Derbyshire residents urged to join ‘critical’ consultation into plan for thousands of new homes
A concerned councillor who fears North East Derbyshire is set to lose land to a massive plan for thousands of new homes has highlighted how proposed development sites in the area have already been targeted to meet a national housing shortage.
Labour-controlled NE Derbyshire District Council launched a Local Plan public consultation last summer inviting landowners, developers and organisations to identify potential sites for housing and other uses as part of the council’s Call for Sites initiative to meet the huge national demand for new homes.
Participants selected at least 343 potential development sites across NE Derbyshire for consideration including 293 for housing, although the council stressed this Call for Sites was shared in the interest of transparency and it was not conclusive with some suggested locations indicating what a development strategy could look like while they represented only individual options.
However, the council has now launched what it calls a New Local Plan public consultation on future housing and development sites across NE Derbyshire including potential sites in the Shirland ward, Clay Cross and Wingerworth and the surrounding area and not least a current Hallam Land Management planning application for ‘350’ homes near Old Tupton and Holmgate.
Conservative Cllr Charlotte Cupit, who is concerned about the scale of planned housing and the loss of greenfield land, said: “A lot of sites have been put forward and are being considered for inclusion.
“NE Derbyshire District Council planning officers have done an initial narrow down of the sites that were submitted and discounted ones with no access etc but are still consulting on sites equivalent to 19,000 new homes.
“Recent changes by the Labour Government mean that NE Derbyshire will likely have to build 12,000 new homes over the coming years, though I’ve been pushing for a smaller target.”
Protesters recently gathered outside the council, on March 17, over feared plans for a controversial Hallam Land Management planning application for reportedly around ‘350’ homes on greenfield land near Coupe Lane, at Old Tupton, and Holmgate, with concerns it will create a ‘nightmare’ with increased traffic and over-development.
They have also submitted claims that the scheme is not sustainable because of the busy and roadwork-strewn A61 Clay Cross to Tupton corridor and that there is already a disproportionate number of housing schemes in the area.
The protesters have also raised concerns including a feared risk of increased flooding, air and noise pollution, a loss of fields separating communities, GP and school capacity, privacy and a loss of wildlife.
Cllr Cupit says this scheme has been put forward as a potential allocated development site for the New Local Plan along with many other potential housing scheme sites as part of the Government’s drive to meet ramped-up housing targets which she fears will heavily impact the area and risk overriding local planning protections.
She added: “I know we need new homes, but the potential scale of this for some parts of our area is of real concern, so I’ll continue to do everything I can to change and fight this where needed and that’s not even getting started on all the infrastructure issues.
“It’s really important to raise objections to sites we don’t like, as well as issues and concerns at this stage as recent Government changes to the planning system mean that once a site is allocated it will have a strong preference for planning permission in the future.”
NE Derbyshire District Council has stated that it is preparing a New Local Plan to replace the current plan that was adopted in November, 2021, and it carried out the Call for Sites to give people and organisations the opportunity to simply suggest sites with the potential for new development or uses.
The council says its current 2014 – 2034 Local Plan will continue to be the development plan for the area and it will be used in the determination of planning applications until a New Local Plan is adopted by the council.
In the meantime, it has confirmed that it is inviting further comments with its latest consultation on its proposed strategy for the location of future developments which will also take into account feedback from last summer’s consultation.
Even though a refined list of sites has passed through screening processes and aligns with the council’s proposed strategy, it says these are not the council’s preferred sites because further consideration will be needed alongside feedback from the latest consultation and from a Green Belt review.
NE Derbyshire District Council is updating its Local Plan after stating that it needs to find land to accommodate over 12,000 new homes over the next 20 years to help meet the huge national demand for new homes.
The Labour Government aims to deliver 1.5 million new homes in five years in England and it has also urged all relevant councils to help facilitate a target of 370,000 new homes a year with allowances to encourage more developments on low-quality Green Belt areas deemed to be ‘Grey Belt’.
Cllr Cupit has said she is really concerned about the Government’s housing targets given the high number of new homes that have already been built in NE Derbyshire and she has repeatedly raised concerns about the use of greenfield land for developments and the loss of countryside.
She added that ‘it’s absolutely critical to comment on sites now’ as part of the latest consultation.
The Labour Government has urged all relevant councils to address the housing shortage crisis by fast-tracking developments and by prioritising local buyers for local developments.
Under new planning rules, the Government has prioritised building on previously developed brownfield-used land to reduce environmental impacts but it has also introduced the new ‘Grey Belt’ land definition to allow and encourage more developments on low-quality Green Belt areas.
But the council has stressed the Call for Sites and subsequent site assessments processes do not confer any form of consent, indicate that planning permission will be granted or suggest at this stage that they are suitable to be allocated in the Local Plan.
The council has stated it recognises people value the rural nature of the district and are concerned about the impacts of development upon roads and traffic, healthcare provision and nature but it also needs to find land to address housing targets while working within national guidelines, protecting the environment and considering climate change challenges.
NE Derbyshire District Council’s Local Plan aims to help shape future housing, employment, environment and countryside protection, support for towns and villages and infrastructure including transport, schools and community facilities.
The latest council consultation was launched on March 12 and runs until April 30 inviting people to comment through an online portal, or by email, or with paper correspondence on the sites that have so far been put forward for housing by developers and landowners.
The council has also organised official drop-in events with officers, and Cllr Cupit also aims to arrange her own drop-ins and meetings.
It is inviting people to visit https://www.ne-derbyshire.gov.uk/planning-and-local-plan/planning-policy-and-local-plan/local-plan-review for details on its latest consultation and comments are welcome via its online system available at https://bolsover.oc2.uk/ or residents can contact the council on 01246 231111 to request a form to be emailed or posted.
Drop-in sessions organised by the council have so far included one at NE Derbyshire District Council, off Mill Lane, in Chesterfield, between 1pm to 4pm, on March 23, and one at Eckington Business Centre, on March 21.
Other drop-in sessions due to take place include: Stonebroom Community Centre, 4pm to 7pm, March 24; St Barnabas Centre, Clay Cross, 3pm to 6pm, March 25; North Wingfield Community Resource Centre, 4pm to 7pm, March 26; Dronfield Peel Centre, 10am to 1pm, March 28; Eckington Business Centre, 4pm to 7pm, April 13; Killamarsh Parish Suite, 4pm to 7pm, April 14; NE Derbyshire District Council, Mill Lane, Chesterfield, Meeting Room 1, 4pm to 7pm, April 15; Dronfield Civic Hall, The Civic Centre, 4pm to 7pm, April 16; St Barnabas Centre, Danesmoor, Clay Cross, 10am to 1pm, on April 18.