Residents have spoken about life in the expanding village that according to them has the potential to be the 'next West Bridgford'. There are currently around 1,000 homes planned for Radciffe-on-Trent, with the population of the 'pleasant' settlement set to rise to around 10,000.
Plans for 200 homes on land off Nottingham Road on the outskirts of Radcliffe-on-Trent were recently approved despite serious flooding concerns. This adds to the projects currently underway, such as the hundreds of homes set for land off Shelford Road where a primary school and health centre could be built, and another 280 homes at a 28-acre agricultural plot east of Hudson Way and north of the A52 Grantham Road.
Locals said that the area was a 'very pleasant' place to live but expressed some concern about the expansion of the village. One resident though said that the growth of the village had given it a lot of potential.
Read more: The expanding Nottinghamshire village 'in danger of becoming a town'
Brian Hodgkinson, 87, who retired to the village and has lived there for the last 17 years, said: "I think with all that's being built it could have the potential to be the next West Bridgford. But that would take a great deal of investment and West Bridgford is a bit closer to the city which must help with that.
"It is a very pleasant place to live, we moved here when we retired. And after 17 years we're still here so that's an endorsement of it.
"It's not the village itself expanding, it's more the houses being added to the outskirts. There's still that village feel, despite there being more houses and a fair amount to do, and services are still alright.
"The only problems I can see would be with traffic and everything that comes with more cars on the road. But we will have to wait and see."
Mike Shaw, 81, who has lived in Radcliffe-on-Trent for all his life, said that he would not swap it "for anywhere".
"I have lived here all of my life, 80 years I have been here now. And I would not swap it for anywhere.
"I suppose when you have lived here for a long time you don't notice the sudden changes being made. I remember when Shelford Road, where they are building now, was all just fields years ago when I was young.
"Of course you will have concerns about infrastructure, I remember when we started getting more traffic through the village, which I don't think will go back to how it was. I am biased but is a lovely place to live and we have a lot to be grateful for here. The Cliff Walk for example, is wonderful and during lockdowns I think everyone made use of that."
Some of the first people who have moved into the first phase of the £4.1m Shelford Road development in Radcliffe-on-Trent, have said that it "has everything you need". The estate is being built in partnership with housebuilders William Davis with 31 properties in the first phase to be followed by a further 35 in the second.
June Watts, 87, who is retired and only moved to Radcliffe-on-Trent in December, said: "I moved from Cromwell Bishop, where there is nothing compared to here, after five years of living there.
"It is lovely and has quite a lot about it for a small place. It is just what me and my husband wanted, everything is within walking distance and the buses here are much better - they come every ten minutes or so.
"I haven't heard from anyone overly concerned about what these new houses will mean for the village, to be honest I didn't even know so many were coming. From what I have seen though the local services are good here so hopefully they will cope alright."
A local councillor expressed doubts about whether Radcliffe-on-Trent could or should become like West Bridgford, but had confidence that the village would absorb the houses that would put it 'on the cusp' of being a town. Councillor Roger Upton, who represents the Radcliffe-on-Trent ward and is the chair of Rushcliffe Borough Council planning committee, said: "There are now five housing estates around the village in different stages of the planning progress, which will amount to around 1,000 houses - which was outlined in the Local Area Plan.
"I have lived here since 1975 and it remains a village still, with these houses taking the population to around 10,000 people. I would say that will make it on the cusp of being a town but then the houses allocated will all be done.
"I would not say it was comparable to West Bridgford at all, and quite rightly so. But it is an excellent community and I think it will be able to absorb the extra 1000 houses and still keep that atmosphere."
