Hundreds sign petitions against 280 acre Peak Resort scheme on Green Belt land in Derbyshire - as plans to be considered by the council

Peak Gateway Properties Ltd has already been granted outline planning permission for the development site at The Brushes, off Sheffield Road, at the former Birchall Golf Course and Brierley Wood and Roughpiece Woods, in Chesterfield, near to the A61 Dronfield bypass and Unstone Green.

However, the planning application is still subject to three important reserved matters to be considered by Chesterfield Borough Council’s planning committee, on March 11, concerning permitted uses for the many resort buildings, their re-arranged locations and the reconfiguring of access routes.

The proposed development has attracted a petition from Cheetham Avenue, at Unstone, with 38 signatures, and a petition via the change.org petition website with over 1,000 signatures but the council has claimed that only nine per cent of the change.org signatories are from Derbyshire’s Chesterfield borough, Dronfield, Unstone or Barlow.

Concerning the Cheetham Avenue petition, a Chesterfield Borough Council spokesperson stated: “The head petitioner states that residents were shocked by the number of proposed parking spaces for cars and buses and by the planned ring road around the site which would bring vehicles close to residents’ homes with a level of pollution and congestion that might be created being a concern.”

Many of the residents who have signed the petition are also worried about the scheme’s possible impact on wildlife and that the resort may take business away from Chesterfield and Dronfield. according to the council.

The change.org signatories have also raised concerns that the planned resort will attract too many vehicles, create pollution, harm wildlife and that its ‘park-and-ride’ scheme will take business away from Chesterfield.

Plans at the Peak Resort leisure venue, which is earmarked to be near the Peak District, include a single-domed structure containing a hotel with indoor and outdoor related leisure and educational facilities on a reconfigured golf course and lake together with 250 holiday lodges with access to the site from a new roundabout at the junction of the A61 slip road with Sheffield Road.

The scheme aims to feature: A Gateway Hotel; Travel Hub & PEAK Express Terminus; Horticulture Building; Ultimate Outdoors outlet; Skills Academy & Hostel; ‘Village Shop’ Artisan Market; Kit Club; Leisure Retail spaces; Food and Beverage Outlets; The ‘Seams’ Landscaped Public Realm; 1,587 car parking spaces, 160 EV charging points and 160 cycle spaces; Coach and EV taxi parking with 17 coach parking spaces, 12 EV taxi charging and waiting bays; A perimeter loop road; A solar dome PV canopy covering 875 car parking spaces, providing green energy; A solar field providing green energy to the Gateway buildings and EV charging points; Sustainable drainage with an activity lake; And a landscaped buffer to reduce any visual impact.

The planning application has attracted 57 submissions from 40 individuals who also raised other worries about the scheme including: The possible impact upon Chesterfield; The lack of local job creation; It’s visual impact; That any scheme should regenerate brownfield sites and not use greenfield sites; As well as environmental and flooding concerns.

But Derbyshire County Council’s Highways Authority, Yorkshire Water, and Chesterfield Cycle Campaign have raised no objections to the plans but CCC stated it was worried roads would become busy with too much traffic.

Derbyshire Wildlife Trust also stated it would like to see a buffer zone between the development and ancient woodland and urged an off-site habitat creation and enhancement but it too has raised no objections in principle.

The council stated it will require flood risk management for the site and according to the Environment Agency the risk has been addressed by the applicants.

And the Coal Authority has raised no further concerns on the basis that any shallow coal has been removed from the former opencast area.

Chesterfield Borough Council added that any visual impacts will not be significant for nearby residents.

And the Peak District National Park has welcomed the prospect of hotel accommodation but urged that a Peak Express travel service be provided and public transport and cycling should be encouraged.

Campaigners James and Chris Allsop, who oppose the scheme, have questioned the borough council’s apparent support and whether there would be any further environmental studies to monitor the development.

Chesterfield Borough Council Leader, Cllr Tricia Gilby told a Full Council meeting on February 28 the scheme will boost Chesterfield’s economy and profile and create a significant number of jobs and it will feature the use of solar panels to reduce its carbon footprint.

She said: “I have seen no evidence to date that air quality will be made worse by the proposals. Should it proceed the council will remain vigilant and should there be any impact the council will work with the developer and other stake holders such as the Environment Agency.”

The council has stated that it hopes the scheme will bring visitors to the region who will also visit Chesterfield and that any increase in traffic movements has been reduced after the original proposed parking capacity for the site had been 2,850 and this has been reduced to 1,587.

It added that ecological and environmental issues have been at the heart of the scheme from the start and the applicant has trialled both hydrogen powered and electric powered buses from the site.

A council spokesperson stated: “From day one the Peak Resort scheme aimed to create a year round tourism, leisure and education destination on the edge of the Peak District National Park, comprising holiday lodges, hotel with leisure or activity base facilities.”

In addition to the latest matters to be considered by the council on March 11, it will still have to consider landscaping, ground modelling, and secondly car parking, site investigations, further landscaping, surface water drainage, and sustainable energy solutions at a later stage before the scheme can finally be given the go-ahead.

Cllr Gilby also told the recent Full Council meeting: “Ultimately, it’s for the council’s planning committee to come to an independent and objective decision based on the planning permission – based on the issues – weighing up material planning considerations relating to the planning application.”