137 MORE PROPOSED FOR SITE ‘WHICH ALREADY HAS ENOUGH’
A VAST new neighbourhood off the A52 is set to be expanded further after proposals for another 137 new homes were put forward.
But with several developers having already built hundreds of properties on land off the A606 Melton Road, bordered by the A52, one local councillor said there was ‘enough’ housing in place.
Councillor Jonathan Wheeler, who represents West Bridgford South on Nottinghamshire County Council for the Conservatives, also said he would work to ensure necessary infrastructure was put in.
He said: “Personally I think that area’s had enough housing. The extra 137 aren’t needed or warranted because there’s enough there.
“If it is approved then all I will do as the county councillor is push to make sure that the infrastructure’s there.”
The new homes are planned near Sharphill Woods.
The plans, submitted to Rushcliffe Borough Council, clarify that the woodland, which is a designated Local Wildlife Site, will be “protected and buffered by additional woodland edge planting and appropriate fencing to safeguard its ecological value”.
Councillor Kevin Beardsall, who represents Edwalton for the Conservatives on the borough council, spoke of the importance of the woods for the local community.
He said: “Rushcliffe Borough Council have a duty to meet the allocation of houses that they need to build.
“That is going to take many, many years in my own view.
“However, any planning application has to be sensitive to over development and the impacts of over development.
“The woods were one of the key factors of people opposing the building of houses on these fields along Melton Road.
“Personally I would not have built there. The planning process was approved and so when that planning process is approved my next job is to make sure the impact on the woods is minimised and that the nature of the woods is maintained.
“On the other side of things, once the houses are all complete the new residents are able to enjoy that as a facility.”
A planning statement, included in the application, read: “It is considered that the site can accommodate residential development without causing significant harm to the wider settlement or local landscape context. “The proposed development would protect existing features which are of local value including Sharphill Wood and adjoining slopes.”
A spokesman for Vistry Group, which includes housebuilding brands Bovis Homes and Linden Homes, explained they were set to build around 1,000 homes in total at Edwalton Fields, having invested in land at the site for more than 20 years.
He said: “An application for 137 Linden Homes was submitted to Rushcliffe Borough Council last month.
“We have completed 130 homes so far, including 33 affordable properties.
“Towards the end of last year, we received planning consent for 158 homes – Bovis Homes’ third phase at the development.
“We are now working closely with Rushcliffe Borough Council on ‘zone 4’ of the development.
“We facilitated the land and infrastructure for the Rosecliffe Spencer Academy, which opened last summer, and have engaged continuously with representatives from the primary and secondary school, local residents and councillors.
“We also support the Friends of Sharphill Wood — who work to conserve the woodland by the development.”
If it is approved then I will push to make sure the infrastructure’s there.
Councillor Jonathan Wheeler