Final plans for homes on contaminated Derbyshire site submitted

The scheme, from Paul Newman New Homes, would see 90 houses built on land off the B600, opposite Amber Valley Rugby Club, in Somercotes.

Plans for 99 homes on the site were rejected by Amber Valley Borough Council in September 2019 and then a duplicate application was also rejected in September 2020, before being approved at appeal by a Government inspector in October 2020.

This reserved matters application – securing the final details of the scheme – was submitted one month before permission on the site was due to lapse after three years of inaction. The plan seeks to reduce the number of homes from 99 to 90 houses.

Its first rejection was related to contamination and the second was for impact on listed buildings and the nearby conservation area.

A ground investigation report from consultants BSP, submitted by the developer with the 2020 application, said that soil on the site could contain a high concentration of metals and asbestos that would not be suitable for proposed gardens and landscaping around the development.

The firm also identified contamination from off-site sources, including migration of materials from landfills.

A further report commissioned by the applicants, carried out by Smith Grant LLP, says: “The investigations on the nearby sites suggest that there are contaminants migrating from the landfills.”

The site would have 228 parking spots and 180 cycle spaces and would include 27 homes classed as affordable housing – 16 of which would be two-bed properties and 11 would be three-bed.

Overall, the site would have 16 two-bed houses, 27 three-bed houses, 42 four-bed houses and five five-bed houses.

A document submitted by the applicants details: “It is clearly demonstrated that the implementation of this development will result in a substantial contribution to the wider environment and to the character of Somercotes.”

The document says the scheme represents “the logical infill of a brownfield site, being the obvious concluding phase of construction to the already constructed developments that bound the site.”

A decision will be made on the 90-home application by the borough council in the next few months.