One of Mansfield’s heritage assets, its Victorian railway station building, is set to be given a new lease of life.

The old ticket office at Station Road, which is grade II listed and dates back to 1872, has been under-utilised for several years and is in need of internal refurbishment.

But now plans have emerged to turn it into a space where community meetings, workshops, exhibitions and volunteer-led initiatives can take place.

Nothing concrete or specific has been formalised as yet. But the first step is a planning application, submitted to Mansfield District Council, for a change to the building’s official status from commercial, business and service use to local community use.

Mansfield railway station, which dates back to 1872, is considered to be one of the town's heritage assets.

placeholder image — Mansfield railway station, which dates back to 1872, is considered to be one of the town's heritage assets.

The applicant is named as Ibraham Atak, of the station, while all the paperwork, including planning and heritage statements, have been compiled by Barry Jarvis, 73, who runs the Mansfield-based company, BA Architecture.

Mr Jarvis says: “The old ticket office is a historic component of Mansfield railway station and forms part of its architectural character.

"It is a well-preserved example of Victoria railway architecture, built by the old Midland Railway Company.

"This application aims to bring the space back into viable, contemporary use through sensitive refurbishment and improvement.”

The station building is a prime example of Victorian railway architecture.

After passenger trains stopped running through Mansfield in 1964, the building was converted for various uses, including as Brunel’s pub in the 1980s and 1990s.

It then returned to the station fold in 1995 with the opening of the Robin Hood Line and remains part of Mansfield’s established transport hub, close to the bus station and the town centre. It has 118 square metres of internal floorspace.

Mr Jarvis believes the "carefully developed” change of use would “secure the long-term future and viability of the building, and would not cause harm to its special architectural and historic significance”.

He goes on: “The proposed change seeks to bring a currently under-used, historic public building back into active occupation.

The old ticket office would be converted into a flexible space for community use. (PHOTO BY: Stephen McKay)

"It would provide a community-focused facility that would benefit local residents, enhance the station environment and contribute positively to Mansfield’s town-centre regeneration priorities.

"No external alterations are proposed at this stage. Any future internal refurbishment would be light-tough and sensitive to the building’s character.”

Mr Jarvis says the Mansfield area “demonstrates ongoing demand for flexible community space, particularly within town-centre locations”.

"The station offers excellent connectivity, making it an ideal location for a facility serving diverse groups, including seniors, young people, commuters and community organisations,” he adds.

It was also felt that the conversion would deter anti-social behaviour in the vicinity because an actively used building “with community presence” would “improve natural surveillance”.

Noise or traffic would not be a problem because the activities would be “low impact”, while pedestrian access was already established at the station, and drop-off areas, taxi ranks and bus stops were all close by.

Ten parking spaces, including for a disabled vehicle and motorcycles, would be retained, and the whole scheme could generate three full-time jobs and two part-time.

In conclusion, Mr Jarvis believes the scheme would “being a vacant building back into public use, provide valuable community facilities, support town-centre vitality and enhance the public realm around Mansfield railway station”.

The council’s planning officers are currently considering the proposal and have set a deadline date of Thursday, March 19 for a decision or recommendation.

Other planning applications received by Mansfield Council include these:

6 Farmilo Close, Mansfield – single-storey side extension.

58 West Bank Avenue, Mansfield – single-storey rear and side extension, porch at front and retrospective alterations at front.

32 St John Street, Mansfield – installation/replacement of three windows at front, fronting St John Street, and one window at side, facing Quaker Way.

Sunnycroft Villa, The Park, Mansfield – removal of two trees, and work to five other trees, all within conservation area.

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/