The appointment of a climate change officer to support Bassetlaw businesses is one of the things which the council says it will spend more than £3 million of government money on. Six new community hubs and new street furniture are also among the projects contained in Bassetlaw District Council's investment plan.
High crime rates, low life expectancy and the suffering of high street businesses are among the issues which the council says it prioritised when putting the plan together. It sets out how the council will spend the £3,391,320 that it was provisionally allocated as part of the Government's UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF).
The fund was launched in April to succeed old EU funding and to support the Government's stated ambition to 'level up' the UK's deprived areas. Councils were awarded money based on a funding formula and had to submit their investment plans by August 1.
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Bassetlaw's plan will now be discussed by councillors at a meeting on Tuesday, September 6, with the first payments from the fund expected to land in October. Discussing the main issues facing areas like Worksop and Retford, the investment plan highlights Public Health England data showing that Bassetlaw has the highest percentage of childhood obesity in Nottinghamshire.
The data also shows that when comparing the most deprived areas of Bassetlaw to the least deprived areas of the district, life expectancy is around 9 years lower for men and 8 years lower for women. Crime is also highlighted as one of the main problems, with police data showing that Bassetlaw had one of the highest reported crime rates in Nottinghamshire during the 2019/2020 year.
But the primary issue highlighted in the investment plan is the way in which high street businesses in Worksop and Retford have struggled to recover from the coronavirus pandemic. The council's plan says: "The district town centres were struggling due to the increase in online retail sales before the pandemic, which has just accelerated the situation.
"Bassetlaw, like all other areas, has been impacted by the closure of national chains which has resulted in a further decline in footfall as well as the changing shopping habits of consumers during the pandemic that have not returned when non-essential retail opened up. Markets are a key attraction to any town centre but like other areas of retail they have been impacted during the pandemic.
"It has become more difficult to attract and retain traders and to encourage new businesses to use the market as a starting point for their business, with a lot opting to trade from their home address due to reduced operational costs. This is having a further impact on footfall in the town centres on days that were once busier."
The investment plan also says that businesses are now struggling with rises in trading costs relating to energy and fuel. A range of projects have therefore been submitted to the government which Bassetlaw's share of the UKSPF would be spent on.
One of the projects is the development of six community hubs in areas of Worksop and Retford, where services delivered would include advice to overcome the cost of living crisis, mental health and wellbeing support and helping people into volunteering roles.
The council also says that it wants to appoint a climate change and energy sustainability officer, who would support businesses, residents and community groups by offering energy efficiency advice and alerting them to funding opportunities. New "multi-functional street furniture" is also proposed in Retford, which the councils says could help its day and night time economy.
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