Tribute to Anna, NUH Ask for £16 Million Emergency Funding, Worksop Firefighter Does Bassetlaw Proud & 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 hobnob and have a read of today's newsletter covering all things Bassetlaw and surrounding areas.

Today's Quote of the Day - “Always borrow money from a pessimist. He won’t expect it back." — Oscar Wilde

I would ask you to forward this newsletter email to anyone that you may think it would be of use to - perhaps people not on social media 24/7 or just people who like a summary read in the morning.

Enjoy the read and have a great weekend wherever you are reading this.

Justin Doddy, Editor

P.S. If someone forwarded you this newsletter, click here to sign up to get quality local journalism in your inbox.

'She was wonderful and vibrant' - tributes paid to mum-of-two killed in her Ollerton home

Tributes have been paid to 'a wonderful and vibrant' mother who had her 'whole life ahead of her' before she was killed.

Anna Zukowska, aged 52, leaves behind two sons, who have been left devastated by the news of their mum's untimely death.

In a family statement, they said:

"Anna was a wonderful, vibrant person who was full of life and had so many plans for the future.

"She leaves behind countless friends whose lives she touched.

"Her mother, her sister and sons are deeply heartbroken and struggling to process the unimaginable tragedy.

"We respectfully ask for privacy during this painful time and the family place their trust in the justice system to hold the person responsible for this crime fully accountable."

Anna was discovered at her home address in James Close in Ollerton, shortly before 8pm on Sunday 6 September.

Jozef Zbigniew Oleszek, aged 60, of James Close, Ollerton, was arrested on Sunday 6 September and charged with murder on Wednesday 9 September.

He has been remanded into custody and is due to appear at Nottingham Magistrates Court on Thursday 10 September.

Although formal identification has not yet taken place, Anna's family have been made aware and are being supported by specially trained officers.

Detective Inspector Stu Barson, who is leading the investigation, said:

"The family and friends of Anna Zukowska are at the forefront of this investigation.

"We cannot even begin to imagine the pain and suffering they are going through right now and will continue to support them in every way possible."

Content courtesy of Nottinghamshire Police

Worksop Firefighter Completes 9/11 Stair Climb For 25th Anniversary

As the world marks 25 years since the events of 11 September 2001, a firefighter from Worksop Fire Station has returned from Atlanta after taking part in a memorial challenge honouring the firefighters who lost their lives during the attacks.

Firefighter Ben Shepherd travelled to Georgia, USA, to join colleagues from across the UK, Ireland, and the United States in the annual 9/11 Memorial Stair Climb. The event sees participants climb the equivalent of the 110 storeys of the World Trade Centre towers in tribute to the 343 firefighters who made the ultimate sacrifice while responding to the attacks.

The climb brought together members of the global firefighting community, united in remembrance and respect for those who ran towards danger, whilst raising funds for three important charities: The Terry Farrell Firefighters Fund, Fire Fighters Charity, and Blue Light Card Foundation, supporting the firefighting and wider emergency service community when it comes to mental and physical health, both in the UK and U.S.

For Ben, taking part in the challenge was both a physical and emotional experience.

Reflecting on the challenge, he said:

“I am honoured and deeply humbled to have been in Atlanta, climbing side-by-side with our American brothers and sisters to pay tribute to the 343 firefighters who gave everything on 9/11.

“Every single step carried the weight of their sacrifice, but the warmth, camaraderie, and open-armed acceptance from the local fire service made a heavy day unforgettable. I am beyond grateful to have been welcomed into this community and to help ensure their legacy is never forgotten.

“It was an experience that will live with me forever!”

Twenty-five years on, the legacy of 343 firefighters who lost their lives continues to resonate across fire services worldwide. Their actions serve as a reminder of the risks firefighters face in protecting their communities.

Chief Fire Officer Craig Parkin DL said:

“We are incredibly proud of Ben for representing Nottinghamshire Fire and Rescue Service at such a significant event.

“The 9/11 Memorial Stair Climb is an opportunity to remember the extraordinary bravery shown by emergency service personnel on that day and to honour those who made the sacrifice.

