By Lauren Monaghan, Junior Local Democracy Reporter
A small housing development in Ruddington has been approved by the planning inspectorate after developers submitted an appeal over application delays.
Plans were submitted by Churchill Retirement Living to Rushcliffe Borough Council in August last year for the building of three large, detached homes on land at the rear of Manor Lodge, a retirement home in the village.
The applicant also runs the retirement home but submitted an appeal to the Planning Inspectorate in January this year after no decision on the three homes was given by the council.
A decision by the Planning Inspectorate last week (September 5) saw approval being given for the retirement company to build on the land, bypassing the local authority.
The site is within the Ruddington Conservation Area, characterised as a historic settlement that expanded during the Industrial Revolution, including St Peter’s Church, Manor Park and the village centre.
Appeal documents said that the appeal “was against the Council’s failure to determine the application within the statutory period”.
One document described how the council, if given the chance, would have rejected the plans on the basis of impact to the areas character and appearance.
Concerns regarding the sizing and visibility of the homes from Vicarage Lane and Church Street, loss of open space and the removal of trees were noted by the council.
The appeal decision offered reassurance that the houses would not form part of the street-scene from the roads, with decent separation of the development with landscaping and mature trees.
The Planning Inspectorate document said: “I have found that the open views provide a limited contribution to the Ruddington Conservation Area and that the [houses] are of high-quality.
“The most significant trees would be retained and remain to be experienced, I do not consider that the loss of a more open view that currently exists would equate to harm.”
Ruddington Councillor Jen Walker (Lab) said: “I think what people were concerned about was access, the added traffic on a road that’s not adopted [by the council] and wear and tear, and questions around the trees that were cut down to make space for this before it was properly put into the public realm.
“I would always ask developers to engage with the residents in a more proactive manor, it felt that they haven’t done that- that things were done in a way that wasn’t completely open about developments.”
The new development includes one six-bed and two five-bed homes with detached garages, along with car parking and landscaping.
