A Nottinghamshire firm's plans for hundreds of new houses around a Derbyshire town are set for approval after seven years in the waiting.
The scheme, submitted by Omnivale Limited in 2015, could see 500 homes built north of Heanor.
Amber Valley Borough Council is set to decide on the plans on Monday, July 25, with planning officers recommending approval – as long as the developer agrees to £3.4m in payments for schools, health services and to build 128 affordable homes.
The amount of affordable housing on offer is less than the 30% required by the council – 25.6% – with the developer set to build 22 fewer affordable homes than it ought to for a development of this size.
Council planning officers say the reduction in affordable housing is because the developer claims it cannot afford to build them.
As a result, an agreement has been made to build fewer affordable homes, 78 of which would be affordable rent (80 per cent of the local market price) and 50 would be shared ownership (buyers purchase a portion of the home).
However, it would be set to pay £706,000 to Loscoe Primary School, £1.1m to Heanor Gate Science College, £950,300 to Derbyshire Wildlife Trust to manage the Loscoe Fields Community Wildlife Area and Bailey Brook Marsh Local Wildlife Site, £272,000 for improvements at Charles Hill playing fields and the play area at Berle Avenue and £190,000 to the Derby and Derbyshire Integrated Care Board for potential GP service upgrades or expansions at Kelvingrove, The Park and Brooklyn.
The developer is also being asked to fund potential improvements to the junction at Lower Damsbrook along with “reasonable legal costs” for the council’s handling of all the above costs.
Planning permission would be refused by the council if agreements on the above funds are not signed by the developer in six months.
Officers say the scheme is not exact on potential house figures, instead loosely submitting plans – without a layout – for 30 homes per hectare, which could total 498 homes.
The site would be split into two halves, with the Bailey Brook wildlife site and other woodlands, ponds and wetlands in the centre of the potential scheme to be retained.
This area would total 86 acres and be “upgraded” to a community wildlife park.
The “Loscoe Fields” half could contain 210 homes with access from Taylor Lane and the “Newlands” half could contain 290 homes with access from Johnson Drive and Greenacre Avenue.
Former councillor Paul Jones, who submitted a letter in response to the plans in 2015, said he would expect the developer to provide “at the very least 30% social housing”.
He wrote: “If this proposal is based on local demand, then there is significant demand supported by the area’s social landlords for low cost two-bedroom properties.”
Cllr Jones, wrote that the scheme would be a “commuter development” which would provide “no beneficial economic benefit for the town and only add to the congestion on nearby roads”.
He said the proposed junctions for the new estate are “very poor” and worsen existing traffic woes, stressing a “major concern” on the issue.
Councillors Alan Longdon, Heather Longdon and Celia Cox commented in 2015 that they also had concerns about traffic issues which could be worsened by the development, along with the impact on schools, health services and shops.
A total of 42 objection letters have been submitted by residents opposing the plans, who commented: “Langley Mill has come a long way since Asda and other shops have come into the area. It has brought welcome trade to a town that was dying. But all these new homes, especially 500 will not add anything to the area.”
“All green areas do not need to be filled with houses. The local community is strong and vibrant but adding lots of extra people to and area without proper consideration of amenities and thoroughfare will lead to major traffic flow problems and it would lose the sense of community.”
“Surely there are brownfield sites available without encroaching on our natural habitat. There are lots of developments in the locality.”
“The Bailey Brook floods after heavy rain and flooding in the area will only increase if the development goes ahead.”
“The development would mean the tragic loss of a large area of open green space that is used regularly by walkers and dog walkers. The impact to local wildlife will be irreversible.”
Council planning officers say that the site used to be an open-cast mine and has since been partially restored. They say the development of brownfield land should be given “significant weight” when considering the application.
The Coal Authority says the site has been identified as a “development high risk area”, with recommendations for no development to take place over specific areas of former surface mining activity.
“Intrusive” site investigations must take place before work can start, it says.
Council officers, recommending approval, wrote: “In principle the development is considered acceptable having regard to the urban fringe context of the site and the low landscape sensitivity.
“The site is well-located to Heanor and Langley Mill for access to community facilities and services and is readily accessible to the other towns in the borough and to other larger urban areas beyond the borough, including by public transport links.
“The supporting technical documents confirm that there are no significant technical or environmental constraints to development that cannot be mitigated.
“The scheme provides significant community benefits, largely in the form of an enhanced and managed 35 hectare community wildlife area that delivers substantial biodiversity enhancements and secures increased and enhanced public access and pedestrian/cycle linkages between Heanor, Loscoe and Aldercar.
“The scheme provides for social, environmental and economic gains and when viewed as a whole represents a sustainable form of development.”
