Council tax debt worth thousands written off in Ashfield
Business rates were also waived after all recovery options were exhausted
Debts worth almost £30,000 were written off by Ashfield District Council in November, new figures show.
A delegated decision made by the authority shows the debts included owed council tax and business rates.
According to the figures, four council tax cases accounting for £5,097.81 were waived in the month, while three cases of business rates being owed, worth a total of £9,561.77, were written off.
In addition, a total of 18 ‘sundry debtors’ worth £15,065.96 were written off. A sundry debtor is a person who receives goods or services from a business in credit or does not make the payment immediately and is liable to pay the business in the future.
The total written off amounts to £29.725.54.
In its decision notice, an Ashfield District Council representative said: “All of the amounts outstanding are unrecoverable and in appropriate cases all avenues of recovery have been exhausted.”
Former nightclub was turned into cannabis factory
A former Mansfield nightclub that was transformed into a cannabis factory has been closed down after a police raid.
The Urban Cherry in Church Street closed years ago and remained vacant when officers were tipped off about the illegal activity inside.
Officers entered the premises at 3pm on Friday, December 22 and discovered around 613 plants.
The electricity had been bypassed and deemed extremely dangerous to adjacent properties.
A large upstairs room, measuring around 17 metres in length, was being used to grow the plants. These plants were small and had not grown to their full potential.
There was also a living area, which looked like it had been recently set up, with a bed frame, a table, chairs, pots and pans, and some shopping.
Inquiries are now being carried out to find out who is responsible for the cannabis factory as no one was present when officers raided the building.
Sergeant Alice Bartle, from Mansfield Neighbourhood Policing Team, said: “Police were alerted to this operation thanks to the local community.
“They had noticed some suspicious activity and made the current owners of the building aware. They checked their property and contacted us.
“Initial inquiries seem to suggest that this cannabis factory had only recently been set up.
“The plants had not matured and a living space had not been fully constructed. Inquiries are currently underway to find those responsible.
“I would just like to thank the local community for providing us with this intelligence. A cannabis factory has been closed before it even had the time to get started.
“Drugs are a massive blight on our local communities and I’m glad this one is no longer operational as a result.”
If you are worried about a cannabis factory in your area then please do not hesitate to contact us on 101 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.