Linden Homes is the latest property developer to submit a full planning application to Rushcliffe Borough Council (RBC) to build a major new housing estate in Ruddington – even though the site in question has yet to be removed from our Green Belt.
The plans have been prepared by Landmark Planning and propose 56 dwellings on ‘Land South of Flawforth Lane’ – the site formerly used by landscape contracting business Ecoplants. The five existing buildings there would be demolished. This land is one of the Green Belt development areas earmarked in Rushcliffe Borough Council’s Local Plan Part 2 and was formerly known as RUD05 – but now identified as Policy 6.2. The application is for 6 more houses than RBC’s latest quota of 50 new homes for this 2.66 Hectare plot – but actually 16 more than was originally proposed for RUD05.
Some may also think this Linden Homes submission is premature, since the Government’s Planning Inspectorate is still deciding on the ‘soundness’ of RBC’s Plan following its public hearings in December. Nevertheless it is one of now FOUR sites which could imminently be removed from Ruddington’s Green Belt to build an eye-watering total of 525 homes on large swathes of agricultural land surrounding our village. Until Asher Lane was controversially approved last year (shown in red below) that number was 350 houses on three sites (shown in blue), however RBC is now also consulting on modifications to the Plan to ‘officially’ boost Ruddington’s total allocation from 350 to 525.
The detailed site map >>HERE<< shows a single new access will be created from Flawforth Lane and that there will be landscaping to give public open spaces, footpaths and the required drainage infrastructure. The plot straddles a substantial, roadside property called ‘Meadow Croft’ but with most of the new housing set to the rear of this existing building along the main estate road and side spur curving around behind it. The back gardens of Flawforth Avenue properties sit on its western boundary whilst the southern boundary is mainly with Policy 6.3 (formerly RUD13) which is the subject of a planning application by William Davis Homes for another 180 houses. Whilst a footpath is proposed between these two new developments, vehicular access is not.
On the Linden Homes application, 39 of the 56 houses on this site are proposed to be ‘market housing’ with mainly 4 or more bedrooms. The other 17 are classed as ‘social, affordable or intermediate rent’. None are proposed to be ‘starter homes’ or ‘affordable home ownership’. You can view ALL the documents associated with this planning application >>HERE<<.
The ‘Design and Access Statement’ prepared by Pegasus Group says: “The consultation consisted of a combination of leaflets to approximately 110 properties, pre-application discussion with Rushcliffe Borough Council, a meeting with the Parish Council, letters to the closest neighbours inviting comments or discussion, and meeting / discussion with neighbours in two instances. Following the pre application submission, Rushcliffe Borough Council responded on 25th September 2018 with their points and suggestions. A meeting was held with the Parish Council on 25th March 2019.”
The resulting leaflet (below) included a concept plan of the site, as well as various images of previous Linden Homes developments. It then invited interested parties to submit their thoughts to Landmark Planning via either email or post. These were hand delivered to nearby properties at the end of March and gave recipients until 12th April 2019 to make comments on the proposals, by either post or email.
The Pegasus statement reveals: “During the 16-day response period between leaflet distribution and close of comments, only 3 comments were received, equating to 2.7% response rate. Their concerns related to highway safety on Flawforth Lane and overcrowding of dwellings within the site. Meetings held with neighbours and the Parish Council contained no major issues. Discussions focused on positive solutions to the issues raised.”
However, some neighbouring residents claim they were not properly consulted. Louise Mote, who lives at Meadow Croft, says: “I am deeply upset at the way this plan has been developed completely ignoring my home which is a lone property in the middle of the development area. I, nor my family have been consulted and the style of proposed dwelling intended to overlook our house, are not in keeping with the surrounding properties or appropriate.” She is also worried about the impact on traffic flow: “Flawforth Lane is currently a dangerous and fast road, where weight restrictions are flouted daily, in full knowledge of the road traffic and planning authorities. At peak periods traffic is backed up one mile. Additional residential developments – including future developments further along Flawforth Lane will serve only to exacerbate this.”
After RUDDINGTON.info and Ruddington Parish Council expressed concerns that not enough had been done to publicise this important Green Belt planning application to the village as a whole, Rushcliffe Borough Council agreed to extend its original June 7th closing date for accepting public comments by 18 days. This is the same week that comments about Bloor Homes‘ Wilford Road Green belt development also need to be in.
Villagers who wish to comment on these these plans via RBC’s online portal can now do so >>HERE<< up until the new consultation deadline of Tuesday June 25th. Please make sure to use this extra time to have your say!
