Bypass option

Sites for a hotel and a community centre are included in a formal bid to gain development approval for 25 hectares at Southwell.

Up to 750 houses and phase one of a bypass also feature in proposed plans for farmland south of the town and adjoining The Minster School site.

The proposals have been drawn up by Land and Development Consultants, of Lincoln, on behalf of the owner of the site, and would involve moving Southwell Rugby Club.

The suggested bypass would start from the A612 Nottingham Road to provide a quarter to a third of the whole route.

The rest of the development would pay for the bypass, which is estimated would mean a 75% drop in town-centre traffic.

The proposals have been submitted to Newark and Sherwood District Council in response to its request for possible development sites for inclusion in the Local Development Framework.

Also included in the Southwell scheme is provision for an extension to the cemetery and a sustainable drainage lagoon.

There would be a new rugby clubhouse and four pitches, as well as a pedestrian and cycle link to The Minster School and the leisure centre.

The suggested bypass would give motorists views of the minster.

There would be 450 to 750 houses, including lower-cost homes.

The managing director of Land and Development Consultants, Mr Stephen Brown, said he was acting as an agent on behalf of the Butler family of Southwell.

He said the plans were developed over a couple of months and the idea came about after a regional plan for Newark and Sherwood outlined a need for increased housing.

Mr Brown said: “There has been talk of a bypass for 20 to 25 years but nothing has happened. We see this development as a catalyst for bringing the bypass forward.”

He said there was no public funding available for a bypass at present. The development would be privately funded and the houses and other aspects would pay for the bypass.

“I hope that local people will realise what is on offer in terms of the community benefits and important community facilities,” Mr Brown said.

“Housing has to happen for all these benefits that will offer things back to the community.”