Public share ideas for former Lilley and Stone School site, as campaign group LASSIPCO wants to work with developers Bildurn

Residents have been sharing their views about what they want to see done with a former Lilley and Stone School site in Newark.

The grounds and buildings, on London Road, have been left empty and unused since the school closed its doors for the final time in 2016.

Over the near decade since the buildings have been a regular magnet for anti-social behaviour, and several development proposals have been put forward although none have been accepted.

Last year, Newark and Sherwood District Council rejected plans by the developer Bildurn to demolish a number of existing buildings, retain and convert heritage buildings into apartments, and erection of 130 new house across the rest of the 10.5 acre site.

The developers stated in June of this year that they remain “committed to finding a long-term solution that benefits the community.”

Now, the Lilley and Stone Site in Peril Community Organisation (LASSIPCO) have been asking the public to share their own ideas for the site, which they intend to feed back to Bildurn in the hopes that a middle ground can be reached when it comes to development.

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The campaign group held a public meeting at London Road Congregational Church, in Newark, which was attended by around 30 members of the public.

The school was originally built to support poor and young girls in the 17th century, and the Lilley and Stone Charity was established to ensure that the site would always be used for the benefit of young people in Newark.

Since the site’s sale to Bildurn, there was concern among attendees that all of the existing green space to the rear of the main school buildings would be lost, and they wanted to see as much of it retained as possible.

However, there was also an acknowledgement that there need to be some “give and take” with the developer, to ensure that both parties were happy and and future application has the best chance of success.

“This site could be used for a number of things,” one resident said. “It doesn’t have to just be one thing.

“We know the developer want to make a profit, so we could suggest that in exchange for buildings houses, they leave some green space, renovate the main buildings, and create something for the community.”

Others agreed, with one saying the buildings needed to be used and “shouldn’t be left to decay”.

Newark Tennis Club already owns and operate a number of tennis courts on site, and the suggestion was raised to open up the main building for other sports such as indoor bowls, or as a potential new home for the Newark Amateur Boxing Club.

A representative from Newark Community First Aid was also in attendance and said that their volunteers were looking for a more permanent location to house their equipment and vehicles.

The suggestion of creating a multi-use space with the main school building was floated, with the potential to host regular craft workshops, pop-up art exhibitions and markets, while community groups could also make use of the space.

“We want something to get people excited about coming into town,” a man said.

One woman added that the former school was the “perfect location” for a new youth club, which would not only create anew meeting space for young people near the town centre, but would also be in keeping with the original intentions of the Lilley and Stone Charity.

The meeting was chaired by LASSIPCO trustees Gordon Robertson and Rowan Cozens, who said that the ideas expressed would be fed back to the developers in the interests of “starting a conversation”.

An open invitation for new members to join the campaign group and to help spread the word to the wider Newark community.