Neighbours have said a housing boom in their village risks turning it into a town. Residents of Calverton have shared their concerns over the expanding village, with some claiming that it does not have the infrastructure for the hundreds of homes being built.
Work is already underway on two developments off Flatts Lane and Park Road, which will hold 84 and 350 homes respectively. Gedling Borough Council has previously stated it will require developers to make a contribution towards infrastructure, which includes education and health services, and that 20 per cent of housing is 'affordable'.
But villagers living near to the new developments have now shared their concerns, with one resident stating that Calverton was becoming "too big". Gerry Wilson, 80, who is retired and moved to the village in 1960, said: "I think it should be referred to as a town now. It's growing and now it's too big, a lot of people are of the same opinion.
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"We're getting the houses but not a lot of what you would expect to come with it, we need a proper supermarket and all that stuff if we're getting more houses. It has lost a lot of the feeling that it had, there's lots disappearing."
Michelle Hadland, 34, who lives on Park Road across from the new housing estates, said: "It has made the area very noisy and messy. My partner has had to wash his car so often and I woke up to find the house shaking like a mini earthquake before when they were using machinery.
"I understand the need for housing. But I would say it is more about profit than about the people that need housing. It's good houses are being built but are they affordable. This was all a beautiful field, and before the building it had poppies and trees. I doubt Calverton will be a village for much longer."
Further development have also been built in the village in recent years. Work to build a 57-home development adjacent to Dark Lane began last July.
Justine Savigny, 49, a community carer who lives straight across from the junction to the new Park Road estate, said: "It is becoming more of a town, in my 16 years here I have seen a lot of change. It definitely needs more schools and shops here if we're having all these houses. I can't get into our doctors already. It's absolutely ridiculous, it is all going straight up with little thought it seems.
"It was a beautiful walk when it was all fields, I used to walk my dogs on there. The entrance is across from my house and it is going to be a nightmare, it has been very inconvenient."
Mrs Freeman, who has lived on Park Road for over 60 years, added: "We bought this house because we could see out into the fields and my children when they were young played on there. There's not enough infrastructure going with it, we will need another nursery or medical places. There's a lot of houses going up and it is more of a town than a village now.
"It is disappointing that the fields are gone and have dust flying about. But we have got to build houses, it is progress I suppose."
Mike Hope, the independent representative of the Calverton ward on Gedling Borough Council, recently raised his worries about the impact of the new properties on local services. He also questioned whether the current development's benefited the community around them.
In response to these concerns, a spokesperson for Gedling Borough Council said: “Government has set a target for councils to find appropriate sites to build new homes, and our Local Plan allocates sites for housing development in Arnold and Carlton, as well as in rural areas such as Calverton.
"When we grant planning permission for new development, developers are required to contribute to infrastructure such as transport, drainage and flood protection, public transport, housing, education, open spaces and health facilities.
"Our Local Plan also requires new housing developments to include a proportion of affordable housing. For Calverton there is a requirement for 20 per cent affordable housing, the details of which are agreed through the planning application process.”
