It’s been revealed that key Rushcliffe Borough Councillors will decide at a meeting NEXT WEEK which sites in Ruddington will be removed from our Green Belt – in order to accommodate over FOUR HUNDRED new homes.
This follows years of deliberation and two public consultations by the council – in 2016 and earlier this year – when villagers were invited to identify preferred sites out of the 14 proposed for Green Belt development. These are shown as RUD1 to RUD14 on the map. The original aim was to accomodate at least another 250 houses dictated by The Local Plan Part 2 by 2028. However the latest council “Local Plan Part 2: Preferred Housing Sites” document states:
“It is considered that Ruddington has scope to sustain around 410 dwellings in total adjacent to the village, based on the capacity of local services and the availability of suitable sites for development.”
In terms of residents who specifically expressed a preference for the housing site options, RBC has revealed the following responses were received during the two consultations:
|
Site Name |
Yes in full |
Yes in part |
No |
|
RUD1 (land west of Wilford Road (south)) |
55 |
15 |
57 |
|
RUD2 (land west of Wilford Road (north)) |
18 |
23 |
85 |
|
RUD3 (land adjacent to St Peter’s Junior School) |
51 |
13 |
66 |
|
RUD4 (Easthorpe House and adjacent land) |
42 |
19 |
62 |
|
RUD5 (land south of Flawforth Lane) |
80 |
17 |
30 |
|
RUD6 (land at Loughborough Road) |
71 |
12 |
43 |
|
RUD7 (land north west of Asher Lane) |
26 |
31 |
77 |
|
RUD8 (land west of Pasture Lane) |
15 |
31 |
77 |
|
RUD9 (land south of Landmere Lane) |
89 |
13 |
40 |
|
RUD10 (land adjacent to Landmere Farm) |
67 |
12 |
39 |
|
RUD11 (Old Loughborough Road) |
25 | 8 |
38 |
|
RUD12 (land to the East side of Loughborough Road) |
34 |
5 |
26 |
|
RUD13 (land Opposite Mere Way) |
31 |
7 |
29 |
|
RUD14 (Croft House) |
33 |
5 |
31 |
|
Other location |
15 |
2 |
15 |
Perhaps the most surprising aspect of these statistics is that, given the importance of the consultation, so FEW of Ruddington’s population of over seven thousand residents actually took part in it!
Now, at their cabinet meeting next Tuesday, the 12th of September, Councillors will be basing their decisions partly on these limited statistics and partly on other planning considerations contained in Agenda item 4 Local plan part 2 Preferred Housing Sites Report 12.9.17. (Click >>HERE<< to read/download the full 50 page document).
They are likely to be strongly influenced by this reports’ main recommendations which are as follows:-
“In balancing sustainability, Green Belt, settlement capacity, heritage, flood risk and other relevant planning considerations, it is recommended that the following sites are proposed as housing allocations and be removed from the Green Belt:
- Site RUD1 – Land to the west of Wilford Road (south) (estimated capacity around 180 homes);
- Site RUD5 – Land south of Flawforth Lane (estimated capacity around 50 homes); and
- Site RUD13 – Land opposite Mere Way (estimated capacity around 170 homes)”
However the report recommends NOT removing sites RUD6 and RUD14 from the Green Belt as “both are considered to be unsuitable for housing allocations because of the contribution they currently make to the character of Ruddington’s Conservation Area.”
So, if plans for the preferred sites are rubber-stamped by RBC’s Cabinet, potentially four hundred new houses will be built on our three most prominent green gateways to the North, East AND South (shown above) which will inevitably have a severe visual impact on the current rural feel when entering our village. With other ongoing brownfield developments this new housing will probably increase Ruddington’s population to around nine thousand people by 2028, as well as bringing in hundreds more cars.
In addition to these sites, site RUD11 (Old Loughborough Road) has been promoted as a site for self and custom build housing BUT with the land being retained within the Green Belt. The report states: “It is argued by the site promoter that low density housing on this site would form a natural extension to development in this location and could take place in a form which reflects and respects the existing character of the area. This assessment has merit and it is therefore recommended that site RUD11 should be identified for self and custom build housing, but be retained within the Green Belt in order that any development schemes does not unduly impact on the openness of the Green Belt. It would have capacity for around 10 dwellings.”
This takes the total up to 410 as follows:
Some residents on Wilford Road are especially concerned that RUD1 still appears to include the covenanted Sellors’ Recreation Ground. Since the playing field was successfully registered as an Asset of Community Value in November 2015 by Ruddington Community Association (RCA), any decision by Ruddington Parish Council to sell it will give RCA time to bid for the asset by triggering a moratorium for six months – to allow them a chance to raise the money to purchase it back on behalf of village residents.
They wrote the following open letter to Ruddington’s Rushcliffe Borough Councillors Martin Buckle, Jean Greenwood and John Lungley:-
“I have been asked to write to you on behalf of the Ruddington Community Association regarding the meeting, this Tuesday, on the future of the Green Belt in Rushcliffe.
We would ask you as one of our local councillors to speak out against taking away part of our Green Belt and undermining our village identity.
Ruddington Community Association”
However following this, and similar correspondence received from other concerned residents, two Ruddington Councillors have been in touch to explain the situation is out of their hands!
Councillor Buckle told us: “We understand the concerns which have been raised regarding the covenanted land at Sellors’ Field, defending the greenbelt, preserving the character of the village, traffic implications and the pressure on local services. The meeting being held on 12 September is the Cabinet, at which none of us has a vote. The Council has been challenged to deliver more than 13,000 new homes by 2028. Some other wards – for example Edwalton (Sharp Hill) and East Leake, have already seen the planning and construction of many out of this quota. Your councillors in Ruddington have already been successful in helping to challenge several large scale planning applications. We will continue to work with our councillor colleagues at RBC to find the most appropriate solution for Ruddington.”
Councillor Greenwood suggests villagers with concerns should instead directly contact ASAP any of the five members of the RBC Cabinet who’ll be making the key decisions on Tuesday night. They are:-
Members of the public can also attend this crucial RBC Cabinet meeting on Tuesday the 12th of September, starting at 7.00 pm in the Council Chamber at Rushcliffe Arena although it is not thought they, nor any other councillors, will be permitted to speak.
However it does seem the end of an era when we still consider Ruddington a village, rather than just another suburb of Nottingham, may be drawing ever closer.
