Food hall plans for former BHS store approved

Plans to turn part of a former BHS building in Mansfield into a food hall, creating the "only unit of its kind" in the town centre, have been approved.

The unit in West Gate has been empty since the department store chain collapsed in 2016.

But the ground floor of the building will be brought back into use after Mansfield District Council approved plans on Monday for a development that will include an arcade, bars, cafes, dessert shops, dart boards and pool tables, a cookery college and seven different food vendors.

Applicant RG property said the venue would create jobs and bring footfall back to the town centre.

Planning documents show the development would welcome "small independent food operators, start-up food businesses and pop-ups" for its food hall, along with a shared communal seating area.

There will also be seating out at the front of the building with new windows, entrances and "stone-effect" cladding over the existing brickwork, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

Planning officer Daniel Galpin said the venue would be the "only unit of its kind" in Mansfield, and referenced the Sheffield Plate and the Cutlery Works - both in Sheffield - as examples of how the former BHS unit could look.

Conditions for the council's approval set opening hours of 09:00 until midnight.

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