Wren Kitchens submits plans to open new showroom in Mansfield

The kitchen giant has submitted plans to take over a retail unit at Portland Retail Park on Portland Street.

If plans are approved, Wren would move into unit three, which is currently occupied by Dreams.

Dreams would then move into unit 11a, which was previously occupied by Maplin.

A planning application has been submitted to planning authority Mansfield District Council to accommodate mezzanine floors in Unit three and Unit 11A on the retail park.

The proposals state that 11 full time jobs and 14 part time jobs could be created.

The planning statement says: "The application proposals will facilitate the relocation of Dreams to Unit 11A and Unit 3 will accommodate Wren Kitchens who are not currently represented in Mansfield.

"The ability to accommodate new retailers on Portland Retail Park who would not otherwise invest in Mansfield because of a lack of available units of a quality, size and configuration capable of satisfying retailer operational requirements.

"The retail park creates opportunities for retailers to invest in Mansfield which in turn generates jobs on the retail park without the disadvantage of jobs lost in the town centre.

"The ability to increase Mansfield’s overall attraction to shoppers and to strengthen its competitiveness..... is key to the town’s future vitality and viability, particularly having regard to the nature and scale of the retail offer of nearby towns and cities such as Nottingham and Derby

"Unit 11A on Portland Retail Park has not been let since March 2018, primarily because the pool of potential tenants is extremely small due to the size of the retail unit and restrictions imposed on the range of goods that can be sold from the retail park.

"Therefore, this application would bring Unit 11A back into use which in turn would translate into long term job opportunities in the town.

"It is anticipated that the proposed Wren Kitchens unit will create approximately 25 jobs, including managers, kitchen designers, design surveyors and information advisors, in a mix of full and flexible part-time positions (between 12 and 34 hours per week).

"The majority of these jobs will be available to the local residents of Mansfield and the wider area.

"The proposals will also maintain three full time and two part time jobs by relocating Dreams.

"The proposed development would therefore have a significant positive impact upon employment.

"To facilitate Wren Kitchen’s occupation of Unit 3, alterations to the front elevation are required. The changes to the front elevation comprise the replacement of the existing shopfront and the addition of matching high level shopfronts.

"At the rear of Unit 3, a service door will be altered in size and other service doors/means of escape replaced. The design details and proposed materials are shown on the illustrative drawings submitted with this application.

"Dreams will vacate its existing unit to accommodate Wren Kitchens but continue to trade from but a smaller unit on the retail park.

"The application proposal is ‘fixed’. Wren Kitchens are committed to taking the unit three and Dreams are committed to moving to Unit 11A.

"The nearest Wren Kitchen showrooms are located some distance away in Nottingham and Derby to the south and in Sheffield to the north.

"Therefore, those wishing to make a large purchase (in terms of a new or refurbished kitchen) have the choice of shopping locally (at an existing out of centre facility) or travelling out of the area to such facilities as Wren in the urban areas of the larger cities.

"Wren is growing in popularity and a location in Mansfield will attract custom that is currently being captured by facilities located outside of the local area."

"Opening hours until 20:00 Monday to Friday, 18:00 Saturday and 17:00 Sunday to accommodate the normal trading hours of Wren Kitchens and Dreams."

You can see the full planning application here: https://planning.mansfield.gov.uk/online-applications/applicationDetails.do?activeTab=documents&keyVal=PTRJ17KMJ8500