The 450-acre site, adjacent to the historic Sherwood Forest, will provide up to 800 new homes and 250,000 sq. ft of employment space, through the consent granted by Newark & Sherwood District Council. The first phase of residential land, for approximately 150 homes, is expected to be ready for sale to housebuilders as serviced plots towards the end of 2018. It is anticipated that it will take around ten years to fully develop and the site is expected to contribute towards Harworth's continued delivery of growing its Net Asset Value by at least 10% per annum throughout the property cycle.
Harworth acquired the site in October 2015, following the closure of the colliery – the Midlands' final deep mine – in July 2015. The Company has spent the last two years undertaking site safety and security works, including demolishing redundant industrial structures, whilst masterplanning the site for future uses. The scheme builds on Harworth's track record in transforming sites with former uses into thriving environments to live and work.
The current masterplan provides for new housing, a retirement village, a primary school, a 25-acre business park, leisure facilities, and a 300-acre country park and is expected to help create up to 500 jobs. The site benefits from its position next to the A614/A1, connecting Doncaster and Nottingham.
This is the second significant planning consent the Company has achieved this month. At the beginning of October, it achieved consent for a major new commercial development at the site of the former Alcan Rio Tinto Smelter in Northumberland. This 175 acre site will provide up to 1.3m sq. ft of manufacturing, distribution and local start-up space. It benefits from an existing rail connection, providing access to the Port of Blyth, a substantial cargo hub, excellent power grid connectivity and its close proximity to the coastal transport corridor – comprising the A189 and A19 – in Northumberland. Agents have been appointed to market the site on both a freehold and leasehold basis.
Harworth's consented residential pipeline now stands at 10,887 plots, providing circa 11 years supply at current sales rates, alongside a consented commercial pipeline of over 12.7m sq. ft.
Owen Michaelson, Chief Executive of Harworth, said:
“Securing a resolution to grant planning permission for both of these well-located major redevelopments, which will deliver homes, jobs and investment to the Midlands and North East, is a significant achievement for Harworth. It is also further demonstration of our team's expertise in taking complex industrial sites and, through our planning expertise, transforming them into sustainable developments for the benefit of local communities.
“This type of planning success continues to underpin our strategy of maximising value gains from our significant land bank to drive long term value for shareholders, whilst cementing Harworth's reputation as the leading provider of sustainable regeneration projects across the North of England and the Midlands.
“The securing of these two major planning consents underlines the success of our management-led milestone delivery business model and further underpins our confidence in achieving year end results in line with expectations.”