The director of the company that runs Nottingham City Airport said there are "a lot of hoops to get through, and that's if anything will be built" when asked about plans for 4,000 new homes off the A52. He also says he is "not confident" the airport will remain.
An outline planning application has already been submitted to Rushcliffe Borough Council for 2,250 homes and a primary school on land to the north of the village of Tollerton, land that forms part of the council's strategic housing allocation. Those plans, submitted by Taylor Wimpey and Barwood Land, also include a new local centre, retail shop and children's play areas.
People have previously spoken out over the potential loss of green space. The land, which is situated to the east of Gamston and north of Tollerton, was allocated in Rushcliffe Borough Council's Local Plan for 4,000 houses, employment space, new schools and other community facilities. Now developers have since tabled a plan for the first phase of the vast Gamston Fields neighbourhood, located off Tollerton Lane and the A52.
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While not part of the initial plans where developers to build the 2,250 homes, the outline planning application clarifies that the wider allocation site for possible development in the future includes the Nottingham City Airport, farmland and a few commercial buildings. According to one of the co-directors of Truman Aviation, which runs Nottingham City Airport, they are in talks with Rushcliffe Borough Council about the future of the airport, and it has not yet been decided. But he says he is "not confident" the airport will remain in use.
Brian Wells said: "I'm not confident at all if we will remain, everything is up in the air at the moment. We'd be disappointed but it's been enjoyable while we've been here. The whole airport is in the plan from Rushcliffe Borough Council, and we have been corroborating with them more than before.
"If we stand out, it could cause a lot of embarrassment as planning permission would be granted on sites people do not want to promote. It's a very long winded planning application, and I think it could take four or five years before anything is built. There are a lot of hoops to get through, and that's if anything will be built."
A number of Tollerton residents have said they are against the plans for a number of reasons. These include the size of the development, and concerns that there will not be enough infrastructure to support the level of housing proposed.
Ian Kershaw, who owns Tollerton Hall, said: "There needs to be infrastructure to correspond the houses that would be built, and that gets worse as we get more crammed together. We're Britain, not North Korea.
"If there are new houses, there needs to be more roads, supermarkets, filling stations, the things that people use every day needs to grow at the same pace. If everything is already at capacity, then what's the point of building more homes?"
Jill Bowbanks, 76, who lives on Chestnut Mews, said: "I'm happy with the development areas and that homes need to be built, but 4,000 homes is too much. There has to be development, but for me there is a risk the village could become overpopulated.
"I wouldn't mind seeing say one or two fields go, but once they're gone, they're gone. I'm not sure there would be adequate provision for that many homes."
George Walker, 39, who lives on Chestnut Mews, said: "I want to see how all the plans fit together. We've not really heard too much about it of late, and we want clarity on what is going to happen."
However, one resident thinks the development is a sign of the times. Alan Woodcock, 93, who lives on Tollerton Lane, said: "I think the plans look acceptable. New estates are going up all over and it's the change of the world we're living in now, you just have to live with it."
Central government has outlined that Rushcliffe is to have the most new homes built anywhere in the East Midlands between now and 2028, according to the council. Tollerton Parish Council has drawn up what it calls the Tollerton Neighbourhood Plan which went out to local residents at the beginning of May this year for consultation.
It outlines a strategy in which the parish council wants to see a 'green buffer' between the village and the strategic housing allocation of Rushcliffe Borough Council. Residents and business owners have been invited to have their say, with the consultation running until the end of June.
The document states that "the function of the airport will be lost as part of the Gamston Fields settlement", but that the council wants "ways to creatively incorporate this identity into the proposed masterplan". Matt Garrard, chair of Tollerton Parish Council, said: "Most people living in Tollerton don't want to see another 4,000 homes in the parish and would suggest that they would be better located in a regenerated city centre or linked to the developments along the A453. As a parish council we cannot change this through a neighbourhood plan as it is set by Rushcliffe Borough Council in their local plan."
Peter Foale, chair of the Neighbourhood Plan Group, said: "The draft neighbourhood plan has been developed through consultation to guide how the village will develop and adapt in the future without compromising its underlying rural character. Transforming the airport and agricultural fields into a new community could have a significant impact on Tollerton and several of the key policies within the Neighbourhood Plan are designed to reduce this as well as protect the green space between the existing village and new settlement."
A spokesperson for Rushcliffe Borough Council said: "We understand residents' views on the proposed site and have consulted on initial plans since 2012 that saw a widescale opportunity to comment. This was subsequently investigated and supported by an independent inspector taking into account views on the nature and scale of the development.
"The council is keen to highlight that all stakeholders will continue to be consulted on the wider development of the site including the draft of the masterplan that will outline the shape of this development, including how its size can be integrated into the surrounding area with suitable landscaping and other environmental measures."
The proposals for the first phase also include a new roundabout from the A52 Lings Bar Road onto Tollerton Lane and Ambleside, additional new highways infrastructure and retail provision through a new neighbourhood centre. Areas of public open space and parks are also proposed. Thousands of jobs are expected to be created as part of the wider project.
A decision is yet to be made on the outline planning application. If approved by the borough council, it would mean the developers would have to lodge a detailed, reserved matters planning application. Such plans focus on the appearance of a development and it's relevant access arrangements.
The vast development would add to the vast new Fairham neighbourhood near Clifton where eventually 3,000 homes are expected to be built, and the hundreds of homes which have gone up west of the Wheatcroft Island in Edwalton.
