Details released of project for 34 new homes close to Warsop town centre

The scheme, for a site to the south of the junction between Oakfield Lane and Sherwood Street, has been in the pipeline for five years.

It was delayed because of a wrangle over how much money the developer, Taylor Reed Homes Ltd, should pay towards community improvements as part of the project.

The cash, known as a Section 106 payment, was reduced from an initial £120,000 to £42,000 after Gurjit Mahal, the 52-year-old joint boss of Taylor Reed Homes, said the development would not be viable otherwise.

Outline planning permission for the homes was granted by Mansfield District Council in April 2024. And now a full planning application for the work has been submitted, with more than 60 documents available for public inspection on the council’s website.

If given the go-ahead, the development will be made up of six two-bedroom properties, 12 three-bed, 15 four-bed and one five-bed, all to be sold as market housing.

The plan also includes 85 car-parking spaces and 68 cycle spaces, plus environmentally-friendly features such as solar panels, EV (electric vehicle) charging points and energy-efficient light fittings.

Taylor Reed Homes, which is based in the West Midlands, has hired the architecture company, Harper Sperring, of Dudley, as agent for the project.

In a planning statement, Harper Sperring says the site spans three acres (1.2 hectares) of open grassland along Sherwood Street and next to a former cricket ground, which was developed for housing in 2011 and is now known as The Wickets.

Not at risk of flooding, it sat between existing housing and was about 800 metres, or a ten-minute walk, from Warsop town centre, with several schools, most notably Sherwood Junior School, nearby.

"The land is within the sole ownership of the applicant and has been predominantly undeveloped for its lifetime,” says the statement.

"There are excellent pedestrian connections between the site and the town centre and into the wider countryside.

"The proposal would make logical and efficient use of the vacant site.”

Taylor Reed hopes one of the main attractions of the housing scheme is its nod to biodiversity via “a well-informed landscape plan” that would “encourage walking, cycling and social interaction among neighbours”.

The statement goes on: “Warsop enjoys considerable biodiversity. The proposal aims to continue that variety by providing an attenuation pond and open space and introducing a new haven for species indigenous to the area.

"The plan highlights areas for flowering lawns, species-rich meadow grassland, native scrub, wetland meadow, turfing, bulb-planting and tree-planting. It also seeks to preserve and enhance existing hedgerows.”

The scheme as a whole, described as “high quality and sustainable”, would also include road improvements to satisfy access to the new estate.

The statement adds: "Economically, the development would bring new residents to Warsop, who would spend money locally, helping to underpin the viability of the many independent shops, pubs and cafes in and around the market town.

"The development would also create jobs during the construction period, and would increase housing choice in Warsop by providing a good mix of types and sizes.”

The council’s planning officers are currently considering the proposal and hope to make a decision or recommendation by the deadline date of Friday, June 26.

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/