Residents in Nottinghamshire village say they are worried about how big it will get as hundreds of homes are being planned there. Plans for a £58m development of 250 homes are set to be delivered by housebuilders Avant Homes after they have purchased 25-acres of land on Shilo Way in Awsworth.
The development will offer a mixture of two, three, four and five-bedroom properties across 15 house designs. Properties will range from a two-bedroom mid-terrace house to a five-bedroom detached property.
As well as this the homes will have a secondary access from Newtons Lane, Awsworth. Homeowners in the village shared their concerns over the lack of space in schools, traffic and facilities that can accommodate these new homes.
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Nicola Clarke, who has lived in the area, said she is most concerned about losing the ‘village vibe’ in the area. The 51-year-old said: ”We haven’t really got any facilities, no doctors, you have to travel to Ilkeston or other places. All in all it's a nice place to live, Newton Lane, it’s beautiful. I’m not looking forward to it."
Nicola added: “I don’t think the school will cope. If the homes have two children surely they need to build a school. I just think if they build all the houses they need to build something with it. I don’t want it to be a town. I like the village vibe.”
20 percent of the 250 homes will be designated as affordable housing. Subject to planning approval, construction will begin in November with the first homes set to go up for sale in early 2023.
John Hardy, 67, retired, told Nottinghamshire Live that despite the concern for facilities he understands homes are needed. Mr Hardy, who has lived in the area for 40 years, said: “I know the houses have got to go up - got to have so many houses and meet the targets - if it happens it happens. If they decide so be it. If you have more houses you get more shops. The school, I don’t know if they can cope with it. The bus service is a bit poor but if people don’t use it it's going to." He added: “It’s a nice area, we are happy enough.”
Another resident, Lesley Smith, has lived in Awsworth for 27 years. She says there’s many concerns in the area such as traffic on Newton Lane.
The 52-year-old said: “This was a main road, it was really really busy. When they had the bypass they closed it off. [Traffic] is a big concern. Where’s all the children going? Is there going to be another school or is the other one going to be made bigger?
Lesley added: “These 250 new houses - what kind of people are going to move in? This road here is a nice area. Another thing is will they have an affect on the prices of our houses, will it make it go down and devalue. The buses aren’t very good. The village is lovely, I’ve been here for quite a few years. Basically it’s a lovely village."
Councillor Michael Smith, Vice Chair of Awsworth Parish Council, said the plans have “long been anticipated”.
He added: “We now know that Avant Homes are the single preferred developer. The layout of the site is not a surprise to me.
“There’s no easy way to integrate 250 new homes with the existing village, in particular the housing estate which is on the edge of the site. It is difficult and we have our own issues with access.
“At the moment we don’t have a set response date to the plans but we will be looking to reply as a parish council. Broxtowe Borough Council are the planning authority and they will make the decision but we will make our comments in due course.”
Broxtowe Borough Council will make a decision on the plans at a future planning committee.
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