News

New Mansfield Connect building expected to complete six months earlier after £5.5 million asbestos removal approved

By Lauren Monaghan, Junior Local Democracy Reporter

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The completion of a major Mansfield community centre could be brought forward by six months after a decision to spend £5.5 million on asbestos removal, demolition and site clearance was approved.

The works to regenerate the vacant Beales department store on the corner of Stockwell Gate and Queen Street in Mansfield Town Centre will soon be under way to create ‘Mansfield Connect’.

This is a community centre where residents can access council services in one place along with the department for works and pensions.

Mansfield District Council agreed for the project to be completed over two stages in March 2024, with work originally expected to be completed in 2028.

A delegated decision by the Portfolio Holder for Corporate and Finance, Councillor Craig Whitby (Lab), on Wednesday (February 19) approved the spending of £6 million for the removal of asbestos, works to demolish part of the site and site clearance.

Around £500,000 will go towards client fees, with the remaining £5.5 million going towards the various removal, demolition and clearance plans.

This money will be drawn from the Levelling Up Fund grant, a £20 million government grant awarded to the council.

The Co-op part of the site will be retained in the plans with the Beales part being demolished.

This decision brings the anticipated completion date of regenerating the site forward by six months, meaning the building is now expected to be finished by late 2027.

Speaking during the meeting, Mike Robinson, Strategic Director at the council, said the works will allow main contractor, Kier, to make the site safer.

He said: “It allows us to bring forward this element of the work and enhance the programme overall because if it’s getting further delayed we can bring completion back into 2027 rather than going to 2028- there’s cost benefits from that point of view as well.”

The demolition work is subject to planning approval by the council, which Mr Robinson says is in due process now, but the asbestos works do not require planning approval and are expected to begin in May 2025.

He added: “As part of the demolition, the bridges come down, the bridges don’t require planning permission. I think the timeline for those coming out is August or September this year.”

Cllr Whitby asked: “By Christmas we should see a considerable amount of work on site?”

Mr Robinson replied that the asbestos removal will take the project up until December 2025 and “Kier [contractor] anticipate that hopefully we can get subcontractors on to make a start on the substantive demolition on the Beales bit within December this year.”

Cllr Whitby asked: “By bringing the project forward six months will that give us more intelligence on the later part of the design?”

Mr Robinson replied that the design of the new centre is running “concurrently” and that the next stage of it will be completed by early April.

He added: “But the benefit of this is that when we’ve got the site cleared we will know exactly what’s there so we don’t have to make such big allowances for contingence’s and unknowns.”