Hucknall town centre improvements approved

 Ashfield District Council’s Planning Committee has approved plans to regenerate Chapel Street and Central Walk in Hucknall. 

After taking onboard public comments, the plans for Central Walk include removing the dated arcade canopy, introducing more streetlights and ambient lighting, building planters with integrated seating and bins, standardising the shop fronts, and painting street art. 

Over at Chapel Street, the canopy outside B&M will be removed, new paving laid – including the ramp access, the stairs will be widened, new planters, seating and ambient lighting installed, and a mural painted on the side of B&M highlighting Hucknall’s history. 

The Council aims to improve feelings of safety and reduce anti-social behaviour, promote Hucknall’s history through art, and create a welcoming, accessible town centre to encourage more visitors, in turn supporting local businesses. The Council is investing £600,000, partly from their portion of the UK Shared Prosperity Fund, to make improvements to Chapel Street and Central Walk to achieve this. 

Cllr Matthew Relf, Executive Lead Member for Growth, Regeneration and Local Planning said

“These plans for Hucknall will ultimately encourage higher footfall, by making people want to spend more time in the town centre and contributing towards feelings of safety. A lot of the comments we received on the plans mentioned that Chapel Street in particular didn’t feel safe as it gets darker due to the lack of lighting, so we are addressing this directly with a new streetlight and ambient lighting to soften the walkway. 

“These two key links in between the town centre and Piggins Croft are in dire need of a facelift. Our planned improvements will make a huge difference to the area and will mark the start of the next phase of regeneration for Hucknall.” 

Following the green light from planning, work is expected to start early in 2026.

Posted on 12 December 2025