By Anna Whittaker, Local Democracy Reporter
Residents say plans to build 151 homes on green space in Balderton will take a “wrecking ball” to land full of wildlife.
Darren Riley, who grew up in Balderton and regularly visits the area with his children, told the Local Democracy Reporting Service that the plans were “heartbreaking” and claimed they would “annihilate” the area’s nature.
He said he has seen foxes, rabbits and tawny owls in the area.
Mr Riley was also part of the town’s Library Garden protest which in February 2022 saw the council U-turn on a decision to create a car park in a green space off London Road.
He said: “When I found out about these plans I took it really personally and felt really upset because this is our last old lane of Balderton.
“Once that’s gone, that’s it.
“It’s folklore in my family because my granddad and my dad spent a lot of time down there.
“While the rest of Balderton has changed this has always stayed the same, it has been a time warp.
“When we were kids we spent time down there building dens and swings in the trees. It was like a classroom for nature. It means a lot to people in Balderton.”
He said the new homes would be a “wrecking ball” going straight through the area.
He added: “These houses would go right into the heart of the space. They can greenwash it but you can’t engineer nature.
“With 150 homes you can guarantee two cars per house which is 300 homes. But developers don’t do sentiment, it doesn’t cut any ice with them to be honest.
“If we had not fought for the library that would be under tarmac by now.”
Des Kay, an environmental professional who manages the wildlife site bordering the proposed development, added: “You’ll hear from David Attenborough that isolated pockets of nature don’t function; they die.
“We have this wonderful green space connecting people with nature and yet our council wants to destroy it. It’s beyond belief.”
Matt Lamb, Director for Planning and Growth at Newark and Sherwood District Council, said: “This land was allocated for housing in our 2013 Allocations and Development Management Development Plan Document (DPD) to meet the housing needs of our local community and as set out by central government.
“No planning permission has been granted yet for this site and appropriate ecology reports and surveys must be submitted as part of the planning application process.”
A spokesperson from Arkwood Developments said: “This land has been allocated for housing for a number of years and as a local housebuilder, we have put an application in to build new homes on this site.
“As with any development, ecological surveys would be completed as part of the planning process and anyone wishing to make a comment on this proposal can do so formally through the planning portal.”
