Thousands of homes proposed for countryside
A “concerned” Turnditch resident who did not wish to be identified said the news of the potential garden village was “shocking”.
They said the development would be “effectively a new town” and that Cowers Lane “has been battered by new houses”.
Another Turnditch resident feared the impact the scheme would have on the area’s infrastructure.
The borough council’s collection of submissions – called the Strategic Housing and Economic Land Availability Assessment – stresses: “The inclusion of any site in the SHELAA does not imply that planning permission for housing will be granted. Similarly, the SHELAA is not an allocation document and it should not be taken as implying that any sites assessed would be allocated in a development plan.”
If any of the sites are formally earmarked it would make it significantly easier for developers to gain planning permission.
Many of the sites which have been suggested will not be progressed on viability and sustainability grounds.
More than a half are in the green belt and almost all the rest are green field schemes - on former or current agricultural land.
At this stage the submissions are unvetted pitches to the council which in no way means they will be supported by the authority or see homes or business space built on the proposed land.
Cllr Ben Bellamy, deputy leader of the authority, said he could not rule the potential garden village in or out at this stage. He said: “A garden village in Amber Valley is not a new idea, and it is a really interesting one that I believe that Local Plan inspectors have recommended in the past. I can’t rule one in or out until we have seen what is proposed, it has been fully assessed, and any sites that are proposed will be subject to public consultation that I shall attend in person.”
Conservative opposition leader, Cllr Kevin Buttery, said: “I do not see how building on hundreds of acres of beautiful green fields is protecting the environment.”