Derbyshire housing development’s third phase gets the go-ahead on greenfield land - despite fears over traffic, congestion and a strain on services

The council’s planning committee approved the application from Jones Homes, of Cleckheaton, for 74 homes on about 3.3hectares of former agricultural land to the rear of Shuttlewood Road, north of Mill Lane, and west of Nether View, at Bolsover.

But residents have raised concerns about the scheme which is the third phase of Jones Homes’s overall development plans and which fits in with the council’s Local Plan housing allocation and follows up on two other nearby Jones Homes housing developments which are either part-occupied, under construction or recently approved.

Mrs Janet Woodhead, of Mill Lane, Bolsover, who fears 74 homes will bring at least two cars per household, stated: “I feel strongly that to put extra traffic onto Mill Lane from this development is unacceptable.

“When the diversion was in place for the widening on Oxcroft Lane the traffic and noise started at 5am.

“People speed along the lane, it is very narrow in places and [with] very little pedestrian walkways… Mill Lane cannot cope with any more traffic.”

The new scheme includes 74, two, three and four bedroom homes including seven affordable homes on a site surrounded by a completed Jones Homes development to the southeast, referred to as phase 1 for 43 homes, and a partially built-out Jones Homes development to the north and northeast, referred to as phase 2 for 127 homes.

A council report stated that beyond Jones Homes’s latest application for a scheme to the north, and partially within the open countryside, there is also the recently approved Woodhall Homes’s 161 home development although, according to the council, construction is yet to commence on this site.

Residents have lodged objections complaining that Jones Homes’s planning application for 74 homes will create additional traffic and congestion and pose problems for Mill Lane which is described as a ‘rat-run’.

They are also concerned the development will mean a loss of countryside and wildlife and it will place a strain on the area’s infrastructure and public services including schools, GPs and dentists.

Anni Morris, of Shuttlewood Road, said: “We’ve not seen a hedgehog since the building of the Oxcroft Lane estate, I wonder if we will also lose our owls and bats when this latest site is commenced.”

Ms Morris added: “The site currently has many young trees – Derbyshire County Council are currently encouraging the planting of trees – Bolsover District Council are apparently in favour of chopping them down.”

Others also claim that Mill Lane is already subject to flooding problems and they raised concerns about drainage from the site as well as a potential increase in noise.

District Cllr Ashley Taylor has raised concerns about the narrowness of Mill Lane and surface water flooding issues and district Cllr Jane Yates has raised worries about pedestrian safety while district Cllr Donna Hales has claimed the road infrastructure is very poor and that Mill Lane is prone to flooding.

Marilyn Pearson, of Limekiln Fields, Bolsover, stated: “Bolsover cannot support much more of this type of development. An example is that there is still no dentist and no increase of GP’s surgeries – it’s a constant struggle to get an appointment.”

Old Bolsover Town Council also objected to the scheme based on the loss of biodiversity, the segregated location of the affordable homes and road safety concerns.

Despite concerns, the county council’s highways authority has accepted the amended scheme’s Travel Plan and has raised no objections, and Chesterfield Royal Hospital, the NHS Integrated Care Board, and the county council’s education department are among others who have agreed to financial infrastructure contributions from the developer, amounting to over £715,000.

The county council’s flooding authority and Yorkshire Water also raised no objections subject to conditions.

A district council spokesperson stated: “This is the third phase of the Jones Homes development and as such the principle of development has already been deemed as acceptable… The site is considered to be well located for access to public transport, jobs and services. Therefore, residential development on this site is acceptable in principle.”

The district council’s planning committee approved Jones Homes’s planning application at a meeting, on January 22, for 74 new homes subject to conditions including meeting a biodiversity shortfall with a habitat payment from the applicant of £164,095 towards the Wild Whittington site, in Chesterfield.

Jones Homes has also agreed to make a financial contribution of £200,000 towards the potential provision of a link road between Shuttlewood Road and Oxcroft Lane with an offer of land to make this possible if this does not transpire as part of the Woodhall Homes’s development.

Additional landscaping is also now planned for the adjacent Jones Homes phase 2 development, according to the district council.