Derbyshire planners have given the go-ahead for a controversial housing scheme despite sharing concerns over traffic, the countryside and reduced community funding contributions from the developer.

NE Derbyshire District Council’s planning committee voted on September 8 to approve Homes by Honey Ltd and Together Synergy’s planning application for 59 affordable and social rent homes on land off Central Street, in Holmewood after it had been deferred to assess traffic concerns and reduced Section 106 community infrastructure funding.

But Committee Chairperson, Cllr Lee Hartshorne, argued the council had been placed in a ‘difficult position’ with a disappointing loss of greenfield space and reduced community contributions weighed against the need for housing.

He told the meeting: “Holmewood has done a lot of heavy lifting with the housing targets we have had to meet and again this is a disappointing loss of a green space that cuts up the Five Pits Trail.

The Five Pits Trail Runs From Grassmoor Country Park And Through Williamthorpe Ponds And Holmewood Woodlands To Tibshelf Ponds. Courtesy Of NE Derbyshire District Council.

placeholder image — The Five Pits Trail Runs From Grassmoor Country Park And Through Williamthorpe Ponds And Holmewood Woodlands To Tibshelf Ponds. Courtesy Of NE Derbyshire District Council.

“And we cannot protect it all and it’s becoming a path through housing estates and I am disappointed we cannot defend it and put more of a gap between that and a development.

“But again we have to look at housing need and I feel there is some more negotiation available for Section 106 because it does not reflect the need for Holmewood.”

The housing scheme involves a 1.87hectare site mainly in NE Derbyshire District Council’s area with a small part of a proposed access road off Central Street in Bolsover District Council’s patch and after considering concerns and countryside planning policy Bolsover planners granted planning permission subject to NE Derbyshire’s awaited approval for the wider scheme.

Bolsover District Council also raised no objections to the overall scheme depending upon NE Derbyshire District Council agreeing to grant planning permission.

NE Derbyshire District Cllrs Lee Stone And Suzy Cornwell For Holmewood And Heath. Taken By BBC LDR Jon Cooper.

NE Derbyshire District Councillors Suzy Cornwell and Lee Stone, representing Holmewood and Heath, had argued at a previous meeting that the scheme will increase traffic and road safety risks, will place a strain on services and harm the area’s character, and that it also contradicts local planning policies.

Planning committee member, Cllr David Hancock, also questioned why the proposed community infrastructure funding to be paid by the developer to mitigate any issues with the scheme has been reduced from £725,961 to £190,000.

Cllr Cornwell stated that access to the site relies on Central Street, Mornington and Springfield Roads that are narrow and congested and she fears the scheme will mean many more vehicle movements with increased congestion in a busy neighbourhood as well as at the busy M1 Junction 29 and at the Temple Normanton junction.

Both Cllrs Cornwell and Stone argued Holmewood has already absorbed over 1,000 homes and problems are developing with drainage and flooding highlighting incidents at a nearby cricket pitch and on the Five Pits Trail as well as on nearby Tibshelf Road where a resident’s home was swamped with raw sewage.

Pictured Is The Access Point Off Central Street, At Holmewood, Chesterfield, For A Proposed Housing Scheme. Courtesy Of Bolsover District Council.

Cllr Stone also stated that another development in such an unsuitable location will push matters beyond sustainable and that the proposed site has always been a well-used recreational area that links to playing fields and the Five Pits Trail.

The NE district council received 54 submitted representations from residents raising concerns including increased traffic on narrow roads, highway safety, the scheme’s potential impact upon the community’s strained infrastructure and services including GPs, schools and dentists, the loss of countryside and open land, the potential harm to wildlife, increased noise and pollution, possible flooding and the impact on drainage.

Ault Hucknall Parish Council, which lies near to the site, also objected to the plans with concerns about erosion into a greenfield and woodland site and it also supported objections and concerns raised by Heath and Holmewood Parish Council and residents.

Heath and Holmewood Parish Council commissioned and submitted a Highway Assessment with a report disputing Transport Statement conclusions and raising concerns regarding highway safety, construction traffic, traffic generation, pedestrian safety, sustainability and infrastructure capacity.

However, Derbyshire County Council’s highways authority confirmed the scheme and any anticipated traffic increase would not pose an unacceptable impact on safety and congestion after considering the further highways assessment.

And the county council’s flood authority also raised no objections subject to a number of conditions.

A NE district council officer told the meeting the scheme is completely for affordable homes and planning officers attach significant weight to this element because of the need for housing in Holmewood and the district.

The officer conceded the scheme will result in harm to the countryside and landscape and that highways issues continue to attract objections but concerns about the countryside and the reduced infrastructure funding are outweighed by the benefits of delivering 59 properties.

NE district Cllr Neil Baker said he was concerned about the traffic in an area which has ‘suffered’ a big expansion in housing and he was struggling to reconcile the harm posed by the scheme to the countryside especially when weighed against the developer’s reduced amount of infrastructure funding.

And fellow planning committee member, Cllr Kevin Gillott, also said he was disappointed with how small the S106 contribution is and that reduced contributions from developers seemed to be happening a lot and they are never enough to mitigate all the impacts.

Following a failed motion to refuse the planning application by Cllr Baker on the grounds that the harm outweighed the benefits, the planning committee voted by a majority to approve the scheme with the condition that the council attempts to redirect the S106 funding to ensure it goes towards supporting Holmewood.

Other conditions include a ground gas investigation, restricted construction times, construction and habitat management plans, a drainage strategy, landscaping and a temporary pedestrian route connecting Central Street to the Five Pits Trail.

Cllr Hartshorne added: “We are tied by national planning policies and our own policies and from what [planning] officers are telling us we have got very little to defend a position to not grant this. We are in a difficult position.”