Mansfield Council to accept £20m Levelling Up cash so major Beales redevelopment scheme can progress​​​​​​​

The council was awarded the cash from the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities in January to redevelop the former Beales store, on Queen Street and Stockwell Gate, into a public sector hub.

Once complete, the ‘Mansfield Connect’ regeneration project will see the authority leave its Civic Centre headquarters, on Chesterfield Road South, and relocate to the building.

It will open up 11,000 sq metres of re-purposed space with more than 7,000 sq metres available for community, education, business and health uses.

The authority is expected to be joined by other organisations like Nottinghamshire Council, the NHS and the Department for Work and Pensions to create a “one-stop-shop” for public services in the heart of the town centre and help improve footfall.

Now the council will formally accept the Government cash and begin progressing with the project.

New papers reveal an agreement needs to be signed with Whitehall about how the cash will be spent and returned by March 10. This stipulates the money can only be used to fund the project itself.

Signing the papers will also allow the council to continue developing the wider business case for its Civic Centre relocation and to work out how it will co-locate with other organisations.

A project management firm and design teams can also then be appointed to bring the scheme forward.

In a report, Martyn Saxton, council head of planning and regeneration, said: “The council’s submission… will bring partners, agencies, residents and communities together, reactivating Mansfield town centre.

“It will also drive transformational change in service delivery across the district, breed new confidence in the town and further unlock Mansfield’s entrepreneurial opportunities.

“The council is developing the business case on the implications of the project, involving the relocation of the council and the co-location of a range of partners.

“A formal decision to relocate from the Civic Centre will be the subject of a separate report.”

Speaking after the Levelling Up cash announcement Andy Abrahams, Mansfield mayor, said: “The building has long needed re-purposing and will be brought back to life to rejuvenate our town centre.

“This will then have a knock-on effect, stimulating our economy and encouraging private-sector investment into the district.”