Derbyshire residents’ fears over planned new 4,000 homes on their doorstep

Wyaston, two miles south of Ashbourne in the Derbyshire Dales countryside, is home to a few dozen houses and – combined with Edlaston – has a population of 241 people as of the 2021 Census, up by just 21 since 2011.

It is the closest settlement to what could become a new village of up to 4,000 houses on the former RAF base Darley Moor Airfield, through plans from Derbyshire Dales District Council.

The proposal, which is now out to public consultation alongside other future housing aims until 2042, is for the standalone village to take the pressure off other existing settlements by gathering more homes in one location, to be supported with new services.

This would include a secondary school, primary school, health facilities, shops, services, and transport links.

A report from the district council says the former airfield, home to Darley Moor racetrack for 60 years, along with the aircraft hangar and the Chequered Flag Cafe, could see 1,050 new homes built on it by 2042.

The overall plot has already been listed for sale in separate parts by Savills and Bagshaws, with sections of the site which support the racetrack – the hangar, farm, cafe and flying centre – now having been sold after being touted for up to £2 million.

Wyaston resident Nigel Powlson said a better spot for a new village would be closer to job links and the major road network at the A50, further south towards Doveridge and Sudbury.

He said this would avoid placing even more pressure on Ashbourne’s road network, with the town having been in need of a bypass for decades due to heavy traffic funnelling through its streets.

Mr Powlson, who works for Burton Albion Football Club, said: “I know they need to find places for more houses but to plonk so many houses into one space is going to cause big problems for Ashbourne and the wider area.

“It is also removing a community facility – cafe, airfield and racecourse – just to build houses and have to build replacement community facilities. It is building houses by destroying community facilities. Once it is gone, it is gone.

“It is the loss of an important community asset which provides jobs in the area and provides quite a big chunk of the local economy.

“All the traffic from these houses will go onto the A515 into Ashbourne, which has already needed a bypass. Ashbourne is frequently clogged up. It is completely and utterly ill-thought-out.

“It is piling problems on a town that already can’t cope. Ashbourne is the dumping ground for all the houses in the district.”

A Wyaston resident of 27 years said the plan was “unfair” and worried about the impact on wildlife, alongside noise and disruption from construction.

She said: “It is madness. When they build the school we will have children screaming 26 weeks of the year, much more than the five or so bike events they have now.

“We already need a traffic light to get out of Wyaston onto the A515 and it will become even busier and all the roads around it will be a bottleneck if there is another incident, which often happens.”

A resident who has lived in the village since 2010 said when his car broke down he had to rely on lifts from friends, family and neighbours to get shopping and access services due to the lack of a bus route.

He said: “I think it is an absolute travesty. There is no need for it. There is no infrastructure to support it. There used to be a school bus but then there weren’t enough children in the village for that to continue.

“If they want to build then they are going to build, but at least it is not on a greenfield site.”

Steph Nichols, who was formerly the parish clerk, has lived in Wyaston for more than 30 years.

She said: “It is a shame for the wildlife. It is an old brownfield site but it has been used as a motorbike track for 60 years. It is a community asset. The police use it to stage crash exercises and we have farm machinery sales there.

“There will be traffic from 4,000 homes heading onto the A515 and we already have a traffic incident every couple of weeks near here.

“The site is at the top of the hill and keeps in a lot of water. Where will it all go?

“I feel very sad about it. I am not against people building houses but I am sure there are better places. There is no infrastructure here. It is ridiculous.”

A district council spokesperson said: “Consultation on the updated Derbyshire Dales Local Plan is open, running for six weeks from 3 August 2026 to 14 September 2026.

“We are keen for members of the public to have their say, and their comments will be considered by the Government’s Planning Inspector.

“To submit comments, please read the Guidance notes on the district council’s website, then complete the consultation questions here: ‘Regulation 19’ statutory consultation. Responses must follow the format stipulated by the Government, otherwise its Planning Inspector cannot consider them.”

The council said the new village plan must have at least 1,500 houses, providing 1,050 by 2042, and have space for expansion for a further 2,500 homes.

Papers had detailed that a plan to see 70 per cent of new homes required in the district could be allocated to this new settlement, to be built by 2040, but this was reduced to 15 per cent.

Consultants had told the council a new settlement would need to contain 4,000-5,000 homes to support a new secondary school, and 5,000-10,000 to enable “self containment”.

The council itself is due to be abolished in March 2028 through Local Government Reorganisation, around the same time that it aims to adopt the proposed Local Plan.