Plans submitted for 50 canalside homes on contaminated former Derbyshire gas works site

SEP Construction Services Ltd and The Guinness Partnership have put forward plans for 50 so-called affordable homes off Parkside Close in Ironville, close to Ripley and Somercotes.

If approved, the homes would be built alongside the Cromford Canal and the railway line.

All of the 50 properties would be classed as affordable rented housing and would be handed over to a housing association after they are constructed, if they are approved.

Amber Valley Borough Council will make a decision on the scheme in the next few months.

If approved, the scheme would include 27 two-bed houses and 23 three-bed houses, along with 100 parking spaces.

Affordable rented housing must be 80 per cent or less of the average market rate in the surrounding area and remain as rented properties.

Designs for the homes show a modern design and that all properties would be two storeys tall.

Ground investigation reports submitted alongside the application show that there are numerous hotspots of contaminated materials, substances and gases across the site.

These hotspots are largely linked to the site’s historic use as a gas works with harmful substances also left on and dumped on the plot – including coal tar – in the decades since.

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A ground investigation report details that harmful substances identified on the site may have “leached” further below ground and into groundwater beneath the site.

Experts wrote in investigation reports that there is a “risk to chronic human health” association with harmful substances found on the site with significant remediation needed before it can be used for people to live on or create gardens on.

They write that “following a process of remediation and enabling works, the site will not pose an unacceptable risk”.

Statements submitted on behalf of the applicants say: “The proposed development will deliver a valuable mix of two and three bedroom properties on a sustainable site in a sustainable location.

“The provision of 100 per cent affordable rent homes is a significant benefit to be weighed in the planning balance.

“The housing mix and tenure respond positively to identified housing needs.

“The scheme offers provision of large garden space to the front and rear of each property, creating an appealing streetscape.

“The proposed development will generate a number of economic, social and environmental benefits.

“In the overall planning balance, the proposed sustainable development is considered to be acceptable.“There are no significant and demonstrable adverse impacts associated with the proposed development which would outweigh the sustainability benefits such that they would be a determinative factor weighing against the proposals.”

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