Derby Telegraph

Have a say on where new homes should go

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DON’T leave housing decisions to the big developers to impose their ideas on local councillor­s and our communitie­s. You can make a difference!

Amber Valley Borough Council is asking people about its new, long overdue, Local Plan (not to be confused with Neighbourh­ood Plans), which will cover the period up to 2038. It asks where 6,395 new homes will need to be built. We can’t just say no.

The council has a legal obligation to the Government, the population is growing (slightly), more people are splitting up or living alone, and since this is a pleasant part of the country, quite a lot of newcomers want to live here. The deadline to have your say is September 30, so hurry!

There seems to be several options. One is concentrat­ing new homes near Derby, another combining this with some new build around Amber Valley’s towns (brownfield and not greenfield sites).

The borough council’s report also weighs up whether to put housing on the edge of some villages or put up a completely new village.

For Belper, the Lib Dems have supported the sensible ideas in the Neighbourh­ood Plan recently approved by public referendum.

I’m sure you agree these have to be the right houses.

We need starter homes, smaller bungalows for older people to downsize, social housing and apartments for rent, and environmen­tally friendly homes that are warmer and cheaper than existing ones.

The key thing is surely that this has to happen.

We also desperatel­y need joined-up thinking on transport and green infrastruc­ture, not worse congestion and greater reliance on private cars, with their high carbon footprint.

It’s time to plan for better public transport – support for late-night buses more than just the one daily direct Belper-Sheffield train, and where is council support for the Derwent Valley cycle way?

Lastly, where should employment land go? Surely, as we emerge from Covid, there are alternativ­es to yet more large industrial estates?

And then there’s the question of services and environmen­tally friendly transport to serve these homes. Too often, this has been poorly thought out, leading to congestion on A6 through Belper and dependence on more cars.

Finally, the council is asking how much employment land it should allocate, and where – but is it asking the right question about jobs in the future? Will they really be grouped in large industrial estates, which is all they seem to think about.

Time is running out. Go to www.

ambervalle­y.gov.uk/planning/ planning-policy/local-plan and have your say.

Ahmed Velic, Belper Lib Dems

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