New housing estate in old quarry could finally get green light after 10 years

A long-running plan for a new housing estate on the site of an old quarry is set to finally get the go-ahead nearly 10 years after it was first proposed.

A developer wants to build 64 homes and 53 apartments for retirees at the disused Gregory Quarry, off the A60 Nottingham Road in Mansfield.

They first applied for planning permission on the site nearly 10 years ago – but were unsuccessful.

Now, Mansfield District Council’s staff have recommended that the latest revision of the plans be approved by councillors.

Members of the authority’s planning committee will meet on Monday, October 12 to make the final decision.

The newest application was submitted to the council in October last year, for the demolition of the property at 2 Garth Road, the creation of a new road on that corner and the building of the new properties behind, with a footpath created between the estate and the A60.

But the number of properties is vastly reduced from what the landowner originally asked for.

It was way back in 2017 that applicant Lee O’Connor first proposed 204 dwellings on the old site, with the proposal going through a number of iterations before it was finally decided on four years later.

The council refused it, mainly on the grounds that the vehicular and pedestrian access proposed – from Quarry Lane on the other side, opposite the One Call football stadium – was inadequate, and would also impact and pose a risk to the Quarry Lane nature reserve.

There had also been a staggering 391 objections from members of the public.

Mr O’Connor appealed to the government’s planning inspector, but after an inquiry, the appeal was thrown out in 2022.

After that, an application – by someone else – was submitted for the demolition of 2 Garth Road and its replacement with four bungalows.

That was granted permission in September 2023.

But that plan never came to fruition, and the property was sold in February 2024 which allowed for the plans to put the entrance to the new estate there instead.

Two years later, the most recent proposals were tabled – a quarter of the size of the original ones.

Houses would be a mixture of sizes, including one-bed, two-bed, three-bed and four-bed.

A report for councillors, written by planning staff and released on Monday, October 5, says that “the application has sought to address the two reasons for refusal associated with the previous scheme and subsequent appeal.” 

It adds: “The development would deliver 117 residential units and would therefore make a meaningful contribution towards significantly boosting the supply of housing within the District.

“Additional benefits include the remediation and redevelopment of a vacant brownfield site, ecological enhancement, new areas of public open space, drainage improvements, landscaping enhancements and the provision of increased natural surveillance over a site that has been identified as experiencing anti-social behaviour and unauthorised activities.

“Having considered all matters raised through consultation and public representation, it is concluded that the previous reasons for refusal have, on balance, been satisfactorily addressed.”

But still, not everyone is pleased by the plans.

While Mansfield Labour councillor Stephen North, whose Oakham ward encompasses the quarry, supported the proposals mainly because of the hope that the redevelopment of the quarry will stop the anti-social behaviour – Conservative councillor Liz Langrick objected.

She raised concerns over the plan for the new road and how that could impact traffic on the A60, where rush-hour queuing already causes significant congestion.

She also expressed concerns about the stability of the quarry bank, given the landslides in 2019 and 2020 at the old Berry Hill quarry, which led to the evacuation of dozens of homes.

There have also been around 30 public objections to the application this time around, citing reasons such as the fact that too much construction work is occurring in the wider area and that more community-focused uses would be better for the site and alternatives should be explored.

There were also concerns about local infrastructure such as schools, dentists and GPs being unable to deal with the number of new homes, that the proposal represents an “overdevelopment” of the land and insufficient parking.

But there were also eight supporting comments – many referencing the chance to curb anti-social behaviour but also the provision of housing and the changing of the road layout, meaning that cars will have to drive more slowly in order to turn left into the estate, thus reducing the general speed of vehicles on the highway.

Gregory Quarry, south of Mansfield town centre, has been inactive for around 20 years and is set 16m below ground level.

The application is an outline one – meaning there are not yet details on house types and layout.

These would be provided in the future if permission is granted.