Mansfield residents say new road through estate will mean 'big problems'

Some Mansfield residents have signed a petition
-Credit: (Image: Reach Publishing Services Limited)


Nottinghamshire County Council has backed Mansfield residents who say a new road through their estate would cause chaos. Mansfield ’s future development plan has allocated land off Skegby Lane for housing, but initial concepts showed homeowners having to drive through the existing Grange Farm estate.

Residents came together to warn potential developers this wouldn’t be possible. More than 440 people signed the petition against it, which was handed to Nottinghamshire County Council in May. The authority, which looks after roads in the county, has now responded to say it agrees and wants main access to come from Skegby Lane if any housing is approved.

Councillor June Stendall, who represents the Grange Farm ward on Mansfield District Council, said the estate was already at capacity. Residents on the estate don’t have a problem with developing the site, but they don’t want any more cars coming through the estate,” she said.

“We already have streets with vehicles parked on them because residents don’t have an alternative. When people are at home in the evenings, it’s very congested. Any extra traffic will cause big problems.

“The estate was built in the 1960s, and many garages are too small for modern cars. There’s no planning application yet – we don’t know if it will come in a month, a year or never, but we have to be proactive.”

The land is at the back of Morrisons on Sutton Road, close to King’s Mill Hospital. The designs were drawn up as proof-of-concept to show the area could be included in the council’s Local Plan – a document which outlines where future development will take place.

The petition was handed to the area’s County Council representatives Paul Henshaw and Sinead Anderson at a meeting earlier this year.

Any extra entrances for pedestrians or cyclists would need to be considered during the formal planning process. The outcome of the review will be discussed at Nottinghamshire County full council on Thursday (September 26).