Plans for the very first phase of a 2,500 home expansion near Gainsborough have been submitted to West Lindsey District Council for final approval.
Persimmon Homes has applied to the authority’s planning department for reserved matters approval of 130 homes on land north east of Highfields roundabout, off Corringham Road.
They form phase 1A of the Gainsborough Northern Neighbourhood Sustainable Urban Extension (SUE) planned within the Central Lincolnshire Local Plan. Phase one in total will see 750 homes built over time.
Documents submitted to the authority said the development, referred to as Thonock Park, included 15 two-bedroom homes, 94 three-bedroom homes and 21 four-bedroom homes across a 3.43 hectare developable area.
Seven of the homes will be classed as “affordable” housing. The plans were given outline approval in September 2020.
How the site would be laid out.
The documents said the development would achieve “an integrated residential community with a sensitive relationship to the existing urban environment and its setting”.
The applicants said pre-application engagement had received around 25 responses with issues raised relating to green space, housing mix and ecological impacts.
They said this had resulted in extra housing types, greater variety of materials and extra green space and parking.
The Gainsborough Northern Neighbourhood SUE forms part of a plan to deliver 36,960 homes across Central Lincolnshire by 2036.
As well as homes, it will also include seven hectares of employment land, a local centre hub with community facilities and retail space and new schools.
West Lindsey District Council has taken a huge step forward as it pushes ahead to build Gainsborough’s first multiplex cinema.
The authority has officially acquired the land where the former Lindsey Centre was in the Market Place, which is where the 4-screen cinema, two retail units, a restaurant, and additional parking will be built. The exciting plans for the town are being realised thanks to the Council’s £18 million Levelling up Programme to create a Thriving Gainsborough.
Leader of the Council, Councillor Owen Bierley is delighted to announce the sale completion and said work on the eagerly anticipated project will start very soon.
He said: “This is huge step forward for our plans to build a ‘Thriving Gainsborough 2024’ and ensure the town reaches its full potential. In doing so this will have an economic impact on the wider district as we attract more people to the area.
“It has been a long process, but our team has been working very hard behind the scenes to get where we are and now demolition of the site in preparation for the new build can start. I would like to thank everybody for your patience over the last year since the announcement of the project was made but we are now in the position to get the ball rolling and we are feeling very positive about it.”
As previously reported, the Council was successfully awarded £10 million from Central Government towards its plans, as part of the ‘Levelling up’ Programme, announced last year. Planning permission for the development was granted in November 2020, (which you can see from the artist impressions).
Demolition of the former Lindsey Centre is expected to start later on in the year. This part of the process is anticipated will take approximately twelve weeks. The Council will publish dates on its website closer to the time in a bid to reduce any disruption.
West Lindsey District Council’s Director of Planning and Regeneration, Sally Grindrod Smith said: “Our Invest Gainsborough Initiative has been making huge strides to improve the town over the years and we have had many successes. However, we recognised that we needed to do more to support our town centre and our high streets in order to revitalise the local economy.
“The former Lindsey Centre is an ideal location for the cinema and commercial units as it has great connectivity across the town and will reinvigorate the market place. We want to ensure our Market Place is the centre piece of the town with spaces and activities for people to meet family and friends, shop at our twice weekly markets and dine out in the town centre.”
The Lindsey Centre was previously Oldrids Department Store and was owned by Lincolnshire Co-op.
Lincolnshire Co-op’s Head of Property Kevin Kendall said: “We’ve been working with WLDC on this scheme for several years and we’re pleased to see it take another step forward.
“Our successful Cornhill Quarter development in Lincoln shows the benefit of having a mix of retail and leisure amenities. This scheme will bring that variety to the Market Place and help revitalise the area.”
In addition to the new cinema, there are a number of other projects taking place in the town as part of our ‘Thriving Gainsborough 2024’, which includes:
Redesigning the use and streetscape of the Market Place.
Extend the Townscape Heritage Initiative to refurbish heritage buildings and wider shop fronts.
Create a green public realm – including a new Pocket Park along the riverside and improvements to the existing park.
Implementation of wayfinding strategy to direct residents, businesses and visitors around the town.
Refurbishment of the bus station.
Extending the live above the shop programme to create more homes in the town centre.
All five men have been released under investigation.
Our inquiries are ongoing and anyone with any information can call us on 101, quoting incident 16 of June 27.
Previous release:
Following a report in the early hours of a possible break-in at a home on Sandsfield Lane in Gainsborough, our officers, and our colleagues in Cambridgeshire, have had a busy morning…
Two cars and a van have been seized, a large cannabis grow uncovered at the home, numerous weapons found including a knife and two axes, and five men arrested on suspicion of burglary.
The men, aged 22, 29, 30, 32 and 41 were arrested over border following some excellent teamwork with Cambridgeshire Constabulary. The men remain in custody at this time.
Officers are on scene at Sandsfield Lane where they are gathering evidence and dismantling the grow.
If you have any information and have not yet spoken to us, please call 101 with incident reference 16 of 27 June.
