Mansfield is leading the way on how high streets are recovering from the coronavirus crisis, according to a new report.

The town was ranked seventh in the whole country among figures released by Centre for Cities, a leading think tank dedicated to improving the economies of the UK’s largest cities and towns.

Its “high streets recovery tracker” uses data collected from anonymised mobile phone data to track footfall and it showed encouraging results for Mansfield when collected at the end of May and compared to pre-lockdown levels of activity.

Coun Stuart Richardson, portfolio holder for regeneration and growth at Mansfield District Council, said: “While we are not completely sure of the methodology used to collect this data, it does seem to paint a very hopeful and encouraging picture for Mansfield and it seems we are well placed to return to normal service.

“This has been helped in no small part by the intensive and careful preparations the council has been making to the market and wider town centre ahead of shops reopening next week.

“Our Town Centre, Environmental Health and Community Safety teams have done a fantastic job working with businesses, Mansfield BID, Four Seasons Shopping Centre and other partners to get the town ready for recovery.

“This kind of preparation will help generate the confidence needed to encourage people back out and supporting our local shops and businesses, while staying disciplined regarding the need to shop with consideration of safety towards both themselves and others and in maintaining effective social distancing.”

Pictured is Mansfield District Council’s town centre manager, Julie Snowdon, being interviewed by East Midlands Today for a piece about the report to be featured on Wednesday’s programme.