The residents of a Nottingham village fear it is expanding 'too much' as hundreds of homes are planned. Broxtowe Borough Council granted permission on February 1 for 169 homes to be built on greenfield land off Coventry Lane, Bramcote, to the north west of Bramcote Crematorium.
On the other side of Coventry Lane plans were submitted in December last year to construct 473 homes on land previously used as a playing field for Bramcote School. Some villagers thought the total amount of new homes could overwhelm the area.
Graham Smith, 63, who is retired who lives in Bramcote, said: "This is too much, it is a lovely place at the moment because on one side you have the city and then you have countryside on the other side.
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"It is too much too fast, and it will spoil the lovely open space we have now. It will create a lot more traffic and the drainage is another issue - it already is like a river sometimes down here when it rains heavily but all the concrete won't help."
Andrew Hook, 39, a University of Nottingham lecturer who lives in Bramcote, said: "A lot of people use this area for walking dogs and losing access to this space would not be easy to replace.
"I am always concerned with this sort of thing about the extra infrastructure that is needed if these extra houses are put down. It is a reasonable space for the houses but I do have concerns about that.
"I would like to see some shops and I would be worried about whether the roads would cope. When these estates are developed we'll also lose the green space, so it will obviously change the look and feel of the place too."
Others had more positive views on the plans for the area, but still reasoned further facilities would be needed. Pam Wishart, 69, who regularly visits the former Bramcote school playing fields to walk her dog, added: "It is a shame but people need housing - when I first moved here there weren't the houses that are here now.
"They do need some more shops and utilities though, because I don't think there is enough currently. The fact I walk my dog here shouldn't stop houses being built for people."
The approved 169-home plan, valued at £30m, has been in the works for around 10 years. After the plan was granted permission, Simon Gardiner, managing director of Peter James Homes, said: “We are absolutely delighted to see this development finally reaching the stage where we can turn our 10-year plan into reality.
"As a local company, we’ve worked tirelessly alongside the council to deliver a development plan that is totally sympathetic to the surrounding fields and woodland environment, as well as one that provides a really attractive solution to the area’s housing shortage.
The former school playing field was previously allocated for 500 homes but the number was reduced after the Plymouth Brethren Christian Church land was excluded. In a planning document, Savills on behalf of applicant Avant Homes And The White Hills Park Trust, said: "The scheme will deliver a range of house types and sizes, varying from two-bedroom to five-bedroom dwellings in a combination of market housing and on-site affordable housing. The housing heights, density, form and vernacular is considered to be appropriate to the location and complements the existing character of the area."
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