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Property Developments
2002 Park Gardens
Three years juxtaposes full transformation of the Portland Arms public house, which historically emerged under sign of The Gate two centuries before. The premises purchased by Shipstones Brewery stood in about an acre of farm land alongside the initially termed New Kiln Lane. Redevelopment therefore afforded room for some housing facing that renamed Skegby Road, including final 2003 property seen directly replacing that prominent pub on top corner onto Sutton Road.
Skegby Road offered rear access to the pubs later car park. An orchard below offered a play camp site for some tenants children like Mark and Robert Fittall, plus stay overs lastly by Country and Western patrons. Clearing the entire sloping site thus revealed room enough for the so named private cul-de-sac, although first stage of building began on lowest grounds facing Skegby Road.
Looking down onto the site in 2002 shows early advancement of those initial town houses between February and March. The old CWS factory was still clearly visible in background, just to note future plans for another even larger housing redevelopment .
First stage completed a short terrace row, while adding a sales office fronting other corner entrance into the planned roadway.
A flattened roadway gives access for the next stage of laying foundations to build a lower north side. At this point, suggested naming seemed best offered to the historic Portland pub landmark. But choice of Park Grounds reflecting similar Parkside address opposite, may well have attracted broader appeal based on Skegby Road leading visitors into an established Brierley Forest Park.
First homes actually lining what was so far known as a future Park Grounds residential address quickly appear from May 2002.
Third phase begins filling the south or top side, fully revealing layout of a tidier Park Grounds building site through September.
Things get quite a bit clearer in more ways than one from October, covering last stages of phase three onward into 2003.
Signposting eventually asserted pleasanter sounding name for Park Gardens, where all properties quickly found buyers, plus some rapid resales before cleaning up the area with a smoothly surfaced road and pavements. Removing all trace of building materials while adding finishing boundary touches took a few more months as work continued building and internally fitting out the final home. Prices for one of those semi detached 3 bedroom freehold houses back in June 2002 started at around £70,000.
Construction reached completion towards end of April, after 2003 began unveiling the most prominent detached house individually cornering top junction off Sutton Road. The Park Gardens estate NG17 4FX has nicely matured commanding inflated prices.
21 Feb 14 by Gary Elliott Updated 15 Dec 19