Shoplifters Lifted, Worksops Got Talent, Community Funding & More
Happy Friday readers, the weekend is in sight !
I hope you have something nice planned for the weekend but until then .... grab a brew and a custard cream and have a read of today's newsletter covering all things Bassetlaw and surrounding areas.
Today's Quote of the Day - "I like criticism. It makes you strong." LeBron James
Enjoy the read and have a great weekend wherever you are reading this.
Justin Doddy, Editor
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Shop Watch Radio Leads to Swift Arrest of Shoplifters
East Bassetlaw Neighbourhood Policing Team received a message over the Shop Watch radio from a local store reporting a theft - the suspects vehicle was still in the car park with two suspects leaving the area on foot.
Officers from both response and neighbourhoods attended the area within minutes and with assistance from Bassetlaw Council CCTV were able to locate the first suspect who, after a short foot chase was detained and arrested. Police remained in the area searching for the outstanding suspect and thanks to a tip off from a member of the public about a suspicious female loitering nearby police swiftly detained and arrested the second suspect.
Through subsequent enquiries it was established that the vehicle they had used to drive to Retford was being driven without a valid licence and so was also seized.
The two suspects have now been charged and are awaiting their day in court. Shop theft detection rates are at 81% in East Bassetlaw over the last three months. This means that every 8 in 10 reports of shop thefts investigated by East Bassetlaw Neighbourhoods Team have resulted in a positive outcome with the suspects either being charged to court or issued with an out of court disposal.
Curtain Comes Down on a Decade of Worksop's Got Talent
A Bassetlaw Councillor Community Grant has ensured that Worksop’s Got Talent goes out with a bang this week following 10 fantastic years of the show.
The Council has been a proud supporter of the talent show since its beginning in 2016 and a grant of £800 has helped the show to go on for one final year, contributing to the production costs of the event.
This year’s finale takes place on Friday 6th November, with doors opening at 6pm and the show starting at 7pm. The event will bring together 700 audience members as 12 finalists take to the stage in pursuit of the coveted Worksop's Got Talent title.
This year’s judging panel includes Coronation Street actor Kyran Bowes, professional footballer Ella Rutherford, Love Island star Tommy Murphy, and This Morning presenter Jordan Cox.
James Clarke, Co-ordinator of Worksop’s Got Talent said:
“Worksop's Got Talent has become a real community celebration over the last ten years, bringing together people of all ages to support local performers and showcase the incredible talent we have across our area. The continued support from Bassetlaw District Council has played an important role in helping the event grow year after year, allowing us to put on a professional show that gives our finalists a fantastic experience.
“We're incredibly grateful for this year's Councillor Community Grant, which will help us continue creating a memorable evening for performers, their families and the hundreds of people who come together to cheer them on. It's events like this that bring communities closer together and create lasting memories."
Over the last 10-years, Worksop’s Got Talent has raised over £185,000 for charity, as well as giving local talent the chance to shine in front of a sell-out audience. Celebrities such as Simon Cowell, James Corden, Kym Marsh and many more have also lent their support over the years.
Chair of Bassetlaw District Council and Ward Member for Worksop North-West Cllr Sybil Fielding spoke on behalf of the Councillors who contributed towards the event said:
"Events like Worksop's Got Talent show the very best of our community. Not only do they provide a platform for local performers to showcase their talents, but they also bring people together and create a real sense of pride in our town.
“It is fantastic to see the event continue to grow and attract such strong support year after year. We are delighted to help support this year's finale through the Councillor Community Grant scheme and look forward to seeing another memorable evening that celebrates the talent and community spirit that makes Worksop so special."
Each Bassetlaw District Councillor is allocated a small annual budget and has the discretion to award grants to support community activities within their ward. Councillor grants may support projects related to sport, culture and heritage, environmental sustainability, social welfare and general community benefit.
The Councillors who have contributed towards Worksop’s Got Talent are: Cllr Sybil Fielding, Ward Member for Worksop North-West; Cllr Debroah Merryweather, Ward Member for Worksop East; Cllr Fraser Merryweather and Cllr Madelaine Richardson, Ward Members for Worksop North-East; Cllr Clayton Tindle, Ward Member for Worksop South-East and Cllr Tony Eaton, Ward Member for Worksop South.
Tickets are selling out fast and there is some still available for the final ever show on Friday 6th November and you can purchase your tickets here: https://www.ticketsource.com/worksopsgottalentspan>u>
Content courtesy of Bassetlaw District Council
Latest round of community funding is now open
Nottinghamshire groups and charities can apply for the latest round of community funding.
