1,800 new homes planned for Derbyshire village

An artist's impression of what the development would look like

Known as Clowne Garden Village, the project will also include 24 hectares of employment land, a retirement village, neighbourhood centre, hotel/restaurant and health and leisure facilities.

The huge development, by construction firm Waystone Developments Ltd, will be located either side of the A618 Rotherham Road, in the north of the village.

The planning documents, for outline planning permission, state: “Clowne Garden Village will be an exemplar ‘high quality’ sustainable mixed use development that takes advantage of its countryside context and landscape setting.

The location of the proposed development.

“It will at its heart create a village green around which residential and employment development will radiate, with green corridors connecting this new green space to the centre of Clowne and out to the wider countryside and strengthening existing biodiversity habitats as it does so.

“Furthermore, the garden village will be transformational for Clowne by acting as a catalyst for both town centre and community regeneration. This will be achieved through its investment and belief in the town’s future and giving the local community a bigger stake in this too.”

A number of objections have been submitted for reasons such as traffic congestion, noise problems and environmental issues.

One letter by resident Denise Cameron, of Hickinwood Lane, Clowne, says: “I feel it would be a travesty to lose this green space which is used by many in their pursuit for quality leisure time for nature walks and wildlife adventures. The area has been used by my family for more than 50 to 60 years for woodland walks and nature trails and it would be a terrible loss to the community.”

Another letter by resident Charlotte Hendy, of Creswell Road, Clowne, says: “This application is an absolute disgrace. I agree that houses that need to be built to keep up with demand but this application is wiping out vast swathes of our countryside which we use and enjoy daily.”

And another letter, by resident Natalie Hoy, of Creswell Road, Clowne, says: “The proposed land has many endangered wildlife such as grey crested newts, red squirrels, many types of birds and hedgehogs.

“This development will take away what Clowne is meant to be – which is a village. This development is a contained environment, which is not integrated into Clowne village whatsoever, instead creating a new community attached and using the Clowne village name.”