Exciting expansion on cards for timber business and garden centre in Warsop
An exciting expansion is in the cards for one of the leading businesses in Warsop after ambitious plans for the future were unveiled.
Trade Timber Supplies, which also operates a successful garden centre, wants to redevelop its Oakfield Lane site, generating 16 new full-time jobs, after acquiring a fresh parcel of land.
The plan focuses on splitting the two aspects of the business, complete with the creation of a new and larger garden centre, stocking a bigger range of products.
The company’s agents for the scheme, IBA Planning, of Edwinstowe, says the project reflects the success Trade Timber Supplies has enjoyed.
A statement that supports a planning application for the expansion to Mansfield District Council says: “The business has found significant local support and has grown and evolved in response to local demand in recent years.
"However, the continued growth and viability of the business is significantly constrained by the existing size of the site and its layout.
"Trade Timber Supplies was given the opportunity to acquire surrounding land to the south of a nearby household waste recycling centre.
“This acquisition was seen as the perfect chance to continue to develop and grow the established business operations.
"It provides the opportunity to split the timber merchants and horticultural sides of the business between the current site and the new site, allowing both to better serve the communities of Warsop and the wider area.”
The IBA statement explains that the timber supply business serves “both trade and public customers who can either collect items from the site or have them delivered directly”.
"It operates in a similar manner to a typical builders’ merchants but clearly focuses its product range on timber-based materials and supplies,” the statement goes on.
"The horticultural sales aspect includes internal retail areas, providing for house plants, seeds, gardening equipment and similar ancillary items, with a larger external plant sales area that includes a number of covered polytunnels.”
The garden centre, which was launched in 2023, also boasts The Grilla food van, serving hot and cold food, and drinks, plus a popular ice-cream parlour.
With the addition of the new land, the whole site now spans 2.3 hectares, or 5.68 acres. It is proposed to re-locate the timber business, with offices, storage and sales areas, to the southern half, which is undeveloped and was last used as agricultural land.
The expanded garden centre would occupy the northern half of the site, complete with a new cafe, a community classroom, which would host classes and workshops for things such as gardening skills and flower arranging, and a children’s activity area.
In total, the number of full-time jobs at Trade Timber Supplies would rise from 11 to 27, with the number of parking spaces going up from 30 to 111. Access from Oakfield Lane would be improved.
Trade Timber Supplies is now praying that the council gives the project the green light because it could find “no other reasonable alternative sites within the Warsop area”.
Planning officers are currently considering the proposal and hope to make a decision or recommendation by their deadline date of Friday, October 16.
THE details of many planning applications can be found in public notices advertised by local and regional newspapers. To catch up on all the latest public notices, go to https://publicnoticeportal.uk/