she told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) she is “extremely disappointed” by the decision and that it would have a “significant impact” on her family.

She said he son’s usual 15-minute journey to school will now take around 50 minutes each way, requiring two separate public buses, which will be “considerably more difficult and complicated”.

“I fully understand the council faces financial pressures and difficult decisions sometimes have to be made. However, removing the entire service without finding a way to retain at least some transport options is extremely disappointing,” she said.

Ms Jones believes no “meaningful compromise” was realistically considered by the council, such as reduced services or revised routes, adding: “It’s difficult not to feel that this was a predetermined decision.”

One Giltbrook mum, who asked not to be named, told the LDRS she was ‘furious’ over the cuts, which will now impact her son travelling to a school that will have its bus route scrapped.

Due to the changes, she is considering moving her son, who has already made his school friends, to a different school and is thinking about moving her younger daughter to a different primary school soon to ensure she can make some friends before she moves up to secondary school.

She said:

“The poorest place to be is the middle of the road, which we are… [I] pays a hell of a lot of tax and council tax – my children have now got to suffer.

“He’s in year eight, he’s settled and happy, he’s going into year nine soon. He’s going to be massively impacted, the education standard’s great, I’m going to have to make my child suffer, potentially going to affect his life.

“I work, I can’t take him to school everyday – we picked this school based on there being transport – [the council] is stripping away access on a whim, with a complete disregard for anything parents have said.

“It’s a lack of care for someone that’s chosen a faith school, complete lack of understanding for a Christian faith… from our area there is no direct bus to get to that school.”

One Beeston mother, Sarah Collins, 46, said her son was due to start at the Becket School in West Bridgford in September 2026 and previously told the LDRS she ‘fears’ an increased risk of violence with more school children having to travel through the city centre each day.

She said:

“This decision will mean a journey of around an hour to get to school, and potentially considerably longer when there are problems with the tram service.

“I am concerned about their safety, with significantly more schoolchildren from a number of different schools now expected to travel unsupervised on public transport through the town each day.”

Councillor John Semens (Ref), deputy cabinet member for transport and environment, said the authority estimated about 22 percent of the 520 impact pupils would not have ‘easy’ access to their school with public transport, saying the council “fully recognises the upheaval that may cause”.

Mrs Collins said this statistic from the council’s decision was her “biggest concern”, saying:

“That 22 percent will not be eligible for financial support, but may have other issues such as SEND needs preventing them from making those journeys – that is simply not good enough.

“This decision will have a profound impact on families, but particularly on those children whose families who have no realistic way of getting to their chosen school. They are the children who most need support, and yet they appear to be the ones being let down most severely.

“I expected better from our county council. The council should not be content with simply acknowledging that some children will be unable to access their school and then failing to provide a meaningful solution.”

Late last year, the Reform council announced it planned to save around £45 million over the next three financial years – the proposals put forward to cut the discretionary faith transport would form part of the authority’s savings.

Cllr Semens previously told the LDRS the around £900,000 saving from axing the scheme is not a huge amount of money “in the grand scheme of things”, but it “makes sense” for the money to be put back into its statutory services – services which are often struggling.

Any changes will not impact those pupils who come from low income families and the authority says a mitigation package, involving journey planning, will be available for families.

The council says its cost of school transport across mainstream and special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) schools has increased by 75 percent in the last four years, where current projections estimate a further 36 percent increase over the next three years.

Sixteen faith schools are currently benefiting from the transport scheme, 10 of which are in Nottinghamshire, three are in Nottingham, two are in neighbouring Derbyshire, and one is in Doncaster.

The school bus services impacted by the changes:

St Edmund Campion, West Bridgford – 448
Christ the King School, Arnold – 910
The McAuley Catholic High School, Doncaster – 668, 669
St John Houghton, Ilkeston – 415, 416
The Trinity Catholic School, Aspley – 218, 650
English Martyrs School, Long Eaton – 517
The Becket School, West Bridgford – 441, 442, 447, 448, 449, 681
All Saints Catholic Academy, Mansfield – 213, 214, 215, 217, 219, 221, 224
Good Shepherd Primary Catholic Academy, Woodthorpe – 652
St Philip Neri, Mansfield – 215, 219, 224
The Emmanuel School, West Bridgford – 681
Bluecoat Academy, Aspley – 218, 652
Bluecoat Academy, Wollaton – 218, 652
National CofE Academy, Hucknall – 413, 414, 415/417
Burntstump Seely, Arnold – 710

Services to The Minster School in Southwell are not listed in the council’s proposals due to the school transport not wholly or mainly providing transport for pupils on the discretionary faith-based scheme, but the authority says faith pupils on the scheme could “expect a rise” in transport costs under the review.

Similar schemes in Derbyshire, Leicestershire and Lincolnshire no longer exist.

This topic was looked into by the authority more than 20 years ago, where it was decided that parents would begin to contribute some money towards it to keep it running. It was also up for consideration back in 2018.

The County Council’s most recent consultation on the topic closed in June, including removing the scheme from either September 2027 or 2031, maintaining it or increasing parents’ financial contributions.

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