Historic Hedgerow Ripped Out “in Error”

14th April 202314th April 2023 Graham Wright

The house-builder currently constructing 175 new properties on former Ruddington Green Belt south of Musters Road says a contractor removed a large section of mature hedgerow there by mistake. Gardeners from ‘Buttercup Allotments’ off Asher Lane were alerted to the totally unexpected loss of their boundary hedge when a contractor working for Avant Homes suddenly starting digging it out on Maundy Thursday. When the allotments’ owner Brian Booker rushed onsite to challenge them, protesting that removal of this hedgerow was definitely not in Rushcliffe Borough Council‘s approved plans for ‘Wilbur Chase’,…

‘Devolution’ Consultation Deadline Approaching

27th December 202228th December 2022 Graham Wright

Ruddingtonians are being reminded that time is running out to have our say on proposed regulatory changes which could impact many aspects of village life – including housing, transport, education and the environment. On August 30th 2022 the leaders of Nottinghamshire County Council, Nottingham City Council, Derbyshire County Council and Derby City Council all signed up to work on proposals to set up a brand new body called the East Midlands Combined County Authority (EMCCA). It followed an announcement from the Government that a package of new powers and funding, worth…

Property Developer’s Second Planning Breach

15th November 202227th November 2022 Graham Wright

It’s been confirmed the house-builder currently constructing 175 new houses on almost sixteen acres of Ruddington’s former Green Belt south of Musters Road has breached its planning conditions for the second time in just over a year. Residents nearby have reacted with dismay at being told a total of 38 ‘Wilbur Chase’ properties are now occupied – breaching even the revised 35 property limit set by Rushcliffe Borough Council (RBC). Stipulations for Avant Homes (Midlands)‘s original planning approval for this estate included that off-site highway improvement works to the A60/Kirk Lane/Flawforth Lane junction…

Residents’ Concerns Over Second Planning Breach

25th July 202216th November 2022 Graham Wright

Villagers living close to the ‘Wilbur Chase’ housing development in Ruddington say they’re very concerned that the property builder could soon be allowed to get away with another serious infringement of its planning conditions for the new estate. Avant Homes (Midlands) is currently constructing 175 new houses on our former Green Belt, south of Musters Road, on what used to be 15.89 acres of farmland. Residents first complained to Rushcliffe Borough Council (RBC) in September last year when the developer began allowing households to move in to the first of its completed new properties…

No Traffic Lights for our Village Centre

15th October 202116th October 2021 Graham Wright

Ruddington residents and village Councillors are expressing dismay that one of the key planning conditions for the approval of 175 houses down Asher Lane has now been abandoned by Rushcliffe Borough Council without a clear alternative. At a meeting of its Planning Committee yesterday, Councillors voted 7 to 2 in favour of allowing Avant Homes to continue letting residents move into its ‘Wilbur Chase’ development – despite not all the stipulated highway improvements having yet been completed. The original planning conditions were imposed to avoid worsening the peak-time traffic congestion through our village…

Housebuilder Rapped for Planning Breach

7th September 202110th September 2021 Graham Wright

Residents at the southern end of our village have sent an official complaint to Rushcliffe Borough Council (RBC) after it became clear that a Ruddington property developer is allowing the first households to move into its new homes in violation of agreed planning conditions. Avant Homes (Midlands) is currently building 175 dwellings south of Musters Road – a new 15.89 acre estate, controversially approved on our former Green Belt, called ‘Wilbur Chase’. Existing villagers were alerted to the company’s transgression by its own social media last week, which pictured a couple…

Asher Lane To Be Shut for a Week!

28th April 202129th April 2021 Graham Wright

In another frustrating turn of events for villagers and visitors, it’s been announced that a key access road at the southern end of Ruddington will need to be totally closed for a week this summer. As the construction of 175 new homes at the ‘Wilbur Chase’ housing development gathers pace, “carriageway improvement work” on behalf of Avant Homes will shut Asher Lane from its junction with Distillery Street to its junction with Musters Road from 7.30am on Monday 14th June through to 4.30pm on Friday 18th June. It’s believed this closure is for the widening…

House Builder Seeks Highway Improvements Delay

21st March 202131st March 2021 Graham Wright

A property developer currently building 175 new houses on former Green Belt land in Ruddington is asking for “a change in time frame” for offsite highway improvements at two busy junctions. Avant Homes (Midlands) is seeking a “variation of planning Condition 9” 18/00300/OUT until the first 35 dwellings on its new 15.89 acre ‘Wilbur Chase’ development south of Musters Road have been occupied. To cope with the anticipated increase in traffic flow through Ruddington, the original approval was conditional upon financial contributions being made by Avant to the Local Highway Authority, both in lieu of…

Ruddington Speaks on Nature Conservation

8th February 20219th February 2021 Graham Wright

With protecting our natural environment increasingly at the forefront of many people’s minds, one agenda item at this Tuesday evening’s Rushcliffe Borough Council (RBC) Cabinet Meeting is attracting particular interest amongst villagers. On September 28th last year, Prime Minister Boris Johnson signed the ‘Leaders Pledge For Nature’ at the United Nations Summit on Biodiversity, along with 64 other countries, seeking to reverse biodiversity loss by 2030. The pledge states: “We are in a state of planetary emergency: the interdependent crises of biodiversity loss and ecosystem degradation and climate change”. The Chartered Institute for Ecology…

Have Your Say on Planning Enforcement

24th January 202128th January 2021 Graham Wright

Ruddington’s three Borough Councillors are encouraging us to have our say on a proposed ‘Code of Practice’ to give the authority more powers of enforcement over breaches in planning control. It’s been hard to turn a corner here recently without coming across some building work or other – whether taking place at the heart of our historic Conservation Area or on the outer fringes of the village. Four significant further housing development sites have been approved recently on former Green Belt land in Ruddington, with construction having started most recently along…