An 'attractive' 196-home plan is set be approved in a Nottinghamshire area with a 'serious' housing need. The new homes would be built in Coxmoor Lodge Farm, Farm View Road, Kirkby in Ashfield, if Ashfield District Council's planning committee follows a recommendation to approve the project on June 14.
The scheme has been reduced from the initial 214 planned properties following negotiations during the planning process. The site has been occupied by a farm for many years, but could soon be transformed into nearly 200 houses, with 10 percent of these being classed as affordable.
Hundreds of letters were received by the council regarding the application, expressing fears that the development would increase pressure on education and health care services, as well as strain infrastructure. In response, Ashfield District Council's planning officers said the applicant would have to pay financial contributions to meet any local services shortfall.
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Planning officers also highlighted there would be a large area of open space and a balancing pond in the north of the site, which along with the retention of hedgerows would create a variety of habitats for wildlife. Council officers acknowledged there would be increased traffic as a result of the development, but explained highways assessments concluded the existing road network could cope when factoring in the expected improvements.
The district's "serious and immediate need" for more housing was also noted in planning documents, with this tilting the planning balance towards the project. In a planning committee report, which advised councillors to grant planning permission, a planning officer said: "The application site lies next to the main urban area of Kirkby in Ashfield and is able to benefit from the good public transport links, shops, schools and leisure and employment opportunities that lie close by. The site is considered to be in a sustainable location.
"The development would be an attractive residential area which would reflect the scale and density of existing, nearby housing. The impact on the surrounding highways network is also acceptable and any harm would be mitigated by improvements and financial contributions that will benefit the site."
Planning permission would be subject to significant financial contributions from developer Gleeson Regeneration Ltd. A sum of £428,000 would have to be paid to Ashfield District Council for improvements to public space elsewhere.
Nottinghamshire County Council, as the area's highways authority, requested a sum of £25,000 to be provided to upgrade the traffic lights at the junction of Low Moor Road and Alexandra Street, £19,000 to improve bus stop infrastructure, £50,000 to upgrade pedestrian crossing points along key routes.
A sum of £108,375 will be required by local medical centres and health care facilities and a contribution of £6,909 to increase the stock at the local library. The site's centrally located stone barn, which was originally proposed to be knocked down, will instead be transferred to Ashfield District Council's ownership and used as a community centre.
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