Norwell Parish Council

A parish council is the first tier of local government and closest to the community it serves. There are seven councillor posts on Norwell Parish Council, all of whom have voting rights. We employ a parish clerk to administer the parish council’s a...

Older people's housing needs

Need help making the right decisions to solve your housing issues? We’re here to help older people in the Newark and Sherwood area with concerns about their current or future housing situation. As we get older it may become harder to accomplish eve...

Meetings - Norwell Parish Council

The dates for the Parish Council meetings up to May 2024 can be found below.  Agendas will be posted in the Parish noticeboards and will also be available on the Norwell & Norwell Woodhouse Parish Council Facebook page.  Members of the public are w...

Arts venues in Newark and Sherwood - Arts directory

‌Beloved@theBarn Beloved@theBarn is a contemporary arts gallery, studio and creative space. Visit the beloved@theBarn website for details of workshops and exhibitions. Dukeries community workshop The Dukeries community workshop is available to lo...

Current position - Southwell Leisure Centre

On 21 May 2025, Councillor Paul Peacock, Leader of Newark and Sherwood District Council released a statement about Southwell Leisure Centre.  Councillor Peacock said: "I can confirm that the lease between the Council and Southwell Leisure Centre Tru...

Street trading

Street trading is prohibited in the following streets in Newark: Market Place Bridge Street St Mark's Place Stodman Street Middlegate Boar Lane Chain Lane Church Street Church Walk Cartergate Kirkgate Appletongate (from Bridge Street to Magnus Stree...

Identifying conservation areas - Conservation areas

An area may be a conservation area for a number of reasons including a historic layout of streets, or a grouping of historic buildings that reflect the materials and style of the region. It may also be an area reflective of a particular historical ti...

Getting married at Newark Castle

Newark Castle is licensed for weddings.  While work on the Castle Gatehouse project is taking place, weddings can be booked to take place from 2027 when all work on site will be completed.  Please do get in touch with us to talk more about your pre...

Planning and archaeological sites - Archaeology

Archaeological sites of national importance are and protected. Although archaeology is all around us, Scheduled sites form a carefully chosen sample of them, which are closely managed by Historic England in accordance with the Ancient Monuments and A...

Ollerton Town Centre Regeneration

For years, we have been working hard to develop an exciting regeneration project for Ollerton, and the allocation of government funding can now mark the official start of this transformational journey for the town centre. Following the successful Lev...

Areas of special local character - Local heritage assets

Many settlements within Newark and Sherwood have a historic core that can easily be identified. This is apparent through the presence of early structures such as medieval churches, manor houses or industrial sites such as mills. Often these settlemen...

Changes to a premises licence - Premises licence

If you’re the holder of a premises licence and wish to make changes to it, you’ll need to make an application to our licensing service. Find out more and change your premises licence via the gov.uk website. Typical changes requested include: ext...

Community Safety

We share a strong community safety partnership, working alongside a number of local partners including Bassetlaw District Council, local police and fire and rescue services and Nottinghamshire County Council. The partnership's main aim is to protect ...

Do I need planning permission?

If you’re planning to develop your home or commercial premises, or to build within the district, then you may need planning permission. However, permitted development rights apply to many common projects. For an informal view, complete one of our s...

Parks and gardens conservation

Historic England’s register of historic parks and gardens of special historic interest in England currently identifies over 1,600 sites. The register typically includes gardens, grounds and other planned open spaces, such as town squares which hav...

New Register of Electors - Register of Electors annual canvass

Annual registration forms will be delivered to every household in the District from Monday 11 August 2025, to make sure we know who is eligible to register to vote. A new Register of Electors will be published from 1 December 2025 and will be used at...

Our Moving Home Checklist - Information for New Residents

Here are a few things that you may need to change immediately: Council Tax (that’s us!) Housing benefit (that’s us too!) Register your new address to vote (that’s also us!) DWP for any benefits Bank account providers Your employer Your childre...

