Council leader urges creation of DH Lawrence country park to protect green belt

Eastwood-born author DH Lawrence
By Jamie Waller, Local Democracy Reporter
Broxtowe Council’s leader has said a country park is needed in the borough to protect against the ‘encroachment’ of housing developments.
Councillor Milan Radulovic (Lab) wants to see it named after the world-renowned author DH Lawrence, who was born in Eastwood.
The proposed country park would go between Eastwood and Brinsley, where the writer’s father worked at the colliery.
The council leader appealed for the park at a full meeting of Broxtowe Borough Council on Wednesday (October 9).
Bramcote Councillor David Watts (Lib Dem) had asked the leader how the authority would “protect the green belt from predatory development.”
He referenced developer Bloor Home Ltd’s recent expression of interest in building up to 700 homes on green space on either side of the A52 in Toton, although a full application hasn’t been submitted yet.
Councillor Radulovic said it felt like the green belt had become “a green noose” that was steadily tightening.
“If you look towards Derby, the city has been allowed to sprawl – that’s what we don’t want to happen,” he told the meeting.
“We don’t want to see the complete infill between the three cities [of Nottingham, Derby and Leicester].
“We will do all we can – especially in the north of the borough where we are most vulnerable – to stop green belt encroachment.
“We will be bringing forward a personal ambition of mine to create the DH Lawrence County Park between Eastwood and Brinsley.”
He said it would “protect the entirety of the DH Lawrence countryside to stop encroachment.”
Nature and creeping industrialisation are a strong theme in the author’s work, influenced by his childhood in Nottinghamshire.
The green belt was established more than 70 years ago to stop the spread of urbanisation across the UK and covers large parts of the Nottinghamshire countryside.
It is currently difficult to get planning applications approved in these areas without meeting strict criteria.
The new Labour government has made housebuilding a major priority and is proposing that “poor quality and ugly” areas of the green belt be made available for development.
This could include car parks and former petrol garages that have already been constructed around green belt land.
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