By Jamie Waller, Local Democracy Reporter
Ashfield District Council says its proposed local development plan will enable it to “take a stand” against government targets and housing developers.
The district has been without a long-term housing plan for over a decade, which has led to some controversial schemes being allowed through.
Ashfield Independents, who control the council, say they’ve made changes after a backlash to where new homes were allocated in previous versions.
A cabinet meeting on Monday (November 6) praised the amended version, which will be sent to full council.
It will then go through a final round of public consultation before being submitted to the government for approval.
All councils which handle planning are required to adopt a local plan, so they can set out in detail where future housing developments will be built in their areas.
Council leader Councillor Jason Zadrozny said the local plan was needed to protect the district from Government housing targets, whichever party wins the next general election.
“In 2018, we took a political stand against the previous version of this plan, which caused significant harm,” he told the meeting.
“We’ve included every brownfield site available to us.
“Sadly, some green spaces do disappear, but we’ve tried to ensure this will do the least possible harm.
“This plan delivers 13 years of housing, an excess of job creation sites and an ambitious future for our young people.”
Deputy leader Councillor Tom Hollis agreed, saying: “When we took over the council, the draft local plan was controversial, ill-thought-out and a massive detriment to the area.
“It allowed developments like 300 homes on Ashland Road West, right next to Brierly Country Park. We lost that fight because of the local plan draft.
“I’m hoping this draft will protect green open spaces and create jobs.
“I’m pleased this council will take a stand against government and developers.”
Cllr Matthew Relf told the meeting his involvement with politics began with opposition to the previous local plan.
“It’s a shame that the public opinion perceives that politicians won’t change their minds, because we have listened and responded,” he said.
“We are aware that November and December are a busy period for people, so consultation will be open longer than usual.”
The document will now be sent to full council on Monday, November 27, after which a final round of public consultation will begin.
Previous opposition had focused on patches of greenbelt land at Whyburn Farm in Hucknall and Cauldwell Road, Sutton, which were earmarked for 3,000 and 1,000 homes respectively.
These were removed by the authority in 2022 after petitions with thousands of signatures and hundreds of negative comments.
