Residents say they are ‘desperate’ for more community facilities in their village after approval was given to expand it by nearly 100 homes.
Bestwood Village has been expanding in recent years, and 101 homes have already been built in the area following the site’s allocation for housing under a council plan.
Now, a further 93 properties are set to be built on land east of Westhouse Farm in Moor Road by developer Langridge Homes after Gedling Borough Council approved the plans in March.
Hawthorne Primary and Nursery School sit to the west of the site, where access to the future development would come from Moor Road and pass through the existing new-build estate by the school.
Concerns have been raised that, while the village itself is continuing to grow, community infrastructure, such as a pub, doctors’ surgery, dentist and shops are lacking. It currently has only one convenience store.
Mick David, 73, and Gaynor David, 70, who live nearby to where the new homes will be built, moved there about three and a half years ago after living in France for 20 years.
Speaking to the local democracy reporting service (LDRS), Mr David said the village was ‘desperate’ for infrastructure.
He said: “It’s criminal. You’ve got to wait for weeks to see a GP or a nurse.”
Speaking about the increasing number of homes being built in the village, he said: “Normally in those expanses of homes you have to have a shop, a doctors’ surgery, a pharmacy, a health centre.
“Yes, they’ve built a new school, but with the new houses that won’t be big enough.”
Mrs David added: “We lived in very rural France. Our village had around 2,500 people and we had four bakeries, three butchers, a doctors’ surgery that would stay open until 7pm on a Saturday night.”
Others are concerned for the area’s growing traffic, where Moor Road acts as the village’s main access point.
A 79-year-old woman, who has lived in Bestwood Village for 34 years, said she was worried she will get “cut off again” if any emergencies happen in the future, such as existing flooding problems.
She said: “We’ve only got one road in and out of the village. If something happens one side, everything closes.
“There’s the school now, and now we’re going to have nearly 100 more homes and that’s probably 200 more cars so there could be more accidents – we’re going to get cut off again.
“We’re elderly. If you need a ambulance and it floods again [near Moor Bridge Tram Stop] nobody could get in and out.”
The woman, who said large vehicles already used Moor Road, often travelling down from the Papplewick direction, added: “How can you have a town with one road?”
John Taylor, 79, who has lived in the village for 30 years, said he was “ready to leave” with the changes happening around him.
He said: “I used to have my grandson come, he used to watch the birds settle on the field [behind my garden] – we get none of that now.”
Mr Taylor can now see existing new-build homes from his garden, adding: “We’ve lost a lot – I’m ready to leave. I’ve lost all that view. My parents lived here and I bought the house and I thought it was a smashing village.
“I think it’s a shame because it’s been a village for years and years… first thing in the morning it takes me five minutes to get out of my road.”
One resident, who asked not to be named and has lived nearby for 25 years, gave the LDRS a different view, saying they “welcomed change”.
They said: “I think the village needs to grow. I think people are stuck in their ways – but the amenities need to catch up.
“We’re around five miles out of Nottingham – so you want to live in an old coal mining community still?
“The new houses are gorgeous and the neighbours moving in there are professional. I think it brings in different people, different perspectives, different cultures and it makes it more vibrant.”
Langridge Homes has pledged a significant amount of money for local community improvements in what’s known as a Section 106 contribution.
In total, £777,850 will go toward education provision, £3,278 to be used by Nottinghamshire County Council as a contribution towards enhancing library provision at Arnold Library, a primary healthcare contribution of £50,394.37 and £41,400 for bus stop improvements.
There will also be an open space contribution – in the absence of a play area – of £261,607.20, and a maintenance contribution of £119,320.
In addition, a contribution of £31,400 is sought to maintain an identified local play area.
Of the properties, 28 are planned to be made affordable, including 20 for social rent and eight shared ownership properties.
David Fletcher, managing director at Langridge Homes, said: “We’re happy the planning has finally gone through.
“As a regional developer we’d like to see the Section 106 money go to the local area, but that’s out of our remit.”
