A planning application has been received by Rushcliffe Borough Council to expand one of the current housing developments into further land which was previously part of Ruddington’s Green Belt.
Construction of ‘Lace Fields’ by William Davis Homes on the former fields opposite Mere Way got underway last September, after being approved in the Rushcliffe Local Plan Part 2 for 170 new homes. Since then, tweaks during the detailed application stages have seen the property developer get permission to increase the density of its housing there to accommodate 185 new homes.
However, it seems that’s still not the end of the story, since a 0.75 hectare area of arable land behind Balmore Country House Care Home – which was also removed from our Green Belt when the original housing was approved – is now the subject of a planning ‘extension’ on behalf of William Davis to accommodate a further “residential development of 24 dwellings and associated landscaping”. Located to the rear of 245-247 Loughborough Road, although owned by My Care, it seems this land is currently not in use.
The planning application states this area has been unmaintained for a number of years and is separated from the curtilage of Balmore Retirement Village by a group of coniferous trees. The rectangular plot is bounded on its other three sides by the approved William Davis development – currently creating a bit of a ‘bottleneck’ to the northern end of the new estate, as shown below.
If approved, the new housing would be incorporated as an ‘extension’ of the developer’s original plans. The scheme proposes the erection of 24 new dwellings (16 market and 8 affordable). The site would have two points of access from the existing approved development, one to the south (private drive) and one to the north (adopted road). All existing ‘site features’, such as the mature conifers, are proposed to be removed except for the boundary hedgerow to the west of the site.
Full details of this application 21/01768/FUL can be viewed >>HERE<< on the council’s planning portal – with public comments being welcomed >>HERE<< by the surprisingly short deadline of Friday 16th July 2021.
The proposed ‘extension’ comes as Loughborough-based William Davis Homes announces its onsite sales office for ‘Lace Fields’ will open on Saturday July 3rd and that site-based work opportunities will be available for local labourers, fork lift drivers and plant operators. The housebuilder – which has around 400 employees – has also started recruitment of two new apprentices straight from school.
Gary Long, the company’s apprentice manager, says: “As a company, we have a strong history of training and skills development and our apprenticeship programme is testament to our commitment. We are pleased to be working in partnership with Rushcliffe Borough Council, the Construction Industry Training Board (CITB) and local schools and colleges on this community engagement initiative.”
When ‘Local Plan’ public consultations about Green Belt housing first began, villagers were told Ruddington would need to accommodate 250 new homes on its surrounding green fields by 2028. This rose to 350 as RBC’s Local Plan Part 2 progressed, and had reached 525 by the time a Government Planning Inspector approved the documents. However, subsequent permissions granted by Rushcliffe Borough Council for a higher density of homes on three out of the four Ruddington sites has already increased that total to 583. If granted, the “Lace Fields” extension would take it to 607 new houses on former village Green Belt land.
It’s also worth noting this application is completely separate from the adjacent land belonging to Croft House, at 211 Loughborough Road, which is still up for sale. Subject to planning permission, it’s being suggested a further 32 houses could be accommodated here, now that its green belt status has also been rescinded. That would make 639 new dwellings on Ruddington’s formerly protected green space!
It’s hoped by many villagers that, if we vote to adopt Ruddington’s new Neighbourhood Plan in next month’s referendum, local authorities’ future housing quota ambitions may be kept slightly more in check by the legal obligation to take notice of it. Only time will tell!
{Our thanks to Ruddington’s Craig Baum for alerting us to this new application.}
