Revival project for historic Hermitage Mill site back on table -- latest Mansfield plans

The original proposal was submitted back in March by housebuilder Walker Homes, of Tuxford, which specialises in homes for the retired.

Now the plan has been fully validated by Mansfield District Council, with the initial number of homes rising from 21 to 31 on the 2.5-acre site.

“The vision for the site is to provide a high-quality, new residential/retirement quarter within Mansfield,” says Walker Homes’s agent, Jackson Design Associates.

"It would respect the site’s industrial heritage and deliver positive environmental improvements.”

The five-storey mill, built in 1872, was a symbol of the town’s industrial heritage until it was hit by an arson attack in March 2022.

Large sections of the grade II listed Hermitage Lane building, which was originally a water-powered textile mill, had to be subsequently demolished.

After the derelict site was put up for sale, it was acquired by Walker Homes, who swiftly submitted a planning application to “clear the remnants of structures to make the site safe for development”.

In the meantime, the site’s adjoining nature reserve, complete with mill pond, had to be closed to the public for health and safety reasons.

Once the clearance work was completed, Walker unveiled their housing scheme, which now comprises 23 houses and eight one-bedroom or two-bedroom apartments.

The houses would range from six two-bedroom terraces and nine three-bed semi-detached properties to six larger, four-bed houses fronting the mill pond to create a lakeside setting. There would be 55 car-parking spaces and 44 cycle bays.

A detailed 54-page planning statement has been submitted to the council by Jackson Design Associates, an architecture and design company based at the Sherwood Energy Village business park in Ollerton.

The site is bound by the Robin Hood railway line to the north, Hermitage Lane to the east, the River Maun to the south and the mill pond to the west.

At the time of the fire, the Hermitage Mill building had been closed for 14 years, having been latterly used by a hosiery production company and then as a builders’ warehouse.

Numerous schemes to breathe new life into it fell by the wayside, including one, months before the blaze, to convert it into a 70-bedroom care home, alongside new houses.

The council’s planning officers have now set a deadline date of Christmas Eve (Wednesday, December 24) for a decision or recommendation on this latest proposal.

They have received a vast number of drawings, statements, surveys and comments from various sources, all of which can be viewed on the Mansfield Council website.

Other planning applications received by the council in recent days include these:

Tesco, Chesterfield Road South, Mansfield – work to tree covered by preservation order.

26 Robin Down Lane, Mansfield – single-storey rear extension and alteration to external materials.

21 Burns Lane, Warsop – render to side and rear of property.

19 Bloomsbury Gardens, Mansfield – work to tree covered by preservation order.

Moorfield Farm House, Bishops Walk, Warsop – work to two trees covered by preservation order.

32 Chilton Crescent, Mansfield Woodhouse – application for lawful development certificate for loft conversion, with dormer at rear, roof lights at front and new window on rear ground floor.

16 Parkers Lane, Mansfield Woodhouse – external alterations to replace existing windows and doors.

10 Spinners Close, Mansfield – work to two trees covered by preservation order.

24 White Rose Avenue, Mansfield – demolition of existing bay roof and removal of garage door, front entrance door, side window and rear French door sets. Plus internal alterations and installation of new external walls, extended porch, double casement windows and rear extension with bi-fold door and skylight.

16 King Edward Avenue, Mansfield – single-storey and two-storey flat-roof extensions at rear.

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/