Green light for new ‘village’ of 800 homes
BUT LOCALS FEAR STRAIN ON GP SURGERIES AND MORE TRAFFIC
A HUGE project to build a new Nottinghamshire village of more than 800 homes has been approved.
Outline planning permission has been passed for the Top Wighay Farm neighbourhood near Lindby.
It means the £205m project can go ahead “in principle”, subject to more detailed plans being drawn up. They are expected to include a primary school, among other amenities and facilities, at the site off the A611.
Chris Sinclair, 75, a retired mental health social worker from Hucknall, said: “I think the housing is a bad idea only because where are they all going to go for GPS? Because I can’t tell you how bad it is in Hucknall to access GP services.
“Everybody I talk to from different surgeries they just say the same – especially now when you have got to go through triage. I just do not know where the infrastructure is going to come from to support that many families really.
“Anything that improves access to GPS has got to be good. At the moment they are overwhelmed.”
Ms Sinclair said: “We still only have the two secondary schools and a massive influx of families at the other end of Hucknall. There’s two estates in Hucknall.
“They all struggle to get secondary places. If you are going to build massive housing estates you have got to ensure you have got adequate GP (provision).
“I am sure I did read the National Academy at the top was completely oversubscribed.”
Barbara Williamson, 61, a clinical typist at the Kings Mill Hospital, of Linby, said: “There’s just more and more (housing). It’s a bit overwhelming. You do struggle for dentists and doctors, to see a doctor is a bit of a nightmare and dentists as well.
“It’s also not close to shops up there. You have a decent walk to get into Hucknall. They need some shops up there, something that sells a bit of everything.”
Work to create two new junctions for access to the site is due to finish this spring.
Mrs Williamson said she’d noticed more traffic because of the ongoing work, adding there’s “going to be a lot more once there are people moving in”.
The local centre planned for the site is expected to include convenience stores, a pub/restaurant, day nursery and offices.
Before the plans were given the goahead, people of Linby said they were worried that a large volume of traffic resulting from the development could lead to more accidents.
A 59-year-old housewife from Hucknall, who asked not to be named, said: “It’s the infrastructure more than anything. As long as you get the doctors, dentists and schools to support it then fair enough.
“I just hope it does not impact Linby and Papplewick too much and people who live in the village. They are the ones that are going to feel it more.”
A 62-year-old engineer from Hucknall was also wary about the development’s impact on Linby.
He said: It’s going to have a big impact on the weekends, I should imagine, walking round,” he said.
“The traffic I should imagine is going to get a lot worse.”
The application was submitted by Nottinghamshire County Council.
Adrian Smith, deputy chief executive for the county council, said: “This is a key milestone for this planned new village which is due to create 805 new homes, a new primary school, a local commercial centre, green spaces and new jobs.
“This planning permission now means we can progress with seeking a development partner.
“Infrastructure work to improve access to area is almost complete.
“This includes the expansion of the roundabout on the A611/annesley Road, a new signal-controlled junction as well as a new, three-metre-wide shared use footway/cycle lane along the northern side of the A611 north of Hucknall and to the west of Linby.”