Anger as precious green space is earmarked for 250 new homes
WORRIES ABOUT WILDLIFE AND INCREASED TRAFFIC
RESIDENTS of a Derbyshire town have expressed their worry and anger at plans to replace a treasured green space with 250 homes.
The land has been proposed for housing development as part of Amber Valley Borough Council’s plans that could see more than a dozen Derbyshire sites earmarked for hundreds of properties.
People living next to the proposed site in Aldreds Lane, Heanor, have said that the road is already dangerous and that more residents would mean it would be even busier.
There are also concerns about the loss of habitat for wildlife such as owls, badgers and foxes, as well as worries about asbestos, mine gas, and lead contamination from a nearby shallow mine.
Kayleigh Rivington, 33, who works in apprenticeship, lives a few doors down from where the new houses would be built. She said: “I’d prefer it not to go ahead. The road and the local area at the moment are already quite busy. It’s also one of last places to take dogs where you are not being bombarded by cars and lorries.”
Glenice Hunt, 65, who used to assemble circuit boards, and her husband Anthony, 75, an ex-coal miner at Moorgreen pit in Nottinghamshire, live in Oaklands Avenue opposite the site. Glenice said: “It’s terrible. It’d only make the road loads worse. It’s bad now.
“I complained to the council about it three years ago. They told me there was no risk of fatalities, but drivers are really bad. Too fast. It couldn’t cope with 250 more. The doctors are already really bad, you can’t get an appointment.”
Linda Monk, 64, a retired civil servant, has lived in the area for 21 years. She said: “I’m objecting to loss of green space which we’ve all enjoyed here for last 20 years. I applied to extend my garden last year, but I was told that it would be rejected because it would absorb open public space, that there would be no benefit for me.
“Now they are proposing to get rid of the only public footpath in the area that is home to foxes, badgers, owls, woodpeckers and bats. They would all lose their habitat.
“I’m also concerned that the area would be contaminated. “There’s a piece of land on other side of brook where there’s shallow mine workings. This would risk asbestos, mine gas, and lead contamination. It’s so unsuitable for housing. We
need spaces like this for our mental health.
“You have elderly people who the only other people they ever see is another dog walker. I’m not opposed to building houses but they’re building houses on every scrap of green land that they can get their hands on. It’s not fair. We’ll never get that land back.”
A spokesperson for Amber Valley Borough Council, whose planning board will decide the future of the land, said: “All representations received in response to the application will be fully considered before any conclusion is reached on whether the matter will be delegated or via a planning board decision.
“No planning application has been submitted for the land at Aldreds Lane. However, the site is being considered as a potential site for housing as part of the council’s emerging local plan. Further consultation is planned, which will enable local residents to raise any concerns they may hold before any decisions are made.”