District Council Community Plan report highlights big improvements across the district

From energy efficiency to the number of people involved in community health initiatives, data has shown positive signs within District Council services.   

Councillor Paul Peacock, Leader of Newark and Sherwood District Council, said: “This has been an encouraging quarter across our services and we’re over the moon to see some of the initiatives we’ve put in place are having a positive impact. From installing more CCTV and putting a focus on education, to tackling fly tips head on and creating a Decarbonisation Plan, the data is showing that these things are working.”.

Highlights from the District Council Community Plan Performance Report include:

• 97.5% of fly tipping incidents we’re removed in 72 hours, an improvement on the targeted rate by 2.5%.
• 173 events held in parks including Junior Ranger events teaching younger residents about the importance of wildlife, Meet the Ranger walks which teach the public about the work the District Council do, volunteer litter picks where 60 people signed up to be a Green Champion collecting 74 bags of waste in the quarter and much more!
• 1,369 children reached via environmental education visits including river health and ‘Motion for the Ocean’.
• The CCTV system enabled 52 positive outcomes by providing evidence that helped Nottinghamshire Police make arrests.
• 98.4% of businesses also have a food hygiene rating of 3 or higher.
• The average wait time at the District Council contact centre to answer calls was 70 seconds, this is 40 seconds quicker than the target!

In the Active4Today Performance Report, the District Councils leisure centres, operated by Active4Today, are also offering more community-based initiatives than ever before. 389,656 users have accessed facilities between 1 April 2025 to 31 July 2025, an increase of 47,405 compared with the same period in the previous year representing an increase of 13.85%.

For the 24/25 financial year, more than a million visitors made their way through Active4Today doors with 1,102,936 visitors in total.

One other key highlight in the Community Plan Performance Report is the huge step forward in the District Council reaching its carbon neutral target. Data from the report revealed there was a 26% reduction in carbon emissions arising from buildings it owns and from its operational activities.

This is thanks to a range of decarbonisation work including the introduction of solar panels at many of its buildings and sites including Newark Sports and Fitness Centre, Dukeries Lesure Centre, Newark Beacon, Sconce and Devon Park and Vicar Water.  Air source heating and LED lighting has also been installed at many sites with more planned for the future.

Councillor Paul Peacock continues: “This is a fantastic result and it’s great to evidence that the action we take makes a difference.  We set up a Decarbonisation Plan for Council buildings in partnership with Newark firm BE Design back in 2024 and we’re proud to see this plan is working.”.

The Community Plan Performance Report is created every quarter, and the full report will be added to the webpage here: https://www.newark-sherwooddc.gov.uk/councilpriorities/