Mansfield: A Shadow History Or A Vibrant Future?

Published by Stephen Milward in Politics · Monday 16 Feb 2026 · 2 minutes
Tags: Mansfield, former, self, decline, history, community, transformation, urban, decay, revitaliszation, nostalgia, local, culture

Mansfield - my home town. I write this with sadness, as it's decline from a busy market town to a desolate, quiet, empty space is not something that I'm happy about. How did it happen?

Well, like most things, it comes down to money. When the mines were open, alongside other industries (hosiery, metal working), there was money in the town. Weekends were spent at the swimming baths, museum, the cattle market, the market place, Field Mill (home of Mansfield Town Football Club) and the cinema. Buses were full of shoppers and people who would window shop. A new shopping centre was opened. Ladies bought their wedding dresses at the Co-op, renowned for top quality products. The town thrived, the people were happy and the future was bright.

Then the mines closed. Decline set in and has never been addressed. The town centre now is a sad place with few people about. Banks are closing. Shops are boarded up, then turned in to nail parlours. No-one goes for pleasure, only because they have to. On top of that, the roads into Mansfield are an absolute disgrace. Whole chunks of road surface are missing. Local councils and the Department of Transport should be ashamed, get their acts together and fix the roads. They're not fit to ride a horse on.

What to do about it? Invest in infrastructure and people. Make locals feel involved in decisions made about their town. This needs to happen urgently because if it doesn't, I'm afraid that Mansfield faces a bleak future.

There is something called 'Mansfield Now 2026', which promises ' the biggest regeneration in a generation'. It looks at the buildings and new businesses and training facilities. But unless the wider area around Mansfield, including where I live, gets the same investment, I wonder if Mansfield is getting the 'sticking plaster' treatment and not looking further than the next few years.

Watch the 'Mansfield Now 2026' video: