Public Notices Nottinghamshire: 5 significant Nottinghamshire planning updates from the past week
Explore the latest public notices in Nottinghamshire, ranging from a new leisure centre to a controversial new student tower block
A host of significant Nottinghamshire planning applications have taken either a step forward or a step back over the past week.
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From developments surrounding the construction of a new leisure centre to a controversial new student tower block, these projects are all at different stages.
We have rounded up the top four projects that are in various stages of development, according to the Public Notice Portal.
If a planning project has impacted you personally, please do get in touch by emailing [email protected]
Bramcote Leisure Centre rebuild could open by spring 2027
There is hope that the rebuild of a leisure centre could be completed by spring 2027 after delays in the project.
Bramcote Leisure Centre is due to be replaced by a completely new building after Broxtowe Borough Council approved a plan to renew the site in 2024.
That same year, the authority spent around £200,000 on repairing the existing 1960s leisure centre, where the use of unsafe RAAC concrete posed a risk of falling debris.
The plan is for the current centre to remain open while the new centre is built on the current car park. It was thought that building works for the fresh site would start in spring 2025 but this has been delayed.
Now, the leader of Broxtowe Borough Council, Milan Radulovic (Brox Alliance), says he hopes the new centre will be ready to open by May 2027.
In February 2025, the BBC reported concerns that Bramcote Swimming Club might have to relocate some of its sessions due to issues with the pool’s depth.
The pool depth in the plans was increased from 1.3 metres to 1.8 metres but 2 metres were required in the artistic swimming section for training.
The original design for the spectator section would have also caused issues for those involved in swimming competitions and for people who wanted to watch. At the existing centre, banked seating follows the length of the main pool but original plans wanted to make the new spectator section smaller and enclosed next to the training pool.
These various problems have meant plans have had to be redrawn which has set back the goal for planning permission to be granted and building to start.
In Broxtowe Borough Council’s full council meeting on Wednesday (October 15), Councillor Helen Faccio (Lab) asked for an “update on where [the council are] with the rebuild of Bramcote Leisure Centre”.
Cllr Teresa Cullen (Brox Alliance), portfolio for health and leisure, responded that the project has been delayed “because [the council] has listened to what people have said” regarding the pool depth and seating area.
She added: “It’s going to [the planning committee] in December [2025]. It’s on track. It will be built and it will be built for the future and with the specifications residents wanted.”
Speaking to the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) following Wednesday’s meeting, Cllr Radulovic said he anticipates a “15-month build-out” period for the new centre and it is his “desire” that it will be ready to open in May 2027.
Also speaking to the LDRS following the meeting, Cllr Cullen said: “I’m told we will be well into the build by next summer.
“The delay was inevitable and I’m really grateful to the local residents first, for campaigning for it. They wanted it the way they wanted it and it makes absolute sense to me.”
She added “the plans are beautiful” as well as being modern and efficient.
The new centre will include a six-lane pool and a teaching pool with proposals also including a new car park and reception area.
The formal reworked plans are set to be decided by the authority’s planning committee in December.
Ashfield homes plan on old landfill site prompts ‘significant contamination’ concerns
Plans for a number of homes on an old landfill site in a Nottinghamshire village have prompted concerns over contamination.
Marcus Thomas has been looking to build up to four homes in Church Lane, Underwood, on grassland that was once used for landfill many decades ago.
The plans were tabled at an Ashfield District Council planning committee meeting in February this year, during which members deferred them while the developer provided more information relating to ground contamination.
According to planning documents, the developer has since provided a site investigation report and a ground gas risk assessment.
Five boreholes were drilled into the ground alongside three trial pits, and samples were taken.
The ground was found to contain brick, concrete, wood, plastic, tarmac, tiles, rubber, and asbestos was identified in two of the tested samples.
Documents say the contamination can be safely managed.
However residents and a local ward councillor say more testing is needed, with suggestions 40 boreholes should be drilled across the site to “provide greater information and knowledge in respect of the contamination”.
Cllr Arnie Hankin (Ash Ind), who represents Selston and called the development to be considered again by a planning committee, said he had lived near the site for almost three decades, and that the landfill had been present long before stricter regulations were put in place.
He said while the developer had drilled boreholes into the ground for testing, more were needed at the centre of the site.
“At that time when it was a landfill they were not required to have waste tickets to identify what goes in the landfill,” he said.
“It was a free-for-all for what you could put in there.
