Protesters fear proposed massive Derbyshire housing scheme will result in loss of greenfield land

Waystone Ltd has submitted a planning application to Bolsover District Council for a 24 hectare, mixed development of employment land with approximately 1,800 residential dwellings called Clowne Garden Village with community and commercial facilities.

Campaigner Gregory Lindley, of Clowne Community Association and Local History Society, said: “This development is set to be built out over the next 25-30 years and beyond – a nightmare picking away day-by-day, of the loss of fields, hedgerows, traffic congestion and pollution digger trucks and upheaval, kids that can’t get into school or doctors and a traffic system that already can’t cope made increasingly worse.”

Many residents from Clowne and nearby Barlborough villages have raised concerns about the plans to develop on land north of Clowne which includes part of the village centre off Hickinwood Lane. Worries include the possible impact on highways, drainage, flooding, and services such as schools and healthcare, and the loss of countryside and the impact on wildlife.

Mr Lindley claims the council made an ‘exceptional case’ of originally taking agricultural land out of Green Belt at Clowne and earmarking it for ‘industry’ which has paved the way for housing developers after plans for 660 homes at the former Coalite site, near Buttermilk Lane, Bolsover, had to be scrapped.

The former contaminated Coalite coking plant was reportedly remediated but housing plans were scrapped to allow the HS2 high-speed railway to cut through the area, however there are still plans for warehouse and business developments at this site including a new Peak Pharmacy HQ.

In the meantime, the council is considering Waystone Ltd’s planning application for the Clowne Garden Village which alongside 1,800 dwellings, includes a possible retirement village, a neighbourhood centre, a hotel, a restaurant, health and care provision and support for educational and recreational use with a green infrastructure.

Mr Lindley added: “It discredits the planning system – people here in the Clowne community are appalled that this sort of thing can be being done in their name.

“And we have a consensus in local politics here now because of this – never known before – where people of all political parties are actually sitting down together and talking the same language in plain English together with the local community members. The common language is one of absolute opposition to this development proposal.”

Both Waystone and the council are consulting with residents in Clowne and Barlborough as well as with organisations including National England, the Coal Authority, the Environment Agency, Highways England, Yorkshire Water, Derbyshire County Council.

During initial proposals Waystone acknowledged some opposition but highlighted that a good number were supportive and positive about the plans welcoming economic growth, jobs and facilities.

Two community events were recently organised to consider the plans while the application is still out for public re-consultation.

A further public meeting has been announced at the Bolsover District Council offices at The Arc, in Clowne, on June 20.

Those wishing to find out more can visit Bolsover District Council’s website quoting Planning Application 17/00640/OUT, and can submit comments by emailing or writing to Bolsover District Council quoting the same application reference.

Bolsover District Council’s planning committee had originally resolved to approve the application in June, 2018, subject to conditions and it being temporarily referred to the Secretary of State, but following delays reports needed to be updated and the application has once again come under consideration.

A council spokesman said: “Applications of this scale and nature take several years to determine and progress. Simply due to the complexity of the legal agreement and planning conditions, discussions since 2018 have taken this amount of time.

“There was also a significant delay due to the pandemic and the latter need for the application documents to be updated.”

Bolsover District Council has been asked for further comment concerning the existing nature of the proposed site but it is yet to respond.

Other possible housing plans across Bolsover include the next phase of the 950-home Bolsover North development at Marlpit Lane, the proposed Whitwell Tip development of 400 homes and six hectares of employment land.