Plans to bring former Mansfield Post Office site back to life

The former Royal Mail site, on Church Street, has remained derelict since its closure in March 2017 when the postal firm moved into WHSmith at West Gate.

But plans put forward to Mansfield District Council could see the Grade II listed building given a new lease of life, by redeveloping the site and opening it back up to retail space.

Plans, submitted by firm Patrick David Developments Limited, would see the historic building brought back into use as the ground floor is reconverted back to retail use.

The proposals state that a smaller retail space would be created inside the former Post Office, while stairs connecting to former storage areas would be used to connect the ground floor to the 15 apartments.

The planning documents stress the importance of “maintaining a retail presence” on Church Street to “inject new life” into the town.

The documents say: “The former bespoke post office use ended nearly three years ago and since then has stood empty, with signs of neglect now starting to manifest through the ingress of water via the existing flat roof, which is in need of routine maintenance and repair.

“It is considered important to maintain a retail presence on Church Street, so a stand-alone unit is to be created.

“Once the proposed retail unit has been created within the former customer area, the remaining space will be converted into apartment one, accessed via a new doorway at the rear of building.

“In doing so, this proposal avoids any impact on the listed Church Street façade.

“Four further apartments are formed within the rear section of the building accessed via the existing side entrance on Church Street.

“The main staircase and existing corridor circulation provides access to apartments six to 10 on the first floor, while the main staircase and existing corridor circulation routes provide access to the rest of the apartments on the second floor.

“[It is hoped] this will inject new life into the town centre, bringing a welcomed increase in footfall and subsequent revenue for existing businesses.”