From dilapidated buildings to never-ending developments - every town has its eyesores. Unfortunately, Mansfield is no exception. Forgotten projects such as what happens to the Beales department store and long-term projects such as the Stockwell Gate development has had residents pining for a little TLC throughout the town.
We asked out readers on Facebook what they consider to be the worst eyesores in Mansfield and the responses were interesting with many citing former social club Boothy's and the ring road as contenders for the biggest eyesore. With a 15-year masterplan now in place with the intention of increasing footfall and cleaning up the town on the way, it's expected that some improvements will be made to the buildings that residents consider Mansfield's biggest eyesores. Now, lets take a look at a few of them.
Beales
This may be the one that stuck out to most people that spoke with Nottinghmashire Live. The existing Beales building is located on a prominent corner of Stockwell Gate and Queen Street, opposite the entrance to the Four Seasons, and has formed an important anchor in the town centre for a long time. It currently stands unoccupied.
Karl Sutcliffe , 41, from Mansfield Woodhouse. said: "It's got to be the Beales store for me. It's just a waste of space when so much could be done with it - it's just not changed. I suppose it could be turned into flats or a new shopping building but at the moment it's just sitting there. I think a lot of people feel the same about Mansfield - it could do with something different.
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"People say that the market square is done now and personally I'd agree. To be honest I wouldn't come to Mansfield to do my shops anymore; I'd go to Sheffield or Leicester for that now."
Raymond Thurston, 77, who has lived in Mansfield his whole life, said: "Wow there's a lot to choose from - it's difficult. It's been difficult for places in Mansfield to get going since the pandemic.. The Beales department store probably stands out the most for me - there's so much potential to do something there. It doesn't help when you've got two big retail parks nearby.
"Mansfield is certainly in need of some regeneration and some TLC. If you look around another thing that stands out is the cleanliness of the town - I think that's something that needs addressing. The kindest way I could describe it right now is depressing. It's a place that I remember being one of the most prosperous towns in the country many years ago. Lots of towns have these same issues, though."
But the end of the eyesore here is in sight as Mansfield District Council has bought the Beales site to be developed into its new headquarters as part of town centre regeneration plans. The scheme – “Mansfield Connect” - is expected to house a variety of other public, educational and health and wellbeing services, alongside spaces for private sector occupiers such as food and drink outlets. The District Council bought the premises to enhance the bid to the Government's Levelling Up Fund (LUF) to help re-invigorate the town centre.
Boothy's
Boothy's social club, situated on the edge of Mansfield town centre, ran for over 40 years but now stands vacant. Plans have been submitted to turn the club into a 24-bedroom care home Christopher Phillips commented: "Boothy's. Whoever bought it seems to have abandoned it half way through doing a cowboy builders job on it." As building is currently in a major state of disrepair but a decision was made to approve the development of the club on Thursday, December 16, 2021.
Stockwell Gate development
Plans are very much underway to welcome a Taco Bell, Tim Hortons and a 100-bed hotel to its town centre as part of the Stockwell Gate Development. The plans will take place at the former bus station off Stockwell Gate after its old use as a car park ended.
However, as these plans go ahead, a major part of Mansfield town has been boarded up for some time - a fact that has led to some local residents calling it one of Mansfield's eyesores. One man, who wishes to remain anonymous, said: "I understand what the plans are, and I'm sure it'll look nice once it's done, but at the moment it's not been nice to look at all. It can't be nice for all the cars driving past it either - you can't see past it, it's horrible." A Dominos pizza outlet will be another addition at the site.
The £12 million council-backed scheme, provided by Mansfield-based The ARBA Group, is expected to inject £5 million into Mansfield's economy. The development will also see the land off Stockwell Gate revamped to provide better pedestrian access to the town's Four Seasons Shopping Centre.
