Lakeside plan turned down

The outline application for the Shipley Lakeside project, submitted by Alfreton-based Waystone Developments, includes more than 300 residential homes, a neighbourhood centre, a pub and hotel, a health and care campus, retirement village, and business, training, leisure and education.

Amber Valley Borough Council’s ’s planning board rejected the application because it did not specify how many retirement homes would be included, nor the nature of the ‘health campus’, and raised questions about building in the Greenbelt, contributions the developer should make and affordable homes.

Cllr Paul Jones said: “This application is a dog’s breakfast. This should be deferred because members don’t have the full facts about viability. You are asking us to make a judgement on 307 houses when it could be 500 to 600 if you include the retirement village.”

Cllr Marlene Bennett said: “I have never seen such a mish-mash. It’s not what we know - it’s what we don’t know.”

But Waystone said it had listened to local objections. It said: “We looked at how we could reduce the density of housing and still make the site viable.

“We reduced the number of houses by 25 per cent, from 400 to 307. The majority of development was relocated to the eastern side of the site. This proposal is bringing up to 600 new jobs and a semi-derelict site back into use, as well as much needed new homes for Amber Valley.”

Cllr Valerie Trevan, of Shipley Parish Council, said: “The development is totally at odds with the Greenbelt setting in which it will sit. It is not included in the Local Plan for residential development. There’s a danger of turning commercial land into housing making the area more of a dormitory than it already is. It should be a jewel in Derbyshire’s crown.

“It will double the population of Shipley.

“Once Shipley’s character has been stripped away it will become another anonymous ribbon development.”