The Local Communities Fund (LCF) is all part of Nottinghamshire County Council’s continued commitment to encourage healthy and sustainable communities by financially supporting community groups and charities via a two-year programme (2026-28)
Eligible community groups can apply for a range of grants, worth more than £770,000 in total. including money which has been earmarked to support new or recently set-up grassroot organisations.
Applications can be made up until 4.30pm on Friday 11 December. The grants available are:
- Small revenue grants of up to £5,000 to help towards vital running costs such as energy bills and staff costs.
- Capital grants of up to £20,000. These are designed to support improvements to local facilities which have match-funding.
- A one-off foundation grant targeted at new or recently set up organisations. These groups can apply for up to £1,000 to help them get more established.
- A building financial resilience grant of up to £5,000 aimed at projects that address the root causes of financial crisis and help people build longer-term financial resilience, as part of a new government funding package.
Councillor Jody Stoll, Cabinet Member for Communities and Public Health said he was delighted that this latest round was underway just weeks after announcing that more than 80 groups will share £1.2 million worth of funding from the previous round. He said:
“Our new-look Local Communities Fund was launched earlier this year. We are now opening up a second round of funding which will give even more groups the chance to apply for grants to help fund the fantastic and tireless work they do, helping enrich the lives of residents and improving community facilities.”
Community groups and voluntary groups up and down the county are already benefiting from previous funding rounds.
This included Sharewear, based in Edwalton, which helps support vulnerable families and residents across the county. The charity is launching a new project ‘make a house a home’ thanks to two-year large revenue grant worth £10,601 each year to help with running and staff costs.
Emily Ashton, Fundraising and Development Manager at Sharewear explains:
“With funding from Nottinghamshire County Council, we are preparing to launch our project to support newly-housed residents with starter packs of essential household textiles and pre loved clothing. As winter bills rise, this project means Sharewear can help people across Nottinghamshire experiencing hardship and struggling with the cost of living to make their new space feel more like a home.”
Grantham Canal Society received £12,700 as part of a previous funding round to create and install 14 individual information boards across locations along a 13 mile stretch of the canal from Trent Lock, near Long Eaton, close to the Derbyshire border, to historic Hickling Bridge, near to the Leicestershire border.
Peter Stubbs, a funding coordinator from the Grantham Canal Society, describes how the recent installation of the new interpretation boards is helping bring the history, heritage and wildlife of the canal to life. He said:
“These new boards help giving visitors a greater understanding and appreciation of this important local waterway. The support from Nottinghamshire County Council has helped us share the canal’s story with a wider audience and improve the experience for local residents, walkers and visitors.
“Our thanks go to the council for its support. We greatly appreciate the difference this funding makes to the work of the Grantham Canal Society and the wider community.”
Council funding worth £10,000 has been previously awarded to Arthur Radford Hall and Sports Ground, located between Fiskerton and Morton, near Southwell, to help replace and upgrade the heating system to help the hall continue to be a warm and welcoming place.
Chairman Leslie Macartney comments how the fund has made a real difference to the community facility, which offers a sports fields, playpark, and a hall fully equipped for special events. He said:
“The Local Communities Fund has made a real difference. The new heating system will not only improve our facilities, we hope it will significantly help save on heating bills too, particularly as we are getting into winter.
“Thanks to Nottinghamshire County Council for this wonderful support.”
Newark Town Council received £20,000 towards an upgrade of Collis Close play area. Anna Lawson, Deputy Town Clerk said:
"We are delighted to be successful in applying for grant funding from Nottinghamshire County Council to support our efforts to improve Collis Close Play Park. These funds will allow us to deliver improvements that otherwise would not be possible.
"The process was straightforward, and we appreciated the County Council's support and communication."
For more details on the Local Communities Fund and how community groups can apply, go to: The Local Communities Fund (LCF) | Nottinghamshire County Council
Content courtesy of Nottinghamshire County Council
Mayor likely to put money towards City Ground expansion – but still can’t say if it’d be a new Trent bridge
By Joseph Connolly, LDRS
East Midlands Mayor Claire Ward says her money is there specifically for projects like Nottingham Forest’s City Ground expansion, but she still cannot say whether a new bridge is exactly what she’d pay for.
Another new crossing over the River Trent has been proposed to accommodate the 20,000 extra fans expected at every home game as part of the Reds’ planned increase in stadium capacity.
But it is just one of the options, the Mayor asserted, while confirming that the East Midlands Combined Authority will likely use some of the transport money given to it by the government for Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire to help ensure Forest’s plans go ahead.
The Premier League club were granted permission to boost the capacity from 31,000 to more than 52,000 in September by Rushcliffe Borough Council.
But increasing the number of seats inside the ground could not happen in isolation, with the knock-on effect of 20,000 more fans travelling to the ground every weekend needing to be accounted for by refurbishing existing parts of the stadium and providing new amenities and transport infrastructure.
