Plans for 100 homes submitted for land between the M1 and Sandiacre

The proposed homes in Larch Drive, Sandiacre. Image from BHB Architects.

By Eddie Bisknell – Local Democracy Reporting Service

Plans for 100 homes on land between the M1 and a Derbyshire town have emerged – just months after a housing blueprint including the plot was scrapped.

Peveril Homes has filed plans for 100 houses off Larch Drive, Sandiacre, between the town and the M1, including a footpath across the Green Belt fields which leads to a motorway footbridge.

The developer has argued that the Green Belt plot, protected from inappropriate development to prevent urban sprawl, should actually be redesignated as “Grey Belt”.

Grey Belt is a new category of land introduced under the national planning review adopted by central Government, which addresses Green Belt plots which are perceived to be of low use or value in terms of protecting villages, towns and protected landscapes from urban sprawl.

Peveril’s move comes two months after Erewash Borough Council scrapped its own long-term housing blueprint, which had included an earmarked site for 180 homes on the same Larch Drive plot.

That decision in mid-January had followed advice from a Government inspector who had felt the document was “unsound”.

Councillors had dubbed the 7,000-home masterplan “deeply flawed” and “unfixable”.

The Labour administration had added the Larch Drive site into its Core Strategy following the request of the same Government inspector who said the authority had a 1,800-home shortfall in its planned housing sites.

That shortall had followed a sharp increase in its annual housing targets, assigned by the Labour Government, from 376 to 523 homes per year.

Documents submitted by Peveril Homes show 45 of the 100 homes would be classed as affordable housing, alongside a total of 200 car parking spaces and 100 bicycle spots.

They detail: “At the time of submission of this outline planning application, the site is located within the designated Green Belt and, as such, does not constitute a form of appropriate development. 

“However, in accordance with the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF), the accompanying lanning statement includes a Green Belt/Grey Belt assessment, which demonstrates that the site is classified as Grey Belt land and that development would comply with the criteria set out.

“Sandiacre offers a broad and well-balanced range of facilities, making it well placed to accommodate future growth. 

“The site is highly sustainable, with schools, convenience store, and sports facilities all within walking distance. 

“In addition, development of the site will create opportunities to further enhance local amenities by delivering accessible, high-quality natural and recreational open space, offering both formal and informal opportunities for the community.

“Importantly, the council have found that the application site is suitable for allocation and capable of development. 

“This is unlikely to change with the new local plan anticipated to propose the allocation of those previously identified sites, plus a number of further sites in order to provide sufficient housing allocations with the borough during the plan period.”

To date, the council has not announced a timeline for the new plan or issued any reports or statements on which sites would be included – or re-included.

The applicant says the site’s contribution to protecting urban sprawl is “moderate or weak”, its efforts to prevent settlements merging is “weak” and contribution to the protection of historic parts of a town are “weak or none” – so overall it should be classed as Grey Belt.

Cllr Wayne Major, county and borough councillor for the area, said: “Residents will undoubtedly feel frustrated to see this application submitted, especially given that only a few months ago a planning inspector indicated that the local plan containing it was unsound. 

“The site lies within Green Belt land, presents extremely challenging access issues, and would be subject to significant noise from the nearby M1 motorway. 

“I would encourage residents to take part in the consultation process and make their views heard.”