A local authority has launched a formal objection over Gedling Borough Council‘s plans to allocate space for more than 1,600 homes on the border with Hucknall.
Ashfield District Council said the housing plans, on its border with Gedling, would be “difficult to integrate” into Hucknall without new services and infrastructure.
The proposal is part of the Greater Nottingham Strategic Plan, a major new housing document setting out sites for new homes across Nottingham, Gedling, Broxtowe and Rushcliffe through to 2038.
Councils in the four areas are drawing up the plan together to meet a joint housing target of 49,990 homes by the end of this period.
Part of Gedling Borough Council’s contributions to the documents include plans for housing at the Top Wighay Farm site, near Linby.
The development, which sits above the northern edge of Hucknall, already has planning permission for 805 homes.
However, the Labour-run borough council has included plans to extend the Top Wighay site by a further 640 homes, taking the total allocation to 1,445.
Another 203 homes are allocated off Papplewick Lane, in Linby, taking the total number of homes on Hucknall’s border up to 1,648.
A consultation on these documents concluded this week and Ashfield District Council submitted a last-minute objection to the plans.
New documents published by the council said: “The allocation of sites
results in substantial development in and around Hucknall, which will have a disproportionate impact.
“This will result in a further substantial expansion of Hucknall and, given that the Top Wighay Farm site does not adjoin the urban area of Arnold and Carlton, will not assist in the regeneration of these areas.
“There is a lack of information and, therefore, understanding of the potential implications in relation to transport and other infrastructure from the proposed extension to Top Wighay Farm.
“Ashfield District Council considers the proposed additional requirement at Top Wighay Farm goes beyond a complementary role for Hucknall in relation to Nottingham.
“It’s very difficult to integrate that level of development into the wider community of Hucknall, and the extension north means it is increasingly isolated from the services and infrastructure in Hucknall.”
A delegated decision to submit the consultation was taken by the authority on Monday (February 13) – a day before the consultation closed.
The new houses were discussed during a November meeting of the authority’s local plan development panel.
During this meeting, Councillor Keir Morrison (Lab), who represents Hucknall South, spoke out against the plans and said: “The system is broken and it’s as simple as that.
“The bottom line, specifically talking about Hucknall, is that we need more GPs across the town and we need more dentists, along with other associated infrastructure.”
Responding to the concerns, a Gedling Borough Council spokesperson said: “The Government has set a housing target for at least 7,950 homes to be built in Gedling Borough by 2038.
“Much of the housing has already been allocated on sites across Gedling Borough where developments are well under way.
“[This includes] land north of Papplewick Lane, as well as at Top Wighay Farm, where planning permission has been granted for 805 homes.
“The document ensures that housing is concentrated in the most sustainable locations across the borough.
“Consultation on the preferred approach document took place between January 3 and February 14.
“The responses will now be reviewed and inform a full draft of the Greater Nottingham Strategic Plan which is scheduled to be published later this year when there will be a further opportunity to comment.”
It sounds as if Ashfield District Council have been a bit slow and not paying attention. The article described a strategic plan over 4 council areas and the consultation has evidently been going on for some time but the objection was only lodged at the last minute. If there is a strategic plan, and the article does not mention any detail beyond the number of houses, would it not include infrastructure? Developers usually have to pay for this when they submit their plans. What is never mentioned is improving public transport links to the new estates. Decent bus services are the eco-friendly way to go.