We are Newark, the Newark board for the government Your Neighbourhood Plan is on a mission to promote Newark, its history and events

A community-led initiative aiming to bring new life to Newark is putting tourism, town pride and local business support at the heart of its plans.

We Are Newark, the local board for the government’s For Your Neighbourhood Plan, is working to promote Newark as a destination for both residents and visitors, through a series of free events, community partnerships and regeneration schemes.

The group was set up after Newark was chosen as one of 75 towns across the UK eligible to receive up to £20 million over 10 years under the government’s national regeneration programme.

It is co-chaired by Penny Taylor, the head of Newark College campuses and the Air and Space Institute and Louise Casey-Simpson, chief executive of Your CVS.

Penny Taylor said: “The idea is that we bring people in from different areas, not just local people, but people to come and shop in Newark, and spend money in Newark to support the local businesses, and see what a beautiful place it is.

“So linking different corridors of Newark together is really, really important for us.”

While full funding is due to begin in April 2026, We Are Newark is already delivering events and activities using legacy funding from the Town Fund One programme.

Despite their name not being all over the town centre, We Are Newark has already made several behind-the-scenes appearances.

It is currently co-funding Newark-on-Sea and Newark Festival of Food alongside Newark Town Council, and it has organised for a mural displaying several events in the town centre from August until December to be painted in the former Sir John Arderne Wetherspoon in the Market Place.

Among the highlights of this year are Newark Festival (August 23-25); Dragon Boat Festival (September 14); Heritage Open Days (September 19-20); Festival of Creativity (October 4); Fire Walk and World Singing Day (October 18); Spooktacular Newark (October 31- November 1); Christmas Lights Switch-On (November 30); Traditional Christmas markets (December 6-7).

Every event is free to attend and designed to encourage people of all ages and backgrounds to enjoy Newark’s town centre and local history.

“What we're trying to do is support local business because we've all got to recognise that shopping habits have changed.

“People shop online, high streets are diminishing but not just Newark but Lincoln, Nottingham, all our big towns and we are not going to get those big shops coming back.

“What we need to do is celebrate all the independent shops and the shops we do have to support them in their local business.

“That is what we're trying to do through this plan is bring people into town in different ways and different demographics of people into different ways so that they can see what there is available and enjoy it.”

We Are Newark’s work is centred around four pillars: community, high street regeneration, safety and security, and civic pride.

Supporting independent businesses and attracting footfall to the high street is a key aim.

The board also includes a 76-member stakeholder group representing different communities across Newark, ensuring that decisions reflect local voices.

“What we’ve got is a big ambition, and there’s a real will to make it happen,” said Louise Casey-Simpson.

She added: “When you walk into town and see shops busy and the beach packed, it feels like we’re getting it right.”

In addition to the events calendar, We Are Newark is also delivering wider projects, including CCTV upgrades and public spaces improvements, such as the Newark Market Place Regeneration Plan.

The group is also working on putting a repair cafe together, which will have its first session at Coreset on October 18.

The repair cafe project is being run by Newark college member of staff, Dave Inger, Laurance Roberts and Rebecca Blackwood, who owns Coreset.

The aim behind it is for people to bring their items that need fixing, and between a team of volunteers and college students, the items will be made new again.

“We're very passionate about how we see Newark develop and how do we bring the community to that to celebrate and enjoy what a lovely town we've got,” concluded Penny.