Ashfield District Council set to freeze council tax share
Plus: Plans for a new King's Mill Hospital building get the green light
Good morning and welcome to your Thursday briefing from Ashfield News. In today’s newsletter, Ashfield District Council could freeze its portion of council tax, a man is charged with flouting a dispersal order, plans for a new King’s Mill Hospital building is approved and more.
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District Council set to freeze council tax share
Ashfield District Council is set to freeze its portion of Council Tax for the next 12 months.
Recommendations to confirm the freeze will be discussed as part of the authority’s annual budget, during a cabinet meeting on February 17 and a full council meeting on March 3.
The council says the recommendation was made in light of a Local Government Association report which “highlighted the council’s strong financial position and healthy level of reserves”.
A final decision will be made at full council on March 3.
The decision would not mean council tax bills would not rise, however.
Currently, the council receives about 9% of income generated from council tax, with other organisations including Nottinghamshire County Council, Police and Crime Commissioner and the fire service receiving funds from what residents pay.
These organisations can opt to increase their share.
But Dave Shaw, supporting cabinet member for finance at Ashfield District Council, said: “Members will be recommended to not put up Council Tax for 2025/26.
“Due to our healthy financial position, it is felt that now is not the right time to add additional financial strain to our residents.
“Subject to approval, if this freeze goes ahead, thanks to our reserves, we would still be able to deliver some of the best services provided in the East Midlands.
“As a Council, we have worked hard over the past eight years to be in this strong financial position and I look forward to discussing this further with colleagues at a later date.”
Man charged with flouting dispersal order
Police made one arrest and ordered several people to leave a town centre after a dispersal order was put in place.
The 48-hour dispersal zone was put in place for Sutton-in-Ashfield town centre over the weekend following reports of “altercations” and anti-social behaviour.
As part of the order, police were given powers to give people notice to leave the area for 48 hours if they were found to be engaging in anti-social behaviour.
They could be arrested if they breached the order.
Nottinghamshire Police confirmed it had issued six dispersal notices during the operation.
One person was arrested on Sunday after receiving a notice to leave the area and has now been charged with failing to comply with a dispersal order.
He is due to appear at Mansfield Magistrates’ Court on 12 February.
Inspector Chris Boylin said: “We are working hard to clamp down on anti-social behaviour in the town centre and will continue to use this kind of order when we believe it to be necessary.
"We’ve had repeated reports of people shouting, swearing and acting in a hostile manner in the town centre and this is simply not acceptable.
“This is the kind of behaviour that harms all of us as it puts people off from visiting and spending their money in the town centre.
“With this in mind I want to reassure local residents that we will be keeping a very close eye on this issue in the weeks and months ahead and will not hesitate to take this kind of action when we feel it is necessary.”
New King’s Mill Hospital building gets green light
A new MRI facility can be built at King’s Mill Hospital, after the project was given the green light by Ashfield planners.
The new treatment centre, which will have access to the main hospital building, will include a series of MRI rooms and offices on the ground floor, according to the plans.
A second floor will include plant and IT rooms.
The hospital, operated by Sherwood Forest Hospitals NHS Trust, currently has one MRI scanner but this has “reached its end of life”, according to documents submitted to Ashfield District Council.
The other current MRI facilities on the site, in Sutton-in-Ashfield, are temporary and the trust wanted to bring them under one roof.
According to the plans, there will be three MRI scanner rooms, three MRI control rooms and three MRI tech rooms.
The site is currently a car park for the hospital between the pathology and mortuary buildings.
The documents, which were submitted by CPMG Architects, state: “The project will provide a new build MRI Facility for King’s Mill Hospital, which will have a separate entrance, but will be connected to the existing hospital through a new corridor link, providing access for patients and staff.”
The proposal was approved on January 28.
49 bags of rubbish and keg removed in litter pick
A group of volunteer litter pickers removed 49 bags of rubbish near a recycling centre.
A beer keg and mountain bike tyres were also removed from the area in Wigwam Lane, Hucknall, on Saturday, January 25.
A group of 21 Hucknall Wombles took part in the operation at the “old nemesis” area.
A spokesperson for the group said: “As always thank you to our sponsors for their help with kit and PPE and an even bigger thank you to everyone that came along to help.
“None of this would be possible without your help.”
Appeal after landowners attacked
Police have released images of three people they want to speak to after two men were reportedly threatened with a piece of wood after asking a group of bikers to leave their land.
One of the bikes was allegedly also driven straight at one of them in an aggressive manner, before the trio then rode off from the scene, Nottinghamshire Police said.
Nobody sustained any injuries during the incident, which happened on land just off Squires Lane, Kings Clipstone, at about 11.15am on January 17.
Sergeant Christian Hurley, of Nottinghamshire Police's Sherwood neighbourhood team, said: “As with other neighbourhood policing areas, complaints over off-road bikers can be among the more common reports of antisocial behaviour (ASB) we receive.
“While nobody sustained any injuries, the aggressive actions that reportedly took place in this encounter were completely unacceptable.
“We’d ask that anyone who recognises any of the three people in these pictures – or the bikes they’re sat on – lets us know, as we’d like to speak to them.
“Likewise, if the riders recognise themselves, we’d urge them to make themselves known to the police, so that we can fully establish what happened here.
“Anyone with information can share it by calling the police on 101, quoting incident 251 of 17 January 2025, or with Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.”
Library to reopen after works
A town library reopens today after it was closed due to surveying work.
Inspire Sutton in Ashfield Library closed to the public on Wednesday, January 29.
The centre is set to undergo a refurbishment and the closure was to allow for “essential building surveying” ahead of the work.
The library is scheduled to reopen at 1pm on Thursday, January 30.