Rushcliffe council, therefore, has demanded that the club meet a number of conditions to satisfy the terms of its permission – to ensure, for example, that local roads can handle the additional traffic the expansion could create.
To manage the extra fans travelling to the ground every week on foot, Forest had originally put forward a suggestion that two of the six vehicular lanes on Trent Bridge – one on each three-laned side – could be closed permanently to allow for more pedestrians.
But Nottingham City and Nottinghamshire County Council, which have a say in the project due to their responsibility for the region’s roads, rejected the idea and instead suggested building another new bridge across the Trent, in addition to the Waterside Bridge near Lady Bay, which only opened in June.
It would cost millions and likely be much more expensive than lane closures or other alternative options.
But recent documents published by EMCCA suggested that their cash – in the form of £2b, explicitly for spending on transport- could help Forest out.
That’s partly because the City Ground forms part of the area that EMCCA has called the “Trent Sports District” – with the hope of promoting wider knowledge of the fact that Forest’s home, Trent Bridge Cricket Ground and Holme Pierrepoint’s National Watersports Centre are all within a short distance of each other.
The documents say:
“The potential growth and investment in the Trent Sports District has previously been cited as a potential (place to spend money).
“The outcome of the recent planning application for expansion of the City Ground identified sustainable transport conditions that would need to be met.
“Supporting the development of these options would not only be beneficial for the ground expansion but would also directly contribute to the opportunity for growth throughout the wider Sports District.”
And when asked by the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) about the possibility of such an investment, the Mayor said that EMCCA will “look to assist” and that a bridge is “one of the options”.
She said:
“So, a bridge might be one of the options, but it has not been determined. What we will do is look to assist in terms of investment that makes this work. That’s why we’ve said, right from the very beginning, that part of our role as a strategic authority is to put money in that helps to deliver big opportunities like the Trent Sports District.
“So we will continue to look at that. There’s no one particular option. But, obviously, we need to make sure that (EMCCA’s) transport committee have got some oversight of whatever funding is being allocated into that.”
In September, Conservative Rushcliffe borough councillor Matt Barney said it was “highly likely” a new bridge over the Trent would be needed to deal with the influx of extra supporters.
And in October, the Mayor said she could “not rule out” another vehicular bridge in the future to help further address congestion on the A614 and A6097 – roads that are currently subject to roadworks as part of a scheme costing nearly £50m.
Vape Shops lose Business Rates Relief
By: Eoin Ryan, LDRS
Vape shops in Bassetlaw are set to lose business rates relief in an announcement made weeks after a new vape tax was introduced.
The government said this is part of an effort to “clean up and strengthen high streets” and will help ensure support goes towards businesses that help local communities thrive.
Chancellor of the Exchequer John Healey MP told MPs:
“I will carve out adult gaming centres and vape shops from business rate reliefs.”
Alongside this, the Chancellor announced a number of measures to support businesses in England including an increase in Small Business Rates Relief Thresholds for qualifying Retail, Hospitality and Leisure properties to £18,000 and £21,000.
A month before this, all vaping liquids were made subject to excise duties starting October 1 to reduce the affordability and appeal of vaping. Vaping Products Duty is charged at £2.20 per 10ml of vaping liquid and will be paid by manufacturers, importers and warehouse keepers approved by HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC).
The Vaping Duty Stamps Scheme launched alongside this which will allow vaping duty stamps to provide digital traceability which is to help prevent illicit trade of vapes. Wholesalers and retailers have been given a six-month grace period to sell any existing eligible unstamped, non-duty liable stock.
The Tobacco and Vapes Act was also introduced this week which makes it illegal to sell any vaping or nicotine product to anyone under the age of 18. It is also now an offence for an adult aged 18 or over to buy, or attempt to buy, these products for someone under 18, known as proxy purchasing.
Products covered by the new age restriction include nicotine vapes, non-nicotine vapes, nicotine pouches and other nicotine products. Medicinal products and medical devices, such as nicotine replacement therapies, are exempt.
Trading Standards officers are encouraging retailers to review their age-verification procedures, ensure staff understand the new requirements and take appropriate steps to prevent illegal sales.
The new legislation also includes a ban on vending machines selling tobacco products, herbal smoking products, cigarette papers, vaping products and nicotine products.
Further restrictions will prohibit businesses from giving away products as free samples for promotional purposes, or offering substantial promotional discounts on products covered by the legislation. Businesses that fail to comply with the new rules could face a fixed penalty notice.
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Have a great day and I look forward to seeing you read our next newsletter.
Justin Doddy, Editor
Bassetlaw Today
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