By Joe Locker, Local Democracy Reporter
Plans for a new business and retail building in Stapleford have been given the green light despite residents fearing it will be “overbearing” and cause parking problems.
The two to three storey Pencil Works scheme, which will be built off Victoria Street, is being paid for using money from the £21m Stapleford Towns Fund.
It will feature a creative space for specialist craftspeople and artists, retail units, new public toilets which have been relocated from Cliffe Hill, and new office space on the upper floors.
The scheme will result in the loss of car parking spaces off Victoria Street.
During a Broxtowe Borough Council Planning Committee meeting on Wednesday (December 4), a resident representing people living on Victoria Street raised concerns over parking, anti-social behaviour and the overbearing nature of the building.
“We’d like to put on record many residents would like to say have been kept in the dark very much about this,” she said.
“Meetings have been few and far between, venues changed at last minute, plans for the hub changed and residents were not updated.
“I fully appreciate as a resident the council wants to improve Stapleford town centre, but myself and other residents think the location of this hub is in the wrong place.
“The building size is overpowering and intimidating for the Victoria Street residents, as most of the houses are traditional terraced houses with no front garden.
“Our privacy will be gone and light to our homes reduced.”
She added the car park is a “vital part of the community” and required for those with mobility issues.
While the scheme will result in the loss of parking spaces at Victoria Street, they will be replaced by a new car park under half a mile away at 131 Derby Road.
Cllr John McGrath (Lab), who represents Stapleford South West, said: “Some of the things the residents are saying I do agree with.
“[But] I think it will bring investment to the town. The Pencil Works is a key element of the Towns Fund, it will be a strategic kick to the high street and will increase, I believe, footfall and the viability of the town.
“I believe this will help us become the town that we used to be.”
Cllr Greg Marshall (Lab), another member of the planning committee, said the scheme will help smaller independent businesses better establish themselves.
“It is of course what our local communities are crying out for,” he said.
However he added: “That said I don’t think some of the concerns are unfounded, and as an authority I think we have a responsibility to address those and indeed mitigate those, particularly where there are concerns are parking.”
The plans were passed unanimously.
Work is expected to start in February, will the aim of completing the scheme within 12 months.
