A scheme to build a new country park and homes on a former Nottinghamshire ski slope is progressing. More plans have been submitted for a 64-home development at the former Cossall Colliery spoil heap, between the village of Cossall and Ilkeston.
A hybrid planning application, which sought outline permission for 64 properties and full permission to create a country park, was granted conditional permission in 2021. The area last saw use in 1990 when part of the site became a dry ski slope, but this closed two years later.
A new application, which details the reserved matters of the housing such as appearance and layout, has now been sent to Broxtowe Borough Council. In an update, those behind the plans said little had changed, apart from all of the homes now being designed to have Grade-A energy efficiency ratings.
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The fully approved country park is likely to be finished next year, with work progressing steadily. Mike Cosby, project manager from Midlands Eco Homes, said: "This is just about the housing, as the park itself is well underway - we're planting 4,000 trees. It has been top soiled and we're aiming to complete the park by spring of next year.
"We're hoping to have started on the housing before the end of this year, but we are in the hands of the council there. It has been vacant for a long, long time, it should have been reclaimed in the 60s."
Broxtowe Borough Council's planning committee voted to approve the outline application in March 2021. The item was initially deferred to allow for more talks over section 106 contributions, the money developers pay for local infrastructure improvements.
The applicant said that, due to the provision of the country park, and "non-standard build costs associated with the sloping nature of the site", any contributions would make the project unviable. The authority had an independent surveyor review the applicant's viability assessment, who agreed with the developer.
Factoring in the benefits of the development, in terms of contributing to the council's housing numbers, and the provision of the country park for use by new residents and the wider community, the council said this would outweigh the harm of not receiving any section 106 money. The recent reserved planning application is pending consideration by Broxtowe Borough Council.