“As we all mark the 25th anniversary of 9/11, it is important that we continue to remember those who lost their lives and the lasting impact the events of that day had on firefighters across the world.”

Congratulations to Ben and our colleagues from other Services who completed the climb, and for representing the UK Fire and Rescue Service family.

If you would still like to donate to Ben, you can do so by clicking here.

Local Plan Drop-In Event - Rampton

Residents are invited by Bassetlaw District Council to attend an upcoming Local Plan consultation event and have their say on the future of the Rampton area.

Rampton Village Hall, Manor Grounds, Rampton, Retford, Notts, DN22 0JU

Duration: 2 hrs

The new Local Plan will help shape where you live, work and spend your leisure time for years to come.

Event Details - https://tinyurl.com/49khy6jc

You can learn more about the Local Plan on the Bassetlaw District Council website - https://www.bassetlaw.gov.uk/

Misterton News

LOCAL GOVERNMENT REORGANISATION (LGR)

Local district and parish elections will go ahead in May 2027 after plans for a major shake-up of local government were put on hold after the Government launched a review in light of new legal advice. Communities Secretary Angela Rayner this week (7 September) announced that proposals to merge smaller councils to form larger authorities in a number of counties have been withdrawn. And plans for 14 other areas, including Nottinghamshire, will also be paused and reviewed.

Angela Rayner, Communities Secretary, told Parliament that she wanted to check the process and legality. The Government was facing legal challenges (judicial reviews) over proposals to reorganise councils. The Government had argued that the proposals would make the system simpler and produce savings. However, critics said the plans would not save money; and would divert resources from front-line services and mean councils were more remote from their communities.

NEW LOCAL PLAN

Bassetlaw District Council (BDC) will hold a drop-in consultation event on the new Local Plan on Monday 5 October in Misterton Methodist Church between 4.30pm and 6.30pm. The new Local Plan, covering growth up to 2045, will manage and influence economic growth, jobs, services, and investment. For more information, go to www.bassetlaw.gov.uk/localplanreview2026. Consultation started on Thursday 3 September 2026 and closes at 5.00pm on Thursday 15 October 2026.

Alongside this, the Council is also holding a Call for Sites to give residents and organisations the opportunity to submit sites with the potential for new housing or economic development (www.bassetlaw.gov.uk/planning-and-building-control/planning-policy/bassetlaw-local-plan-review-2026/call-for-sites/)

NEW GLASS RECYCLING PAYS OFF

Bassetlaw residents have recycled over 770 tonnes of glass since the launch of the Council’s new kerbside glass recycling service at the end of April. Bins are collected from households every six weeks and during the first 12 weeks of the service, crews collected 771.22 tonnes of glass. By recycling more glass, the amount of waste sent for disposal has reduced.

Download the Bassetlaw ‘Binformation’ App to advise when the next bin collection is, sign up for alerts, and access information on which items you can put in your recycling collections. The Binformation App is available to download free from the Apple App Store and Google Play. A desktop version is also available through the Council's website. For more information and to access the desktop version, visit the Bins, Recycling & Waste section of www.bassetlaw.gov.uk.

HOUSING REGULATOR DELIVERS INSPECTION RESULTS

Bassetlaw District Council has received its judgement from the Regulator of Social Housing following a comprehensive inspection process that took place between February and May 2026. This is the first time the Council has been inspected by the Regulator, which assesses how social landlords are performing against four Consumer Standards. Bassetlaw Housing scored a C2 rating (the highest rating is C1, with C4 the lowest). The Regulator reported some weaknesses in delivering the outcomes of the consumer standards and improvement is needed; specifically in relation the Safety & Quality Standard and Transparency, Influence & Accountability Standard. The Regulator for Social Housing’s full report is at: at: www.gov.uk/government/publications/bassetlaw-district-council

BASSETLAW ACTION CENTRE: UPDATE

Bassetlaw Action Centre is continuing to help people in in the district. They need volunteers to help with a number of services where they will be given full training and expenses paid. The roles are:

Drivers – using their own car or one of BAC’s vehicles (a wheelchair accessible vehicle or a minibus) to take people to appointments, shopping or on social visits

Befrienders – creating friendships and talking regularly to people either face to face or on the phone

Supported hospital discharge service volunteer – helping people who have recently been discharged from hospital to settle back home by doing odd jobs such as light cleaning or shopping or offering a short-term befriending service

Administrator – general administrative duties within the Retford office.

