Campaigners have spoken of their relief after a plan to build hundreds of homes near to a tip was rejected. A plan to build 240 homes on land off Braemar Avenue, Eastwood was unanimously rejected by Broxtowe Borough Council over concerns that construction next to the old landfill site, known as ‘Matkin’s Tip’, would be unsafe.
Campaigners from the Common Residents Action Group celebrated the rejection of the project, the leader of Broxtowe Borough Council has announced he will call for a public inquiry into the history of the land at the former clay quarry
Speaking of the history of the site, Sarah Bainbridge, 36, a social media manager and member of Common Residents Action Group who lives near to the site, said: "We don't actually know what was put in there, we only have stories of the people who live locally to go off."
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She added: ""We aren't against development, locally there are five or six housing developments that none of us have ever objected to as there is a huge need for housing. What we are against is housing that is in the wrong place and that could pose a public health risk to residents, the families that would have moved in, and the workmen who would have worked there.
"We've had two years of local people being very distressed and worried about what this could mean if the land is disturbed. This is a parcel of land that should never be in the SLAA [Strategic Land Availability Assessment] or the Local Plan.
"We are obviously very proud of the community, there were more than 1,000 objection letters. We'll be supporting Councillor Radulovic's proposal for a full public inquiry into what went into the Matkin tip, with a view to this site never coming in front of the planning department again."
Milan Radulovic MBE, leader of Broxtowe Borough Council and ward councillor for Eastwood Hill Top, will call for a public inquiry into the tip at the Council meeting on December 14. He claimed the history of the site next to where the housing development had been proposed 'chequered' and 'scary'.
"There is a long chequered history of a contaminated site which was never regulated properly, never capped properly, and as a consequence of that has got a really scary history that alarms all local residents and representatives of all political parties. What I will call for at the Council [meeting] will be a full inquiry, writing to the Secretary of State, into the past and present of the tip and for it to be properly tested to see if it has had any detrimental impact on locals residents or will have any in the future.
"It's not just toxic metals, but also other things like asbestos - people are concerned that any potential building on that site will open the tip up and release gases onto the local residents.
"I've called for this before but it has been denied to us. It's only fair to ask for the Government to hold a proper inquiry and an examination of what has been tipped there and what remedial measures are required to make it safe for local people."
Developer Gleeson, which had hoped to build hundreds of homes next to the old tip site, said it was disappointed by the decision and argued it could safely deliver the plans. The housebuilder said it would assess its options to appeal the planning committee's ruling on the proposals, which had been recommended for approval by planning officers.
A Gleeson spokesperson said: "Gleeson is disappointed to see its proposals for 240 low-cost family homes rejected by the Planning Committee. These homes were earmarked for young first-time buyers with prices starting at levels affordable to a couple earning the Government’s National Living Wage.
"Gleeson has empathy for the concerns of local residents and would have no intentions of bringing forward proposals which posed a danger to new or existing residents. Extensive investigation work has been carried out to demonstrate that the site can be viably and safely delivered to the satisfaction of the Council’s Environmental Health Officer as well as the strenuous NHBC regulations on remediated brownfield sites and as such Gleeson will be assessing its options in respect of appealing the decision."
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