A fire-damaged former Mansfield mill will be rebuilt into a 70-bed care home after councillors granted planning permission just weeks after it was ravaged by flames.
The former Hermitage Mill, in Hermitage Lane, was part-destroyed by the fire on March 28, with Mansfield District Council and partner organisations arranging for the demolition of unsafe parts of the site in the days following.
The site was subject to an ongoing planning application throughout the previous few years, with Hermitage Mill Developments initially planning to redevelop the site into a nursing home.
A further 31 family homes would be built on the land.
But following the fire, amended proposals included the part-demolition of the remaining structure and the rebuilding of the historic site, which dates back hundreds of years and was once a major employer.
Now the council’s planning committee has given permission for the development to go ahead so the site can be given a new lease of life.
Documents published ahead of the meeting on Monday (May 9) stated the historic, Grade-II listed site will be rebuilt to form the original planned care home, which included an extension to the side of the building.
However, unlike the original plans, the extension will now be attached to the newly-rebuilt mill.
The 31 homes will also be built on a separate section of the industrial site, with all the properties to be three-bedroom, two-storey houses.
The development will be accessed from the two existing entrances on Hermitage Lane, with 87 parking spaces provided across the site including 23 for the care home.
Councillors gave the plans their backing following Monday’s meeting, with the authority’s planning department telling the committee the development offers “substantial” benefits to the town.
This included bringing the site back into use, reducing criminal damage and anti-social behaviour, creating family homes and promoting the site’s heritage.
A spokesperson for the council’s planning department told the meeting: “The rebuilding of the mill and conversion into a care home will provide substantial environmental and social benefits.
“There would be further social benefits through the provision of 31 dwellings, providing family homes.
“Redevelopment of the site would also reduce instances of anti-social behaviour and criminal damage occurring over the years.
“Overall it is considered there are good reasons for allowing the development to proceed.
“There are significant public and heritage benefits to bringing the site back into use, and these benefits are considered to outweigh the harms of the development.”
Fire crews from Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire and South Yorkshire were called to tackle the mill fire in March, with as many as 20 fire engines used to control the fire at its peak.
Three teenagers were arrested on suspicion of arson in connection with the fire and were later released pending further investigation.
