'Last ditch' bid to save north Derbyshire green belt sites from development

An independent planning inspector’s final report into North East Derbyshire’s draft local plan, the document which sets out the future housing strategy for the area, has ruled that some building on green belt land can still take place.

The area’s Conservative MP Lee Rowley says he is disappointed by the final report and has now written to the secretary of state urging him to review it.

Four green belt areas, in Dronfield and Killamarsh, will remain allocated for future housing – and Mr Rowley would like to see these deleted from the local plan.

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“Earlier this year, along with local Conservative councillors and residents, we continued our campaign to fight against proposed green belt development allocations in Dronfield and Killamarsh,” Mr Rowley said.

"I’m disappointed that the inspector didn’t go even further to remove these remaining green belt allocations under the same reasoning that she had removed other sites in Coal Aston and Eckington.

“I have asked the secretary of state to review the inspector’s final report and to urge him to make further changes to remove these remaining green belt allocations from the plan, prior to its adoption.

"It's unusual for ministers to intervene at this late stage, so we have to accept this is a long shot."

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Councillor Alex Dale said campaigns by councillors and residents had been successful in defeating housing proposals in the past.

“Local Conservatives have supported residents in the fight against the loss of Green Belt at every stage of the local plan process,” Coun Dale added.

"We’ve had some success, reducing the amount of houses proposed on Dronfield and Coal Aston's green belt from 860, when the plan was first proposed, to 200 now and defeating a 400-home proposal south of Eckington.

“But we are hugely disappointed that the inspector has rejected the views of local councillors and hundreds of residents who urged her to go one step further in deleting the last remaining green belt sites in Dronfield and Killamarsh."

The inspector, Sarah Housden, says in her report that ‘green belt release will help to meet the plan’s aim to secure a more sustainable and planned pattern of growth to meet housing need’.