HAZEL BRAND
– your INDEPENDENT councillor on Bassetlaw District Council
Newsletter November 2022
Dear Resident
The clocks have changed; the first signs of overnight frost mean winter is on its way. This also means that we are going to struggle with heating
bills. So I am delighted that, with this newsletter, is included a leaflet on 37 ways to save energy AND save money. This has been produced by the joint Misterton and West Stockwith Parish Councils’ Green Group, which I chair. I hope you find it useful.
I mentioned in my last newsletter that the District Council has ‘adopted’ the leaflet I produced on sources of financial help. With Bassetlaw
Community & Voluntary Service, it has added many sources of help with the cost of living crisis. It can be found on the BCVS website.
Hard copies are in Misterton Library.
Bassetlaw Food Bank & Mobile Shop
Starting last month was a weekly visit to Misterton by the Food Bank’s mobile shop. It parks on The Pudge (near the War Memorial) on Thursdays from 10.30am to 12 noon. You can’t miss the bright yellow van, with driver/co-ordinator, Kirsty.
The shop offers a limited range of basic storecupboard items at knock-down prices to those on a range of benefits. A membership form is online at
bassetlawfoodbank.org/community_shop/ or sign up at the mobile shop itself. Any 10 items cost £4, 15 £6, and 20 £8. Fresh items are 50p for a portion of fruit or veg, bread, margarine, and eggs.
In addition, Bassetlaw Food Insecurity Network has a Food Hub at Misterton Primary School on Wednesdays from 3.00-4.00pm. Each bag of food,
which you can fill with anything that is available on the day, costs £3. It enables local people to buy food that would otherwise go to landfill.
Helping with the cost of living crisis
In August, I completed a 96-mile walk to raise funds to help those affected by the cost-of-living crisis by supporting the Food Bank and its mobile
shop. Looking the worse for wear, I celebrated arrival in West Stockwith after walking the Derwent Heritage Trail (50 miles) and the Chesterfield Canal (46 miles) with my walking partner, sister Rosemary. It’s not too late to help. Just go to my Just Giving page.
before I close the account and donate the proceeds to the Food Bank I regularly take bags of provisions to the Food Bank from Misterton and West Stockwith and nearby villages. Following Harvest Festivals at Misterton School and local churches, that’s now over 4200 carrier bags—thanks to all who continue to donate.
Rural Prosperity Fund
Last month, I attended an information evening held to help guide Bassetlaw District Council’s bid to the Rural Prosperity Fund. This is a rural top-up to the UK Shared Prosperity Fund allocation, for which Bassetlaw submitted its plan in early August and is currently awaiting Government approval. The rural element is over £700,000.
The Rural Prosperity Fund supports activities that specifically address the particular challenges rural areas face. It seeks to address the following
‘levelling up’ interventions:
- Support Local Business
- Communities and Place.
The bid had to be submitted by the end of this month. At the information evening, representatives of parish councils and businesses thought that getting the digital infrastructure up to 21st century standards was important. If successful, funds will be available in the financial year 2023/24. I will keep everyone informed.
STEP change for Bassetlaw
Bassetlaw is set to become a global hub for a wide range of engineering, technological, and scientific expertise, following the announcement that the
United Kingdom Atomic Energy Agency has chosen West Burton as the future home of its STEP project.
The decision will see game-changing investment for the area with the STEP, or Spherical Tokamak for Energy Production, programme seeking to pave the way for the development of commercial power plants capable of producing a limitless supply of low carbon, clean energy. It will also showcase how a future fusion power station will be operated and maintained. STEP offers the potential to transform and regenerate the area, creating thousands of jobs, a number of apprenticeships, and supply chain opportunities across a number of sectors, in an area already intimately linked with energy production. Cllr James Naish, Leader of Bassetlaw District Council, said that West Burton has delivered power for decades - and this announcement means it will play a vital role in the UK's transition to a greener, carbon neutral future.
Warm spaces
Congratulations to Misterton Parish Council for its support for the ‘warm spaces’ initiative. This is a scheme to provide somewhere warm for people to go in winter—and to publicise venues that are already open and welcoming visitors. In Misterton, they are:
- Misterton Library, open Tuesday and Thursday 2.00-5.00pm and 2nd and 4th Saturday of every month from 9.30am to 12.30pm. Free tea / coffee
- Coffee Morning at Misterton Methodist Church, Thursdays, 10.00-11.00am. Donation for tea / coffee / biscuits
- Coffee Morning, every 2nd Tuesday each month, Church Room, Church Lane. £2 donation for a hot drink and scone/biscuit; £1
to enter monthly raffle
In West Stockwith, there are three pubs / clubs, and cafes and pubs in Misterton, too.
Code of Conduct for councillors
At an Extraordinary Council meeting in October, members were asked to vote on a new Code of Conduct. I voted in favour of its adoption. It was
devised by the Local Government Association and is applicable to all tiers of local government. So standards should be the same across county, district, and parish councils.
Fund-raising concerts
I have attended two fund-raising concerts recently. The first was in Retford Town Hall in aid of Bassetlaw Hospice and Focus on Young People in Bassetlaw when Harworth Brass Band entertained us. Then I helped organise a concert by local big band, Room 21 in Misterton Parish Church. Funds went to the band, which is getting back to performing after the pandemic, and the Parish Church. Excellent - and the band will be back next year.
Remembrance Day
Residents of Misterton and West Stockwith paid tribute to those lost in the First and Second World Wars with a service in Misterton Parish Church and
acts of remembrance at Misterton’s war memorial and West Stockwith’s soldier silhouette. I laid wreaths on behalf of Bassetlaw District Council in
both villages.
Get in touch - look forward to hearing from you
Residents can contact me by phone (891376), or via my Facebook page (Hazel Brand BDC) or by e-mail hazel.brand@cllr.bassetlaw.gov.uk. Anyone wanting to see me at my surgery must now make an appointment via The Misterton Centre (tel: 890646).
Seasonal greetings!
It feels a little early to be wishing residents a happy Christmas and New Year. But the shops have been selling Christmas goods for weeks—so perhaps not!
Anyone struggling financially this winter, don’t hesitate to take advantage of the shopping offers (overleaf), but they won’t be about between Christmas and New Year.
Last Updated on Wednesday, May 8, 2024