Warsop could be swamped by hundreds more new homes as fresh plan emerges
Concern is spreading through Warsop at the prospect of up to 350 more new homes being built in the town.
The construction of 400 homes is already under way at a site off Stonebridge Lane after Barratt Homes received planning permission back in 2022.
Now plans have emerged for a fresh site not far away, spanning almost 38 acres (15.3 hectares), beyond a nearby railway line on an agricultural field to the west of Mansfield Road.
Critics fear the infrastructure of the town and parish would not be able to cope with such a huge influx of new residents.
The company behind the latest scheme is the successful Cheshire-based land promoter Gladman Developments, which helps landowners gain planning permission or success on the commercial market.
The project is in its very earliest stages. But Gladman has commissioned the global sustainability consultancy, SLR Consulting Ltd, to prepare what is known as a scoping opinion request for submission to Mansfield District Council.
This is a formal pre-planning application query to identify key environmental considerations should the scheme reach its next stage – an outline application.
SLR’s assessment statement stretches to 91 pages, loaded with technical details. But the key end-game aim is the erection of up to 350 dwellings, including housing classed as affordable, plus public open space, children’s play areas, landscaping, a sustainable drainage system and vehicular access points.
Gladman submitted a previous outline planning application for 320 homes on the same site in 2019.
This was rejected by the council, which ruled that the properties would have “a detrimental affect on the landscape, character and open appearance” of the area.
The council also claimed Gladman had failed to show its proposal would not severely impact the local roads network and a neighbouring nature site.
SLR’s statement says it is envisaged that construction work for this new project would not begin until 2030 and would not be completed until 2037.
But it stresses that several steps would be taken to “reduce its likely environmental effects”, such as retaining trees and hedgerows on the site “wherever possible”.
Buffers would also be provided to the nearby River Meden and an adjacent pond, so that notable species, such as great-crested newts, and habitats were not adversely impacted.
The council has already sounded out the views of several public bodies about the plans.
Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust has confirmed that the land is not a designated site for wildlife. But the NHS has warned that Warsop’s infrastructure might not be able to cope without significant investment.
Based on the size of an average household in the Mansfield Council area, the NHS estimates that 350 homes would mean 875 extra residents for the town.
A spokesperson says: “All the GP practices in the area are working at capacity, so the infrastructure would need to be developed to accommodate the increased population.”
The NHS estimates the cost of this could be more than £370,000 – money it would request from the developer.
The council’s planning officers are currently ploughing through the scoping opinion request and have set a deadline date of Wednesday, February 18 to give their verdict.
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/