Newark Festival of Food

Get your taste buds ready - Newark’s first-ever Festival of Food is landing this summer, and it’s bursting with flavour! Launching on Saturday 2 August, the weekend kicks off with live cooking demos, free tasters, and talks from local growers...

Registered parks and gardens - Parks and gardens conservation

There are four registered parks and gardens in Newark and Sherwood Rufford Abbey (Grade II) Thoresby Park (Grade I) Thurgarton Hundred Workhouse (Grade II*) Whilst statutory planning protection does not apply to registered parks and gardens (ot...

Amendments to an approved application - Planning process and services

Sometimes, you may want to make changes to a proposal which already has planning permission. This may be some time after the original planning permission was granted, given that permissions last at least three years from the date of the original deci...

Council investments - frequently asked questions - Council borrowing and investments

How does the Council decide which institutions to invest with? The Council’s treasury management strategy, which is approved by Full Council every year, sets out that we will only invest with financial institutions that have a high credit rating. T...

Proclamation of the Accession of King Charles III

Councillor Sue Saddington, Chairman of Newark and Sherwood District Council, said: “I was honoured to deliver the Newark and Sherwood Proclamation of the Accession of His Majesty King Charles III at Castle House this afternoon (Sunday 11 September)...

Allocations and development management DPD

The Allocations and Development Management Development Plan Document (PDF File, 10,347kb) forms part of the district's  and was adopted by Full Council on 16 July 2013. This document should be read in conjunction with the Council's Amended and an...

Self-build exemption - Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL)

If you’re building your own home, or have commissioned a home from a contractor, house builder or sub-contractor, you may be exempt as a self-builder.  To claim the exemption you must own the property and intend to occupy it as your principal resi...

Applying for a waste exemption - Exempt waste operations

If you carry out either of the above activities and meet the specified criteria then you should apply to register for an exemption by filling out an Exempt Waste Operations application form (PDF File, 173kb) There is no cost to register an exempt pro...

Office suites - Business units to rent

Church Farm Business Centre Set around a gated courtyard in the heart of Edwinstowe village, Church Farm Business Centre hosts eight modern, self-contained office suites. The suites all have capacity for several IT workstations and access to broadba...

Conservation volunteering - Sherwood Heath

Live in the Sherwood area? Want to meet new people, keep fit, help to conserve and enhance your local country park whilst having fun? Then why not join the Sherwood Heath Volunteers? No experience is necessary, just enthusiasm! Tasks will vary from s...

Conservation volunteering - Vicar Water Country Park

Live in the Sherwood area? Want to meet new people, keep fit, help to conserve and enhance your local country park whilst having fun? Then why not join the Vicar Water Country Park Volunteers? No experience is necessary, just enthusiasm! Tasks will v...

Long distance walks - Walking in Newark and Sherwood

Fancy a challenge? There are a number of long distance walks running through the district which you can walk in stages. The Robin Hood Way (107 miles) features areas of Nottinghamshire associated with the legendary figure of Robin Hood and his exploi...

No Mow May - Grounds maintenance service

We once again joined the No Mow May initiative and let the grass grow in May 2025! During the month of May our Street Scene Team cut back on the mowing of certain areas of various Council-owned green spaces and country parks. In doing so the grass wa...

Push for peat free - Gardening for wildlife

Gardeners, garden experts and environmental groups are trying to persuade more people to switch to peat-free garden composts. Peat mostly comes from lowland peat bogs which are an increasingly rare habitat for flora and fauna and they are also reall...

How does the canvass work? - Register of Electors annual canvass

Data matching The current electoral register is sent securely to the DWP to be matched and elector names and address will be matched against information that they hold. We may also match our electoral data against data from other District Council dep...

Dead Animals

If you find a dead cat or dog, you can report it by filing in our online form. A member of our cleansing team will collect the animal and bring it back to our depot where our dog warden will check for a microchip and contact the owner if the details ...

Publication stage (18 June to 30 July 2012) - Making of the Allocations & DM DPD

The publication stage of the DPD differed from the previous stages in that it represented the version of the document that the Council wishes to submit to the Secretary of State for examination and following this to adopt. Following the close of the ...

