The Local Area

Doncaster

Doncaster Metropolitan Borough Council has a population of 290,000 living in the town and within a radius of approximately 12 miles. The major industries in the area have historically been coal mining and engineering, but the decline in these activities has seen a significant diversification and introduction of new industries.

Transport links are excellent, with easy access to the motorway network in all directions, providing convenient access to the rest of the country. Doncaster is well served by public transport with fast, direct and frequent rail services to London (90 minutes by Inter City Train). National Coach Systems provide regular services on the London-Edinburgh route and local buses run frequently within the town and to surrounding villages. Doncaster Sheffield Robin Hood International Airport is situated within the Doncaster Metropolitan Borough, five miles south of Doncaster Centre.

Conisbrough Castle, Doncaster

Doncaster Town Centre offers excellent shopping facilities, with one of the largest markets in the country as well as a vibrant nightlife. Lakeside Village, which is located at the side of the M18 link, offers an alternative shopping experience and Meadowhall Shopping Centre is only a 30 minute drive away, providing one of Europe’s largest shopping arenas.

Housing in Doncaster and surrounding areas is plentiful, with availability of excellent property at prices that compare favourably with many other areas of Britain, The town is served by schools which are located near all main residential areas and by Doncaster College University Centre. There is a selection of accessible independent schools for those seeking private sector educations.

Doncaster is home to an excellent Public Library, Museum and Art Gallery, and a multi-million pound leisure park, The Dome, which contains all the latest recreational and leisure facilities. Doncaster is also proud of its recently re-furbished Grade 1 Race Course, which is home of the St Leger – the Worlds’ oldest classic race, first run in 1776. On non-race days, the race course is used as an exhibition venue where the Doncaster Motor Show is staged every year.

Bassetlaw

Bassetlaw is located in North Nottinghamshire, close to the vibrant cities of Sheffield and Nottingham. Bassetlaw’s population of 108,000 is spread across rolling countryside, forests and parklands. The district forms part of the sub-regional area of North Nottinghamshire along with the districts of Ashfield (except Hucknall), Mansfield, Newark and Sherwood. Bassetlaw stretches from the River Trent on the east to the Yorkshire/ Derbyshire border on the west. The district had two main population centres; the market towns of Worksop and Retford, which offer shopping, leisure and entertainment facilities.

Bassetlaw is an area that has undergone tremendous change over the last 20 years. The district lost around 7,000 full-time jobs due to pit-closures, and the District Council has embarked on an ambitious plan to bring about economic and social regeneration of the area. A local regeneration partnership, Destination Bassetlaw, which comprises representatives from key local statutory and voluntary bodies, is forging links with the business sector. The aim of this group is to develop the area’s commercial sector and to encourage local services.

New secondary schools have been built in Worksop and retford, with state-of-the-art facilities. The local further education college, North Notts College, is a centre for the vocational excellence in fluid power engineering and attracts students from all over the world. The Fluid Power centre is also putting the area on the map for its flagship conference facilities.

Bassetlaw’s major parks: King’s Park in Retford and Memorial Gardens in Worksop both offer skateboarding recreational areas and all-weather courts cater for all age ranges. Popular tourist attraction, Clumber Park, boasts nearly 4,000 acres of peaceful woodland, open heath and rolling farmland. Charming villages and the Dukeries Estates are among Bassetlaw’s other attractions and with two large market towns and the famous Sherwood Forest on the doorstep, the region has plenty to offer everyone.

Bassetlaw’s central location means that more than half the UK’s population live within three hour’ drive. Both M1 and A1 pass through the area and the East Coast Mainline guarantees regular trains southbound to London or northbound to Yorkshire and beyond. A comprehensive local bus network exists, linking Bassetlaw’s towns and villages. Easily accessible from the Bassetlaw district ids Doncaster’s Robin Hood Airport giving Bassetlaw ever-increasing connectivity and more flexibility for businesses.