News

Developer plans to build 45 homes in Gedling near site residents want to see protected

By Joe Locker, Local Democracy Reporter

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A developer is looking to build 45 new homes near to a site in Gedling that residents want to see protected.

The homes, if approved by Gedling Borough Council, will have an access at Strathmore Road, which sits to the east of Killisick Road off Howbeck Road.

The site is located next to a larger stretch of land off Killisick Lane, near Hobbucks Nature Reserve, which is owned by Gedling Borough Council and has been allocated for housing in its Local Plan.

The overall site is expected to deliver approximately 230 homes.

The Labour-run authority has been looking to sell its portion of the land following financial difficulties, and a consultation relaunched in August last year after residents spoke out to tell the authority they wanted it protecting.

A spokesman for the authority told the Local Democracy Reporting Service the land in the latest planning application is not council-owned land, and is private land that was sold separately.

The plans for the smaller parcel of land have been submitted by applicant Strata and Trustees of Norman Samuel Foster’s Estate.

Strata is a family-run housebuilder based in Doncaster, which has been delivering homes across Yorkshire and the East Midlands for the last 100 years.

“The majority of the proposed units are detached, some of which feature separate garages,” documents say.

“There are also a smaller number of semi-detached and terraced units, which are dispersed throughout the scheme to add interest and variety to the street-scene.”

The planning application has received a number of objections.

Of the 46 responses received, 42 respondents indicated they do not support the proposals. The remaining four respondents indicated that they were undecided.

Some of the concerns raised included putting “strain” on local infrastructure, roads being busier, a loss of green open space and disturbance to habitats and surface water flooding.

Planning documents say: “Whilst the development is relatively small-scale, it is recognised that there may be a requirement for the scheme to deliver financial contributions towards infrastructure related to travel and transport, education, healthcare provision to make the scheme acceptable in planning terms.

“Whilst the proposal would result in the loss of a parcel of agricultural and greenfield land, its use for residential development has already been established through its allocation in the Local Plan.

“The proposed development includes a large swathe of open and green space in the eastern section of the site and pedestrian-cycle links are proposed to facilitate future connectivity to the remainder of the allocation to the north and west.

“The ecological assessment work confirms that direct impacts on adjacent designated sites, including the Hobbucks Local Nature Reserve, are unlikely due to the existing low value habitats on site and the small footprint of the development.”