Commitments can be as little as one hour a week and are structured to fit around the volunteer’s life. If you think that you might be a good match for one of these roles, or would like to ask some questions, please call 01777 709650, e-mail enquiries@actioncentre.org.uk or visit BAC’s website: bassetlawactioncentre.org.uk

BAC also offers trips in a fully accessible minibus. This is a door-to-door service, picking up from Misterton and West Stockwith. Membership is free for this service - just pay the cost of the seat on the bus, £12 for lunch club trips and £22.50 for day trips. In September and October, trips are:

Wednesday 23rd - Crystal Peaks, Sheffield (day trip)

Thursday 1st - Rufford Abbey Country Park (lunch)

Monday 5th - Bakewell Market (day trip)

Tuesday 13th - The Woodcocks, Lincoln (lunch)

Wednesday 21st - Lakeside Village, Doncaster (day trip)

Thursday 29th - Thoresby Courtyard Café (lunch).

For further information and to book, call 01777 709650.

WEST STOCKWITH NEWS

ACCLAIMED ACTOR RETURNS TO WEST STOCKWITH

Actor Tim Marriott will return to the village in October with a production called Waiting for Hamlet. It’s on Friday 2 October at 7.00 for 7.30pm; tickets are £13 (students £10). Canapes and drinks are available but BYO wine.

Tim Marriott, who made his name as Gavin Featherly in the BBC sitcom, The Brittas Empire, has been to the village twice before. His new production is a riotous journey into the afterlife of Shakespeare’s greatest tragedy… Waiting for Hamlet takes audiences behind the scenes of Shakespeare’s iconic tragedy, uncovering the untold tale of the Old King and his court jester, Yorick (pictured left). Arriving in the afterlife poisoned, furious, and desperate for revenge, the King finds himself challenged by the one person who can stand in his way - the fool who knows him better than anyone. A battle of wits unfolds between two unlikely adversaries: one who believes he has all the answers and one who knows that wisdom often comes from embracing the absurd.

NEW SUPPORT GROUP FOR MEN WITH PROSTATE PROBLEMS

A new group has started for men with a prostate cancer diagnosis, going through treatment, or with associated prostate issues. The group meets at the Retford Enterprise Centre (DN22 7GR) on the last Tuesday of each month from 2.00-4.00pm. If interested, or for more information, contact Jean Kirby on 07930 958 938 or e-mail. The next meeting is on Tuesday 29 September.

Worksop Priory Heritage Open Day

Come and explore this unique heritage on your doorstep.

Priory Church and Gatehouse will be open to visitors from 10:00am to 4:00pm on Saturday 12 September, offering a fantastic opportunity to discover the history of these remarkable local landmarks.

Admission is free.

There will be plenty to enjoy throughout the day, including:

Activities for children - Tombola and raffle - Cakes and other stalls

Refreshments available

There will also be a silent auction, featuring some unique items reflecting the Priory's magnificent heritage.

This is a wonderful opportunity to visit, especially following the recent renovations to the Gatehouse.

Everyone is very welcome.

NOTTINGHAM UNIVERSITY HOSPITALS TRUST: Trust requesting for £16 million in cash support

By: Lauren Monaghan, LDRS

Nottingham’s hospital trust has requested £16 million in emergency funding to ensure it can continue to effectively care for patients.

Nottingham University Hospitals Trust (NUH) board members gathered on Thursday (September 10) to discuss the most recent data on the trust’s operational and financial performance this year.

In recent years, NUH, which runs Nottingham City Hospital and Queen’s Medical Centre, has been heavily reliant on extra funding from the government to help its operations and system work as effectively as possible.

The trust’s finance official said the £16 million in cash support would help with the trust’s expenditure, including on staffing and suppliers, adding it did not relate directly to a specific service within NUH.

