Traffic, school capacity and flood risk concerns amid plans to build 12,000 homes in North Derbyshire​​​​​​​

North East Derbyshire District Council (NEDDC) has approved a six-week public consultation on the controversial Local Plan proposing 12,000 homes to be built across the north of the county over 20 years.

The consultation on previously criticised plans was set to begin on Friday, September 25 – but has now been pushed forward to Wednesday, October 7.

This will be the final public consultation on the plans before the council submits it to the Planning Inspectorate for independent examination by the end of the year.

The properties would be distributed across a number of areas in North Derbyshire including among others; around 750 houses in Tupton, 830 in Clay Cross area, 600 in Stonebroom and 275 in Holmewood – with final numbers and proposed maps to be released in due course.

The plans have raised a number of concerns over additional pressure on local infrastructure including impact on traffic, school capacity and flood risk around Tupton area.

Councillor Ross Shipman, NEDDC member for Tupton, asked a number of questions about the plans during an Environment Scrutiny meeting last week – urging the council to be ‘realistic’ about the plans for Tupton.

Commenting on the Local Plan, he said: “The south of the district cannot become the dumping ground for the lion’s share of housing.

"If thousands more homes are built across the south, the additional traffic generated around Tupton will be significant.

"I also raised the impact on Tupton Hall School, which is the only secondary school serving the southern part of the district.

"There simply isn’t a realistic way of redesigning the existing road network through the village to accommodate thousands of additional houses without having a major impact on residents.”

Cllr Shipman further questioned the Head of Planning about the impact of additional development on the busy A61, which is already struggling – with East Midlands Combined County Authority looking to invest £3.5m over two years into supporting a feasibility study for a highways scheme to improve the A61 between Chesterfield and Clay Cross.

But said he was disappointed to hear the council hoped investing in cycling infrastructure and encouraging people to walk would solve the problem.

He said: “I’m all for better walking and cycling infrastructure – but we have to be realistic about the district we live in.

"North East Derbyshire is largely a rural commuter district.

"Many residents travel outside the district for work, often by car, and plenty of people have to juggle school runs, childcare and work commitments.

"We can’t simply apply city-centre thinking to a rural commuter district and assume everyone can hop on a bike instead.”

Further concerns were raised about about building homes in areas prone to flooding – including Coupe Lane in Old Tupton known for historic flooding issues.

Cllr Shipman said: “Council need to properly establish whether the land is suitable for development without creating additional problems for existing properties.

“We cannot rely solely on desktop assessments.

"We’ve already seen what can happen when surveys don’t properly reflect the reality on the ground, as residents around Clay Lane know only too well.

"We need proper investigation before development is approved, not after residents are left dealing with the consequences.”

The Derbyshire Times asked NEDDC a number of questions on the proposed Local Plan.

A NEDDC spokesperson said: “The draft Local Plan is due to be published for public consultation in the coming weeks and will be available for residents, businesses and stakeholders to review and comment on throughout the consultation period.

"The emerging Local Plan is being prepared to meet future housing and development needs across the district over the next 20 years.

"Previous public consultation material has identified a need for more than 12,000 homes across North East Derbyshire over the plan period, alongside employment land, infrastructure and environmental considerations.

“The final figures and proposed site allocations will be published when the draft Local Plan is formally released for consultation in the coming weeks, with the overall figure for the Plan period being around 12,000.

"Residents will then be able to view the council's draft Plan in full and submit their comments to the consultation.”

Answering questions regarding concerns on the area, the authority confirmed infrastructure was a ‘key consideration’ in the preparation of the Local Plan and promised to ensure North Derbyshire was prepared for the increased number of households.

The spokesperson said: “The council recognises residents' concerns around roads, schools, healthcare provision and other community facilities.

"The Local Plan development process requires the council to assess infrastructure needs alongside how those impacts could be mitigated through financial contributions secured when approving planning applications for proposed development.

"At the plan making stage, this includes working with relevant infrastructure providers and statutory consultees, including Derbyshire County Council, NHS organisations, education providers, highway authorities and utility companies to understand how existing capacity levels will be affected by proposed site allocations.

"Feedback received through the consultations already undertaken has helped inform the draft version of the Plan.

"The Council recognises concerns that have been raised about traffic, healthcare provision and the impact of development on the countryside.

"These are important issues that need to be balanced alongside the need for housing and the mitigation measures that can be secured through the Local Plan review process.

"Some of the evidence base work in this respect remains ongoing, but that is not unusual for this stage in the process.”

Commenting on flooding concerns, the council said details of all proposed development sites, including any sites in the Old Tupton area, would be published as part of the consultation documentation in the coming weeks.

The spokesperson added: “Where development sites are proposed, they are assessed against a range of planning considerations, including flood risk. Any allocation in the Local Plan must be supported by the relevant evidence base and must satisfy national planning policy requirements.

"In addition, any future planning application (recognising that there is a current application being considered on the Coupe Lane site, which is not designated as a site at a high risk of flooding, based on flood risk mapping) would be subject to its own detailed assessment, including site-specific flood risk considerations where required.

"The council would encourage residents to review the consultation documents and submit their views as part of the consultation process.”

This consultation, known as the Regulation 19 consultation, is the final opportunity for residents, businesses and other interested parties to submit formal comments before the examination process begins.

Responses will be submitted alongside the draft Plan to the Planning Inspectorate and will be considered by the Inspectors appointed to examine the Plan.

More information on this will follow when the consultation is launched.