Villagers fear homes plan will double its original size
RESIDENTS in a village near Ashbourne fear it is being “overwhelmed” with new housing developments, which they say would double its original size.
Kirk Langley has been subject to a recent influx in housing schemes and now Peveril Homes is building a 63-home scheme opposite the primary school and has plans for a further 46 properties.
Next week Amber Valley Borough Council is set to approve plans for 35 homes directly next to the primary school.
This totals 144 new properties in a village which at the last census had a population of 659 across 291 households.
Residents have gathered in force to oppose the 35-home plans, submitted by Clarendon Land and Development Ltd for land off Moor Lane, with 85 submitting objection letters to the council, along with the parish council.
Borough council officers have recommended that the 35-home plans, which include a drop-off area and playing field extension for the neighbouring Kirk Langley Primary School, are approved.
Councillors will make a decision at a meeting on Monday, April 26.
Here are some of the statements made in the objection letters submitted by residents:
“Kirk Langley already has a large housing development in progress. It’s a small village and does not need any more housing.”
“It’s important to recognise that people need somewhere to live but this village, is a village.”
“Kirk Langley is a small village and everyone who lives here wishes it to remain that way. We did not opt to live in the middle of a housing estate. If all these proposed developments go ahead, it will more than double the size of the village.”
“Existing road is very narrow especially when children’s parents park on the lane which is dangerous for the school children due to lack of visibility for both directions of traffic.”
“The impact on Moor Lane is concerning. The school dropoff which has been proposed may not help because it hasn’t been properly assessed. It may be too small. Parents might not use it. It might cause further congestion and danger to pedestrians.”
Brenda Whittaker, chair of Kirk Langley Parish Council’s Neighbourhood Plan Steering Committee, said: “Because Amber Valley does not have a Local Development Plan, small local communities are at the mercy of large-scale inappropriate development such as this.
“How can it be right that the village is more than doubled in size, when there is so little investment in local resources?
“Kirk Langley is set to become part of the urban sprawl of Derby City. This is not what people want. We are losing our history needlessly and with it, our community.
“This will be yet another soulless, car-dependent development, where you have to drive everywhere for day-today items because there are no shops.
“Residents without access to a car will find life here very difficult and risk being isolated.”
Kirk Langley Parish Council itself has objected to the proposed 35home development, claiming that it is not sustainable.
It wrote: “A major objec- tion to the proposed scheme is that it adds a significant number of additional homes to a village which has little by way of facilities and is lacking infrastructure.
“This development will add to the significant and accelerated housing development in Kirk Langley Village.
The council’s heritage consultant has written that the proposal would be “harmful” to the Kirk Langley Conservation Area due the impact on what is currently a rural setting. If approved, the developer would give £62,153 for improvements to the GB Barrington Playing
Fields.
A report submitted by Marrons Planning, on behalf of
Clarendon Land and Development, says: “Kirk Langley is a sustainable location for growth. The settlement has a range of facilities and services to provide for day-to-day needs. It is also in close proximity of a number of other facilities and services in Derby which can be reached by public transport. This is a significant benefit that should be considered favourably in the planning balance.
“The boost of homes and investment in the local economy is also believed to carry additional weight whilst we are grappling with a national housing crisis, only expected to be exacerbate due to the recent Covid-19 pandemic, and given the impacts the pandemic is having on the economy and the consequent need to maximise economic activity in order to aid recovery levels.
“The council are yet to advance their new Local Plan (blueprint for future housing developments) which will result in the adopted Local Plan policies continuing to apply across the borough.
“Therefore, the council must seek to approve sustainable development schemes in the short term to meet the local housing needs within the area.
Borough council officers, recommending approval, wrote: “There are no adverse impacts of this proposed development which would mean that the balance would not be in favour of granting the development.
“The proposal represents a sustainable form of development and there are no technical objections to the proposal from statutory consultees.”
Kirk Langley is a small village and does not need any more housing
Letter from resident