By Anna Whittaker, Local Democracy Reporter
A developer has resubmitted plans to convert part of Chilwell College into apartments and homes after a council failed to make a decision on the application in time.
High Road Developments Ltd has applied to Broxtowe Borough Council to turn part of the abandoned building in High Road, Chilwell, into one, two and three-bed apartments and new build homes.
The director of the company, Arran Bailey, plans for part of the existing site to be turned into 65 apartments, a separate building with 15 apartments, six semi-detached houses and one bungalow.
The plans were first submitted in 2021, and now they have been resubmitted with the hope of being approved by Broxtowe Borough Council.
The application is “almost identical” to old the 2021 plans, but the applicant appealed “due to the council’s failure to determine this within an
appropriate timescale”.
Now, the application is with the planning inspector, who has requested the council’s stance on the application in order to speed up the process.
Council officers are recommending that the application is approved.
But residents in the area have objected and a petition with 204 signatures was put forward citing dozens of concerns including noise and disturbance, loss of daylight and parking.
It comes after ALB Group – also run by Arran Bailey – recently won an appeal to transform another part of the college site into a 162-bedroom student block. Broxtowe Borough Council will have to pay costs to the developer following this process.
As part of the new plans, 80 car parking spaces and 138 cycle spaces will also be provided.
Council documents stated: “The benefits of the proposal would mean this brownfield site, which is currently vacant, would be brought back into use for the purposes of residential accommodation which is outside of the Green Belt and in an existing urban area.
“The site is in a sustainable location with close access to public transport and to facilities such as retail, leisure, health and education, reducing reliance on private vehicles.
“There would be some impact on neighbour amenity but this is outweighed by the benefits of the scheme.”
A Broxtowe Borough Council spokesperson said: “The planning inspectorate are involved as this speeds up the appeal process for the application, if for any reason the application is refused by the Committee next week.
“It means that work has already been progressed within the planning appeal process rather than having to wait to start this process next Thursday. No costs are currently due to be paid if the decision is soon determined.”
The new plans will be considered by Broxtowe Borough Council at the planning meeting on November 2.
