Town-centre bank paves way for summer closure -- all the latest Mansfield plans

The applications include the usual collection of extensions, erections, conversions and constructions across the district.

But there is also one from NatWest in relation to the closure of its branch on Church Street, Mansfield, which is scheduled for Thursday, June 26.

Gerard McAteer, project delivery manager for the NatWest Group, has submitted a plan to remove the external ATMs at the branch, as well as the night safe and signage, and to “reinstate the building’s facade”.

The application, received by Mansfield District Council, also includes the removal of public counters, automation machines, digital screens and loose furniture from inside the branch.

A planning statement, prepared by Tate Stevenson Architects Ltd, based in Northern Ireland, says: “The proposal is to decommission the building as a bank and leave it in a good state of repair for selling on or returning to the landlord where appropriate."

NatWest announced in February that the Church Street branch would be one of 54 across the country to shut this year, bringing its number of closures since 2015 to 1,431.

The bank said it was all part of a cultural shift to digital banking, via mobile phones or online, a decrease in over-the-counter transactions and a widespread switch from cash to debit and credit cards.

The closure alarmed many people in Mansfield, most notably the elderly who might not be comfortable dealing with their finances online.

But like many other banking giants, NatWest insists that more than 80 per cent of its current account holders now use its digital services.

Other planning applications received by Mansfield Council in recent days include these:

Land next to 125 Princes Street, Mansfield – discharge of condition relating to visibility splays and lighting column with regard to plan for 12 supported-living houses with staff and communal space.

10 High Street, Mansfield Woodhouse – listed building consent for signage/advertisement on existing retail shop, plus advertisement consent for illuminated signage and advertisement on shop window.

Land at Stonebridge Lane, Warsop – amendment to approved layout of one plot in relation to a plan for 400 dwellings, public open space landscaping and associated drainage infrastructure.

Mansfield Community Hospital, Stockwell Gate, Mansfield – amendment to the plan for an NHS community diagnostics facility serving Mansfield, relating to the entrance canopy, external doors and plant room.

195 Clipstone Road West, Forest Town – single-storey extension at rear.

60 Crompton Road, Pleasley – two-storey and single-storey rear extension.

The Co-op, Mansfield Road, Warsop – advertisement consent for two fascia letters, one window vinyl and one totem.

100 Clipstone Road West, Forest Town – detached double garage with storage.

51 Clipstone Road East, Forest Town – single-storey rear extension, external insulation with render finish at front, rear and side, plus demolition of garage and construction of new single-storey outbuilding.

4 Haywood Court, Rainworth – work to trees covered by preservation order.

4 Hunters Chase, Mansfield Woodhouse – application for lawful development certificate to change garage into habitable room.

16 The Mynd, Mansfield Woodhouse – single-storey rear and side extension.

10 The Avenue, Mansfield – first-floor extension to rear.

2 Boswell Close, Mansfield – new fencing around edge of boundary to rear and side.