held each year in early June. Southwell Racecourse, owned by the Arena Racing Company, is situated on the outskirts of the town near Fiskerton and has an all-weather track. It hosts jump and flat racing. The town is linked to Newark and Nottingham by the A612, although this has now been downgraded to a C road, and to north Nottingham and villages to the west by B6386. The A617 primary route passes north of the town in Hockerton, and the A1 and A46 trunk routes are away in Newark. The railway station at the nearby village of Fiskerton has gained a small car park in recent years to cater for Southwell commuters. Southwell is also served by Nottingham City Transport's rural Pathfinder 26 service to Nottingham and Stagecoach East Midlands (Mansfield) service to Mansfield and Newark. There are other infrequent services to nearby villages. The town is twinned with Sées in France, Sarzana in Italy, and Český Brod in the Czech Republic. Governance The Town Council, since the 2019 elections, consists of eight Liberal Democrat councillors, four Conservatives and two Independents. The Council Chair was held in 2019–2021 by Mrs Lyn Harris (Lib. Dem.) and since then by Sally Reynolds (Independent). The Chair of the Town Environment Committee is Peter Harris, that of the Governance and Finance Committee Martin Stott and that of the Planning Committee Peter Scorer (all three Lib. Dem.) The town and surrounding villages and hamlets are represented as District Councillors by Malcolm Brock (Lib. Dem.), Peter Harris (Lib. Dem.) and Penny Rainbow (Con.) Communities Town districts The historic town centre is based around the cathedral area, but nearby outlying communities grew and eventually were subsumed into the town. The Prebendage was the heart of Southwell centred on the Minster and the surrounding prebendary properties Burgage was north of the cathedral, around Burgage Green, traditionally hosting burgage properties Hightown was to the north-west along Westgate, along the main shopping street East Thorpe and West Thorpe were hamlets on either side of these areas, St Catherine's Well, at the extremity of West Thorpe, was formerly noted for treating rheumatism. Localities Separated further afield from the core urban area, but within the parish are the following places: Normanton, a hamlet on the east side of the River Greet positioned around Corkhill Lane, it hosts a sizeable garden centre business Maythorne, an area based around a former silk mill north