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£12m Mansfield town regeneration plans approved

A planning application for a £12m regeneration project close to Mansfield town centre has been approved by Mansfield District Council.

Development consultancy Pegasus Group provided planning, economics and heritage services on behalf of ARBA Group in relation to the development which is set to bring around 140 full-time jobs to the area.

The 0.6 hectare site is located within Mansfield Town Centre and was previously used as a bus station, although is currently being used as a hard-surfaced car park and taxi rank.

Chris Calvert, Executive Director from Pegasus Group’s Leeds office, said: “We are delighted that Mansfield District Council has followed the advice of officers and supported this planning application.

“Pegasus Group provided a trio of services in relation to the preparation, submission, monitoring and management of the application comprising the erection of a 100-bed hotel and ancillary restaurant and three restaurants with ancillary retail and takeaway facilities, associated vehicular access, parking and servicing areas, public realm and landscaping.

“The development is proposed on a brownfield site, located in Mansfield town centre which was identified as a regeneration site and allocated for retail and leisure uses within the emerging Mansfield District Local Plan 2013 – 2033.

“The proposed development will secure substantial net gains across the three dimensions to sustainable development and the three overarching objectives of the planning system.”

These will include: Economic Benefits • Supporting approximately 138 construction roles on-site and in the wider economy over the anticipated 12-month build programme • Generating an additional £8.1m of gross value added (GVA) to the regional economy during the 12-month construction period • Supporting an estimated 140 full-time equivalent (FTE) jobs in Mansfield and the wider regional economy • Generating an overall estimated contribution to economic output (GVA) of £4.8m per annum once the employment floorspace is built and operational and generating a GVA contribution of £41.1 million (present value) over 10-years • Generating £190,000 of business rates per annum

Social benefits • Creation of jobs • The enhancement in the offer of retail and leisure facilities in Mansfield town centre for both local and visiting residents. The enhancement of public amenities would contribute towards the betterment of standards of living and help promote Mansfield as a place where people wish to live, work and play.

Environmental Benefits: • The proposed development would provide a high-quality flagship development on a prominent site in Mansfield town centre. • The proposed development integrates a good-quality landscaping scheme which would significantly improve the ecological baseline of the application site and secure a Biodiversity Net Gain in excess of 10%

In recommending the scheme for approval, council officers said: “This is an application that will see the regeneration of a town centre site that has been under used for a number of years.

“The impact on the historic environment is finely balanced… however this has to be weighed against the public benefits of the scheme which in essence relate to the need to regenerate an important town centre site and the economic and social benefits of the development in terms of leisure and job creation / increased spending.”

Richard Burns, managing director at ARBA, said: “We are delighted that permission has been granted and that an area of our town centre will be regenerated. It’s a major scheme that not only brings much-needed hotel beds to Mansfield, but one that has the potential to create hundreds of jobs.”

It is hoped that work on the project will start in Spring 2021.

Pegasus Group is a leading development consultancy specialising in planning, design, environment, economics and heritage. With more than 330 skilled and experienced staff operating from 16 offices across the UK and Ireland, the company’s services span the entire project process from site finding, acquisition and planning through to design and delivery.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Sam Taylor .