Chesterfield planners have given the green light to convert the site of a former nursing home into 21 homes, despite concerns about how the scheme’s unadopted, private road will be maintained.
The planning committee at Chesterfield Borough Council approved The Spinney Brimington Ltd’s planning application during a meeting on April 28 for 21 homes at The Spinney, near Woodlands, in Brimington, Chesterfield.
But several committee members, including Cllr Mick Brady, Cllr Stuart Brittain and Cllr Barry Bingham, raised concerns about how plans for the new estate’s unadopted, private road – which will not be maintained by Derbyshire County Council – would be preserved after the development was completed.
Cllr Brittain said: “I endorse what Cllr Brady says. If we let this go ahead we are storing up a problem for the future and I am very reluctant, and I am very reluctant to let that happen.”
The scheme’s homes include 10 pairs of semi-detached properties plus a single detached house and an access road which would be extended into the site and this would be private with a footpath.
Cllr Brady said he felt such a development should be served by an adopted highway because he has two unadopted highways in his ward area and he described them as being an ‘absolute nightmare’.
A private, unadopted road is a highway not owned by Derbyshire County Council which would otherwise take responsibility for its upkeep and maintenance at agreed public expense if it was deemed to be adopted.
Cllr Barry Bingham who said he has about half-a-dozen unadopted roads in his ward also described them as an ‘absolute nightmare’ because some residents will refuse to pay towards any maintenance of an unadopted road.
A Derbyshire County Council highways authority spokesperson also stated: “A development of this size should ideally be served by an adopted highway.
“However, given the narrow width of the existing access to the site it is not clear if this could be achieved.
“If the road is to remain private, it would still need to be constructed to an adoptable standard which would allow access for the council’s refuse freighters and fire appliances.”
Despite the concerns the borough council’s report into the planning application confirmed there are no statutory objections in terms of highways as well as climate, flooding, drainage and biodiversity that could restrict the approval of the development.
And although the council received two representations from residents claiming the scheme would be ‘overlooking’ and that it posed a loss of privacy for residents at nearby Wayside Court, the authority stated these matters had been considered and that a loss of view was not a material planning consideration.
Cllr Brady said that despite his concerns about the development’s unadopted road he felt the committee should still support the scheme because it was to be built on a brownfield site.
The planning committee voted unanimously to grant planning permission for the scheme subject to the completion of a Section 106 agreement with a financial contribution from the developer towards infrastructure in lieu of on-site affordable housing.
Other conditions include: Restricted demolition and construction times; Access, parking and turning facilities; A surface water management and maintenance plan; A landscaping scheme; And a site investigation to establish any risks posed by the area’s past coal mining history.
Pictured Are Plans For New Homes At The Spinney, At Woodlands, In Brimington, Chesterfield, Courtesy Of Chesterfield Borough Council
