Mansfield - Economy

Economy

Mansfield has a large market square and around the market a large commercial centre including a museum, the Palace Theatre and numerous pubs, bars and night clubs. It has also a new indoor market which is nearing completion.

Mansfield was originally the home of Mansfield Brewery, once the largest independent brewer in the UK. The brewery was acquired by Wolverhampton & Dudley Breweries for £253m in October 1999, with production of the Mansfield range of ales moving to other parts of the country. The brewery's assets were later sold to Pubmaster Ltd and the former site of the brewery is due for redevelopment. In the 1980s, Mansfield Bitter was advertised with a photograph of then US president Ronald Reagan and the tagline "He may be president of the most powerful nation on Earth but he's never had a pint of Mansfield"; "Not much matches Mansfield" was also used. Mansfield was also the location of an Irn-Bru factory, owned by the Scottish drinks company A. G. Barr, production ceased in January 2011 when A. G. Barr decided to close the factory. The brewery was demolished in late 2008 and the land is for sale.

Many of the areas adjacent to the town and its surrounding countryside still bear the markers Mansfield and district's vibrant mining history. The headstocks which stand close to the village of Clipstone are considered an important landmark to the people of the area, and lots of community groups are working to preserve these headstocks as a reminder of the area's once very busy mining history. Lots of land around the town was once used for coal mining, but as the demand for coal fell, Mansfield's many pits wound down and mine workers moved into other types of employment. Mining subsidance has caused some problems with properties around Mansfield. Lots of the streets in and around the town are long rows of terraced houses, reminiscent of the affordable housing provided for mine workers in the height of the mining industry.

The Coal Authority is based in the town.

Mansfield has many retailing outlets and the Four Seasons shopping Centre contains many popular national UK shops such as Primark, HMV and the bookstore W.H. Smith. Costa Coffee has recently opened a shop in Mansfield, bringing a wide array of different coffee based drinks to the town. The economic crisis has led to many Mansfield shops closing and being boarded up, or their windows covered with high resolution digital images resembling library, cafe, pub or other shop scenes. There was once a Woolworths store in the town, which closed as Woolworths went into administration nationwide. The store was very popular with Mansfield residents, and provided entertainment and children's items at competitive prices. A small shop called 'Who's Toys' has recently opened in the town, generating lots of interest from the area's Dr Who fan community. The shop sells various Dr Who items, memorabilia and posters.

Several urban regeneration projects are underway in Mansfield, including reconstruction of the nearby Kings Mill Hospital and the MARR (Mansfield and Ashfield Regeneration Route) which was completed 3 months early; it is basically a bypass route round the town designed to reduce traffic flow and improve public transport.

In 2009 Mansfield made a bid for city status and many more redevelopment plans were unveiled to fit with this, such as retail & residential developments, leisure facilities and road improvements, which are underway around the town. However the Town was Absent from the 2012 short list.