Erewash village grey belt homes

Planned houses off Derby Road in Draycott

More than 300 homes are planned across two Derbyshire villages as developers seek to capitalise on ‘grey belt’ policies and the lack of a housing blueprint.

Two separate plans for 234 homes in Derby Road, Draycott, and 106 homes in Beech Lane, West Hallam, have been filed to Erewash Borough Council.

Both schemes make ample reference to new “grey belt” policies, brought in by the Labour Government, which seek to make use of protected Green Belt land perceived not to contribute to protecting the separation of towns, urban sprawl or historic settings.

Sheffield-based developers Homes by Honey are behind both new housing schemes, and each of their applications also references the continued absence of a blueprint outlining how the borough will cater for future housebuilding.

In January this year, the borough council withdrew its planned housing blueprint – its Core Strategy – after seven years of development, following strong advice from a Government planning inspector who said it would be deemed “unsound”.

The borough council under two different administrations had aired their dislike to their own housing blueprint, with both resorting to earmarking Green Belt land for new homes after all other options were deemed to have been exhausted.

Under the previous Conservative Government, the Labour borough authority had sought to withdraw the plan but was blocked by ministers, later being urged under the current Labour Government to scrap the plan and restart.

The borough is currently on the long road to spend £1.5 million replacing the former “deeply flawed” 7,000-home masterplan, but in the meantime it will continue without one, leaving it more vulnerable to speculative developments.

Developers have sought to quote Government housebuilding aims and new grey belt policies within this void without a plan in order to see their projects approved.

Both of the two plots were options the borough council had on the table under their now-scrapped Core Strategy, but for differing numbers of homes.

The borough had sought to earmark 190 homes for the Draycott site, 44 fewer homes than have been applied for, while the authority had been seeking to support 90 homes on the West Hallam plot, 16 less than has been requested by the developers – a net gain of 60 extra potential properties.

If approved, the West Hallam plot would involve homes being built opposite the village primary school and north of the cricket club.

Councillor Carol Hart, Conservative member representing West Hallam on the borough and county council, said the plans were “pretty horrendous”.

She said: “I know we are going to be called NIMBYs (not in my back yard) but they need to look at these sites on a case-by-case basis and not just build everywhere.

“When we had looked at the same site DCC said it was unsafe and had concerns about traffic. What has changed?

“The developer says it has good connectivity? What, a bus every two hours and none after 8pm? You couldn’t make it up.

“We are not against new houses in West Hallam, but they need to consider other sites.

“The access is off a lane, it isn’t even a road.

“I know people moan everywhere you want to put houses but we need to think about safety and that is the main concern here. People already drive on the pavement because it is not wide enough, it is awful.”

If approved, the Draycott homes would be built on the western side of the village, between Derby Road and the River Derwent, and would lead to the development of much of a caravan storage site and adjoining fields, with some to remain, surrounded by housing.

Draycott and Church Wilne Parish Council has already submitted an objection letter over the plans, citing “substantial and material planning harms”, including the loss of high quality countryside and agricultural land, loss of habitats, flood risk and drainage issues, and road safety concerns.

The parish authority details Derby Road past the site records 8,700 vehicle movements per day and has witnessed 10 recent collisions resulting in injuries and a fatality with three suspected fatal crashes in the past three years.

Councillor John Lawson, Reform UK representative at county level for Draycott, said: “I am very much opposed to this development, as are virtually all local Draycott and surrounding area residents.

“I have made my opposition clear to the local planning authority who will have the final say on this proposal.

“The current main access route for Draycott is the A6005, and many locals feel that this is already at or beyond its safe limit in terms of traffic volumes. 

“This has been tragically demonstrated recently with two fatal road traffic accidents in the village within the last two years alone. 

“As well as road safety, there are also serious concerns regarding flooding risks, pressure on local community services and the loss of green belt, particularly as much of the land in question is agricultural. 

“This is a classic example of the wrong kind of development in the wrong place.”

Both applications will be decided by the borough in due course but, in accordance with new legislation from October 31st, they will only be decided by councillors if the committee chairman and head of planning agree to it, in what is known as a “gateway test” due to them being for less than 500 homes.