The NUH board said they were waiting on a response from NHS England for the first cash request of £16 million in 2026/27.

In the 2025/26 financial year, NUH received £124.9 million in cash support from NHS England, with auditors KPMG stating in its most recent report that NUH’s cash position “continues to be extremely challenging”.

Ahead of the board meeting, the auditors raised concerns over the trust’s drastic cost-cutting plans – including reducing its workforce by six percent, 1,279 work time equivalent (WTE) roles.

The auditors highlighted that NUH was already more than £17 million off budget by July under the savings plan.

The trust reported a £1.9 million deficit that month, which was £3.9 million off its plan, increasing its overall deficit to £34.6 million – £17.7 million off plan.

Delivery of NUH’s savings scheme was behind plan at £6.3 million versus a £7.1 million target, KPMG explained, with the auditors raising concerns over whether the trust could achieve the planned spending cuts.

Speaking to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, Paul Matthew, the trust’s chief financial officer, said the trust was expecting to request more cash support during 2026/27.

He said:

“The level off-plan then drives our cash need, because clearly we’re spending more than we planned to spend. There’s just a bit of a lag then in between incurring that and then needing the cash to support it.

“Where we end up is a direct consequence of how much cash support we need to then ask for.

“The £17.7 million, month four, adverse [off-plan], is the aggregate position of the trust, where we’ve spent more than we said we would. So this [cash request] is then the cash to support the expenditure that goes with that, be it staffing, suppliers – it doesn’t directly relate to a specific service.”

Scepticism around the trust’s goal to ‘eliminate’ corridor care this year was also expressed by board members at Thursday’s meeting.

NUH is currently working on its ‘Corridor Care Elimination Programme’, which aims to end corridor care in its emergency department by the end of September and across wards by October.

Andrew Hall, chief operating officer, said the number of patients receiving care in a bed in its hospitals’ corridors had “increased significantly” in the last few weeks of August and the first week of September.

This was following a “significantly challenging” period in August, the five heatwaves over the summer causing about a five percent rise in ambulance conveyances and emergency admissions and increased sickness and vacancies over the summer holidays.

NUH’s most recent figure confirm that there were 16 patients on the corridor in the emergency department on Wednesday evening (September 9).

Mr Hall also said bed occupancy has been “significantly higher than anticipated”, with around 20 to 30 more patients at any given time waiting to be discharged for home care in the county area – the equivalent of a ward of patients.

Upon hearing the figures, Professor Sunita Toor, non-executive director, asked:

“Is this elimination of corridor [care plan] still credible?”

Mr Hall replied he believed it was “still achievable” to bring the corridor care number in the emergency department down to zero by the end of September.

He said:

“We will remove all patients waiting on emergency department corridors, that’s not all patients waiting in escalation spaces in accordance with the national definition, but it will be all use of our corridors, those patients on trolleys in corridors in the emergency department – I believe that’s still achievable.”

Interim chair Karen Tomlinson criticised the trust’s position on its corridor care goals still being positive.

She said:

“You’ve described the overall direction and travel remaining positive – I don’t think it is. I think from the questions that have been asked from the board today, we don’t think it is, that’s the collective.”

Ms Tomlinson said NUH cannot fill ‘other organisation’s gaps’, when external care service deliveries have an impact on NUH’s service.

She said:

“I think what I’m hearing is we can’t keep having soft conversations, chats, discussions. I think we have to be very firm as an organisation going forward that we are not the point of resource for everybody in the system around us.

“We cannot continue to have that front door as open as it has been without other organisations taking account and responsibility, so we have to drive this quite hard and quite tough.

“Because if people [externally] are delivering less of a service and that is having a consequence on us, that is unacceptable, so those partnership conversations are going to be very important.”

NUH is planning to reduce its 20,000-strong workforce by 1,279 work time equivalent (WTE) roles, a measurement that counts the number of full-time employees based on total hours worked.

The trust launched a Voluntary Redundancy (VR) scheme to cut its administrative and clerical workers by around 130 roles in July.

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