Plans for more than 300 homes in village
FORMER CLAY PIT NEEDS REMEDIATION WORK
PLANS paving the way for more than 300 homes in a Derbyshire village have been submitted.
Housebuilder Taylor Wimpey has applied for permission to remediate the former clay pit site off Church Street, in Church Gresley.
South Derbyshire District Council granted permission for 306 homes to be built on the former industrial site through a series of planning applications over the past six years.
Now, Taylor Wimpey wants to remediate the site, between St George’s Primary School and Gresley Woods.
The application also seeks to create a new site access off Rockcliffe Close, with temporary construction access through a narrow lane to the west of the site, which leads on to Church Street, past homes and a small industrial estate.
It also includes the construction of the roads and flood mitigation and drainage works around the 30-acre site.
The parts of the scheme submitted in this application are being submitted in one separate block, outside of the already approved scheme, in a bid to speed up the development.
The cost of remediating the site is the reason why the initial developers, St Modwen Developments and Beepart Ltd, said they could not afford to build any affordable housing.
However, they did agree to contribute £1.8 million for improvements and expansion plans at the primary school and at Pingle School, along with half a million pounds for a new community facility at Gresley Football Club.
Part of the site will also be set aside for the primary school expansion.
It was also agreed that £80,000 would be paid out for the building and maintenance of ponds to gather flood water.
The developer agreed to give half a million pounds to the district council to build 12 affordable homes elsewhere, instead of the 46 initially promised on the site. The district council will make a decision on the application in the next few months.
A report submitted by Taylor Wimpey says vehicles will not be permitted to park on Rockcliffe Close or any other residential roads or grass verges near the site at any time. The main route into the site would be Rockcliffe Close but early access for large vehicles would be through the small lane leading to Church Street.
The developer says it will take an estimated 40 weeks to prepare and reprofile the site – level it out and make it fit for development – if there are good weather conditions. Taylor Wimpey also says remediating the site could take between six and nine months.
It says construction would take place from 7.30am until 6pm on weekdays and from 7.30am until 1pm on Saturdays, with no work on Sundays or bank holidays.
The firm says: “Taylor Wimpey sees this as a site to deliver a positive and high quality scheme which will contribute to the needs for housing in the district, and aim to bring it forward for delivery in a single development phase at the earliest opportunity.
“Given the site has had challenges to its delivery in the past, and where Taylor Wimpey are looking to bring forward its delivery at the earliest opportunity, they are looking to bring forward this early package of enabling works on the site and have submitted this separate planning application for full planning permission specifically for those works, to speed up the delivery of the residential development.”
Taylor Wimpey submitted a separate reserved matters application in May which seeks to tie up the details of the overall 306-home scheme, including the designs of the proposed homes.
The district council has yet to make a decision on the application, but it is listed as being up for consideration by the planning committee, instead of being dealt with by officers.
The detailed application says that 60 homes would be two-bed, 162 homes would be three-bed and 84 homes would be four-bed.
Taylor Wimpey sees this as a site to deliver a positive and high quality scheme.
Application