Local Development Plan Published

The final consultation phase before rescinding substantial areas of Ruddington’s Green Belt for new housing development began today at 5pm with the publication of the Draft Rushcliffe Local Development Plan Part 2. This was approved at Rushcliffe Borough Council’s Full Council meeting on April 26th.

At that meeting, all but ONE Councillor in the Chamber voted to go ahead with the publication of the Plan as drafted – with all three of Ruddington’s Borough Councillors approving the three final shortlisted sites on Ruddington’s Green Belt to build a total of around 350 homes. This was despite many residents and Ruddington Parish Council itself having grave concerns about the proposed development on the flood-prone fields west of Wilford Road.

To summarise, the draft plan proposes 130 houses on land west of Wilford Road (previously 180 on RUD01), 50 houses at the old Eco-Plants site on Flawforth Lane (RUD05) and 170 houses on land opposite Mere Way (RUD13). But it has now removed the proposed smaller scale site from Old Loughborough Road (formerly RUD11) (see top map) and also spared the covenanted Sellors’ Playing Field (removed from RUD01) after strong local opposition.

Policy 6.2 – Land South of Flawforth Lane

You can read all the background to RBC reaching this shortlist and more about the three sites chosen in Ruddington >>HERE<<.

However, despite voting at the meeting “to move the process forward” Councillor Martin Buckle has moved to reassure his worried, fellow villagers that it’s not all over yet! He’s summarised for RUDDINGTON.info the key elements of the speech he gave on the night:

Demand for More Homes: Residents ask for more affordable homes for their families in the area – to rent or to buy.
Protecting the Green Belt: Policy makes clear that when reviewing Green Belt boundaries, consideration will be given to whether there are any non-Green Belt sites that are equally, or more, sustainably located to cater for development needs within the Borough before making alterations to the Green Belt. I want to continue to press in the remaining stages of the planning and consultation process for the least invasive treatment of Green Belt land.
Scaling Back the Scope of Development: The Council has already demonstrated it has been listening to public feedback – for example, removing one of the proposed sites from the plans – on Old Loughborough Road in Ruddington; and produced amended plans to downsize by more than 25% the area adjacent to Sellors’ Field on the north side of the village
Keeping the Borough in Control of the Process: The Borough stays in control of the planning process by moving the process forwards. Otherwise, the Planning Inspectorate will take over If the Council steps away from this challenge. This is the opportunity – we use it or lose it.
Roads and Traffic: The Ruddington road infrastructure is already substantially overloaded
Local Services: These are already at capacity in Ruddington

The above are all points residents might wish to raise during this new and final consultation period – in addition to the small issue of RUD01 being in a known flood zone (pictured left)! Local residents now have another six weeks to make suggestions or further express their concerns about the document before final decisions are made – either in writing or by going online >>HERE<<.

Printed versions of the Draft Plan – which covers sites for a total of 2,700 Green Belt homes bordering villages across Rushcliffe – are also available from Ruddington Library. After this six week representation period, the Plan and comments received will then submitted for examination by a Planning Inspector. It’s thought the Local Plan Part 2 could be adopted as early as December this year – when planning applications from developers for the sites will then be sought.

It’s worth noting this allocation of 350 new homes on Ruddington’s Green Belt does not include the land off Asher Lane (formerly known as RUD07 – right) which is currently under appeal to the Planning Inspectorate by a property developer. The decision of this appeal will be known on or before Friday June 8th. So, if RBC loses this case and is forced to grant planning approval for a further 175 new homes there, it will be interesting to see whether one of the other three sites might then be removed. Otherwise it could mean a total of 525 Green Belt houses being built in our village by 2028!