Burnt-down historic mill site approved for 31 new lakeside homes
Councillors back plans to redevelop Mansfield’s former Hermitage Mill into a mix of modern houses
The site of a former mill in Mansfield which was burnt down will have 31 houses built on it.
Hermitage Mill, off Hermitage Lane near Kings Mill Reservoir, was engulfed in flames in March 2022 and what remained of it was later demolished.
At the time the fire happened, the mill was already subject to plans for conversion into residential properties and a care home.
But this never happened and developers Walker Homes later bought the site after it was put up for sale in August 2023 and submitted plans to Mansfield District Council in March 2025 for a set of “distinctive” lakeside homes on the land.
The proposal was brought before Mansfield District Council’s planning committee on Monday, March 13.
Originally, 21 homes were proposed, but this was later increased to 31 in October last year.
The houses will feature a mix of one, two, three, and four-bedroom units, with 80% being two and three-bed homes.
Most are two-storey, with some stretching to 2.5 storeys, and some flats extending over three storeys at 11 or 12 metres tall at their highest point.
There was only one objection to the latest plans from a member of the public, relating to highway safety around the proposed entrance to the new development, on Hermitage Lane.
There will be at least 10m left between the homes and the nearby mill pond, to mitigate flood risk and the contamination of the pond and to ensure no impact on the nearby River Maun.
The old Hermitage Mill, which was five storeys high, was believed to date back to the late 1700s and was built by the fourth Duke of Portland.
It was originally a water-powered mill producing textiles before being taken over by a hosiery production company.
In the 1870s the mill was extended, with a large southern brick extension and a flat roof extension on its north end, then with an engine house and boiler room by 1878.
The building was used as a builder’s merchants from the 1950s until 2008, when it became vacant.
The huge blaze in March 2022 was dealt with by around 20 fire crews, and most of the upper storeys were initially pulled down for safety reasons.
Councillors voted through the plans unanimously.