“They have done the boreholes, but not quite in the areas that we would like.
“The holes were drilled on the periphery of the site. If you want the filling of the pie you don’t just eat the crust.
“I’m not opposed to the application, it is a nice development. It is a good scheme, four nice plots that I am sure would do well. But we are just saying we would like to identify what has gone in the site.”
The Environment Agency said an increased number of exploratory locations using trial pits to dig the soil up to a depth of four metres, and an increased number of boreholes to collect soils, would allow the further characterisation of site findings and to confirm the depth and extents of infilled waste material
However the Environment Agency and the council’s own Environmental Health team concluded that although contamination on site was identified during the site investigations, the findings, conclusions and recommended mitigation measures “are reasonable, logical and appropriate for the proposed development.”
“Whilst undertaking further borehole investigations across the site may reveal further information about the identified on-site contaminants, this would not alter the position regarding the proposed mitigation methods, which specialist consultees have identified as being appropriate to remediate the site,” documents add.
The development will be discussed at a planning committee meeting on Wednesday (October 22).
Old school playing fields tipped to become 69 affordable homes
Concerns have been raised that a new affordable housing development in Lenton could be used by students if it is approved.
Housebuilder Keepmoat Homes wants to build 69 affordable homes on playing fields that were once used by pupils from the Greenholme private school.
The site is located behind the Derby Road Health Centre at the junction of Derby Road and Johnson Road.
It has been vacant and inaccessible since the private school closed in July 2011, and the housebuilder says it “has been subject to fly-tipping and vandalism” ever since.
Before it was used by the school, the grassland and disused tennis court served as a recreational area for Raleigh Cycles.
Plans for the homes are expected to be given the green light at a Nottingham City Council planning committee meeting on Wednesday (October 22), however some concerns have been raised that the smaller homes could end up being used as student housing.
The Lenton Drives and Residents Association said it supports the residential development and welcomes the allocated parking and green space within the scheme.
“However, the housing mix is skewed toward one and two-bed units, which risks adding to student accommodation,” the association said.
“A greater proportion of three-bed homes is needed to attract families, support long-term community stability, and make better use of local amenities and schools.”
Five representations have been sent in from local residents, who have generally expressed support, council documents say.
However, they too said the types of housing are considered “too heavily weighted towards smaller units, which may not meet the needs of families or support long-term residency in the area”.
They also said that shared ownership properties could be converted into student accommodation, “further contributing to the existing imbalance in Lenton and Radford”.
Plans show the developer wants to build 14 one-bedroom homes, 28 two-bedroom homes, and 27 three-bedroom homes.
Councils typically grant planning permission to developers on the proviso they contribute financially to affordable housing and local education, employment and infrastructure opportunities in a bid to reduce the impact of a scheme – this is called a Section 106 contribution.
The developer of the Lenton housing scheme must provide a financial contribution of £188,327 towards secondary school provision, a financial contribution of £40,254.50 towards off-site public open space and public realm improvements, and a financial contribution of £32,556 towards local employment and training, together with the provision of employment and
training opportunities during the construction phase.
Five-storey student block near hotel tipped for approval
A hotel car park in Nottingham could be demolished to make way for a new five-storey student block.
The site is located on the corner of the A60 Mansfield Road and Magdala
Road, and is currently occupied by a two-storey car park that serves the Mercure Hotel.
Proark and EjendomsInvest, which has submitted the plans, has reduced the number of bed spaces from 163 to 113 following “extensive discussions” with Nottingham City Council’s planning officers.
According to council planning documents, 63 objections have been received – but they have been tipped for approval at a planning meeting on October 22.
Concerns have been raised over the loss of 107 car parking spaces, as well as the impact on the local area, and traffic problems that would be “exacerbated” by the development.
“Negotiations have taken place between officers and the applicant’s team to reduce the height and footprint of the building, to address the mix of accommodation type, refine the elevation treatment, secure high-quality materials and address concerns in relation to surface water flooding,” planning documents say.
However, the Nottingham Civic Society says the scheme remains “too large, bulky, and architecturally out of character”.
“This site was originally occupied by well-detailed late Victorian-Edwardian villas of the type which characterise Magdala Road and Mansfield Road immediately adjacent,” the society says.
“The Mercure Hotel’s massing and design should not be taken as a reference point for what is appropriate on this site, since the hotel was approved before the Mapperley Park Conservation Area was declared and its Conservation Area Appraisal and Management Plan was adopted.