Mansfield District Council has granted conditional planning consent for exciting £12m proposals for a hotel and three restaurants on the site of the town’s former bus station.
ARBA Group’s scheme will revitalise the Stockwell Gate North site which is currently being used as a car park.
The plan includes a six-storey, nationally-branded, 100-bedroom hotel with breakfast lounge, along with three standalone restaurants around car parking spaces, direct pedestrian access to the existing Walkden Street car park, and revamped pedestrian links to the Four Seasons Shopping Centre.
It is expected that contracts with tenants will be finalised and signed within weeks, and work on the site is expected to commence in spring 2021.
Richard Burns, managing director at ARBA, said: “We are delighted that permission has been granted and that an area of our town centre will be regenerated. It’s a major scheme that not only brings much-needed hotel beds to Mansfield, but one that has the potential to create hundreds of jobs.”
Andrew Allen, a director at ARBA, said: “For the past few years we have worked hard, with a lot of partners and with the local authority, to create a scheme that works for Mansfield. We have also continued to progress the scheme during the very trying months of this year, so gaining permission is welcome news.”
It is estimated that the project will inject around £5m into the local Mansfield economy every year.
ARBA was selected by the council as the preferred developer of the site after a rigorous competitive tendering process.
Martyn Saxton, Head of Planning and Regeneration at the council, said: “Mansfield has long needed more hotel beds and this scheme will transform a major gateway site into the town centre which has been long under-used.
“It strongly aligns with the council’s Growth agenda to encourage more inward investment in the district and will combine with forward-thinking plans in the Town Investment Plan and the expected investment from the Government’s Towns Fund and Future High Street Fund.
“High streets across the country are changing because of universal changes in the way people shop. To thrive in this revolutionary digital age, they need to focus much more on entertainment and leisure and this scheme will help to create a much more sustainable future for the prosperity of the district.”
Nikki Rolls, CEO of Mansfield BID, said: “It’s wonderful news for Mansfield town centre and shows genuine confidence in what the whole area is trying to achieve. This development should be a catalyst for change, along with the Towns Fund and Future High Street Fund.”
For this project, ARBA has worked with architects Isle Design, planning consultant Pegasus Planning, and highways and engineering advisors at Ardent Consulting Engineers. For more about ARBA, visit their website.