Plan for 135 new homes in north Derbyshire town raises concerns about increased strain on health and education services

An application for permission to build on a greenfield site near Burns Drive and Southfield Drive in Dronfield has been submitted to North East Derbyshire District Council.

The developer behind the plan, W. Redmile & Sons, wants to build a mixture of apartments, semi detached and detached houses.

Councillor William Jones is among the objectors to the proposal and has called in the application for debate by the planning committee. His concerns include the impact on health facilities and educational and nursery provision, the risk of surface flood water in an area which is prone to flooding and the loss of agricultural land.

His worries have been echoed in several letters to the council from Dronfield residents.

Victoria Baxter wrote: “There already isn't enough GP practices, schools and dentists are oversubscribed with very few places becoming available. How are they going to cope with an additional 135 households? Also consider the massive development taking place in Unstone now, these households are already adding to the local infrastructure, how on earth are the amenities coping with the addition of those households let alone adding more!

"Increasing the housing will increase traffic congestion, noise pollution, and serious strain on the existing infrastructure, negatively impacting the quality of life for residents in the area.”

A public consultation on the development proposal was held in June 2023 when a letter drop to 734 residents in the Hallowes Estate and ward and town councillors resulted in 175 replies. Among the respondents, there were 144 who objected to the proposal with the main concern being the strain on local services followed by the impact on highways and access.

The site was identified for housing in 2017 under Dronfield’s Local Plan.