What rules apply in a smoke control area? - Smoke control areas

Only approved solid fuels or exempted appliances (eg. wood burning stoves) can be used in buildings in a smoke control area. Authorised fuels include inherently smokeless fuels such as gas, electricity and anthracite together with specified brands of...

Planning decisions

A planning application can be either: approved approved with conditions refused with a justified planning reason Decisions are made by one of the following, depending on the size and nature of the proposed development: at Planning Committee at Ful...

Domestic homicide reviews (DHR)

A domestic homicide review (DHR) is a review of the circumstances in which the death of a person aged 16 or over has, or appears to have, resulted from violence, abuse or neglect by either: a person to whom they were related or with whom they were o...

Can the council refuse to deal with my FoI request? - Freedom of Information (FOI)

Most requests for information will be responded to in full, however, we do have the right to refuse any vexatious or repeated requests. This might include repeated requests from the same person or group for the same information, or requests which are...

New names to include? - Register of Electors annual canvass

If any names are added to the household form, the newly added people will be sent an individual registration form in the post. This registration form will ask them to either complete their registration online via the government website or by complet...

Biodiversity - Queen Elizabeth Memorial Gardens

The community garden includes features which were designed with wildlife and sustainability in mind including: A gentle pebbled rainwater feature which runs through the garden Water butts to allow rainwater to be collected and reused in the garden. ...

Smoke alarms - Fire safety in your home and community

Did you know you’re four times more likely to die in a fire in your home if there’s no working smoke alarm? Smoke alarms detect fires via a smoke detector and alert you early, giving you time to enable you and your family to leave the house in sa...

Supplementary Planning Documents - Supplementary Planning Documents and Guidance

Supplementary Planning Documents (SPDs) provide further detail on policies within the District’s Development Plan.‌ We are currently consulting on two updated SPDs: Draft Interim Affordable Housing SPD Draft Developer Contributions & Planning Ob...

What does the internal audit process involve? - Internal audit and inspections

The service provides all appropriate internal audit functions in accordance with the CIPFA Code of Practice for Internal Audit in Local Government in the United Kingdom 2006. The core service provided is to appraise and report on the adequacy of sys...

Radon gas

Radon is a colourless, odourless radioactive gas. It comes from the radioactive decay of radium, which in turn comes from the radioactive decay of uranium. It can be harmful to humans in large quantities.  Radon in the soil and rocks mixes with air ...

Transitional Relief Scheme - Business Rates revaluation 2026

The 2023 revaluation saw some considerable increases in bills for some ratepayers and the government, as usual after each revaluation, introduced a transitional relief scheme whereby increases in bills have been phased in over three years. Properties...

What does SAG do? - Safety Advisory Group (SAG)

The Safety Advisory Group will review the documents created by the event organiser to understand all the details of the event, which may include: Event Management Plan [69kb] Risk Assessments Traffic Management Plan Fire Safety Plan First Aid Plan I...

Vulnerability Disclosure policy

Newark and Sherwood District Council serves 120,965 people, covering over 65,134 hectares of land, which contains 84 civil parishes and 21 wards. 39 elected members represent the District and work in collaboration with 603 employees to provide high q...

Gypsy and Traveller call for sites - Housing needs

‌The Council has a new Gypsy and Traveller Accommodation Assessment (Feb 2020) (PDF File, 2,029kb), which shows how many new pitches need to be provided up to 2033. To help meet the accommodation needs of the district's Gypsy and Traveller communi...

Town and Parish Parks Legacy Fund and Environmental Improvement Grant Scheme - Parks and open spaces development plan

The Newark and Sherwood Town and Parish Parks Legacy Fund Scheme supports town and parish councils/meetings to deliver new or improved play areas. It is aimed at sites not owned by the District Council and helps local partners invest in safe, ...

What happens next? - Safety Advisory Group (SAG)

Your local SAG will assess the event using the information you provide on the event notification form. If your event is considered to be large scale, hazardous, unusual or you have not run an event in the area before you may be asked to submit your e...