Newark and Sherwood District Council tells trustees of Lilley and Stone School any land designated for sport that is built upon will have to be replaced

A council has told the trustees of the Lilley and Stone School any land designated for sport that is built upon ­— regardless of how long ago it was last used ­— will have to be replaced.

Developers say housing needs to be built on the site, off London Road, Newark, to pay for the restoration of the dilapidated school buildings, and bring them back into use.

But there is opposition to the proposal.

Campaigner Rowan Cozens tabled a question at Newark and Sherwood District Council on Tuesday that asked for support in halting the plans for housing so other options could be explored.

She said: "MLN (Land and Properties) are acting as the agent to the trustees of the site and have already drawn up an initial proposal in conjunction with Broadgrove Planning for a development of more than 80 dwellings.

"Many local people are opposed to such an historic and vital green space in the centre of the town being used for more housing."

She told the meeting residents would be involved in alternative options, such as using the school buildings as an educational and cultural centre, utilising the sports facilities for the town and creating a park on the existing playing field to provide a tranquil green space.

The district council's portfolio holder for economic development and visitors, Rhona Holloway, replied in a pre-prepared statement: "The council is aware of this site and the fact that it has been vacant for many years. It is also aware that the trustees are exploring ways in which the site can be brought back into productive use including various redevelopements."

She went on to say that the council agreed that an appropriate, alternative, viable use for the site needed to be found.

"This includes the retention of a number of heritage buildings within the site and of the need to ensure that any alternative uses provide adequate replacement on, or off the site, for any sports land, irrespective of any lack of use in recent years," she said.

The current proposals include the redevelopment of two listed buildings, as well as new employment space, providing opportunities for co-working, start-ups and businesses.

This work will be enabled by a residential development.

Speaking after the meeting, Rowan Cozens said: "There is a very strong feeling about the massive loss of green and recreational space in Newark. The community feels very strongly that the Lilley and Stone is an asset to safeguard for the under-25s and as guardians we will not countenance further loss to those less able to stand up for themselves.

There is simply not enough recreational green space in Newark. This is the golden opportunity to correct that.

"We applaud what has been done to meet housing requirements — target met — we applaud the facilities at the YMCA, but this doesn't replace what's been lost. Football, cricket and tennis space, not to mention open green land for dog walkers and walkers generally all massively reduced. They would be foolish to underestimate the feeling in Newark."

A spokesman for the applicant said “The requirement to mitigate any loss of sports provision is something that we welcome and have been aware of since the outset of the project. We have been discussing this with officers at the district council and have been engaging with local sports organisations to assess how best we can do this.

“As for the suggestions of a delay to the proposals, it is vital that we continue to progress towards a planning application. Failing to do so in the absence of any viable alternative puts the site at greater risk of further antisocial behaviour.

“This would only serve to increase the cost of the renovation, thereby impacting the deliverability of the scheme itself and reducing any contribution to local sports facilities.

From our engagement to date the majority of respondents have welcomed the idea of redeveloping the redundant site and have made positive suggestions that we can incorporate.

“We are in the process of working up viable and deliverable proposals and will be consulting the community again soon.”