1,000-Home 'Village' Approved For Ordsall South In Retford

Outline planning permission has been granted for one of the biggest housing schemes Bassetlaw has seen in a generation: more than 1,000 homes on 252 acres of farmland south of Ordsall in Retford, alongside a new primary school, sports facilities, a country park and a community hub.

What has been approved

At its meeting at Worksop Town Hall on 1 April 2026, Bassetlaw District Council’s planning committee granted outline planning permission for the Ordsall South scheme by six votes to two. The site, allocated for housing in the Bassetlaw Local Plan, sits south of Ordsall and borders Retford Golf Club, with vehicle access proposed from Ollerton Road and Brecks Road.

The application is for more than 1,000 new homes alongside a package of community infrastructure. According to the applicant, Howard (Retford) Ltd, the proposals include:

• A new primary school
• A country park and areas of woodland
• Sports facilities and a community / social hub
• A mix of housing types, including affordable homes and properties specifically aimed at older residents
• Local shops and meeting places

Section 106: what the developer is paying for

Outline permission is accompanied by a Section 106 legal agreement, the standard mechanism by which councils secure developer contributions to local infrastructure. According to Bassetlaw District Council, the agreement covers:

• Substantial funding for education provision in the area
• Highways and transport improvements
• Other community-facing services tied to the scheme

The detailed terms will be published in full alongside the formal decision notice.

What “outline” permission means

Outline planning permission establishes the principle of development on the site – that homes can be built there at all – but leaves much of the detail (layout, scale, appearance, landscaping, access) to be agreed at later “reserved matters” stages. In practice, that means residents and the council will get further opportunities to shape what the scheme actually looks like before any spades go into the ground.

Why it matters for Bassetlaw

Ordsall South is one of the strategic housing sites earmarked in the Bassetlaw Local Plan, the long-term blueprint adopted to set out where the district’s growth should go up to 2038. Approval of an application of this scale is a major moment for that plan: it converts a paper allocation into a real, consented development.

For Retford, it raises real questions – about school places, GP capacity, road traffic and the character of the town – that residents have already raised during earlier consultations. Those questions do not disappear with outline permission; they are now expected to be addressed through the reserved matters stage and through the Section 106 spending.

Have a view on the Ordsall South scheme? Email tips@worksopwire.co.uk.