Derbyshire planners have given the go-ahead for a further extension at a Travellers’ site which had originally attracted concerns about traffic and road safety.
Bolsover District Council’s planning committee voted unanimously at a meeting on September 3 to approve Mr McAlister’s application to change grazing land to a parking and manoeuvring area for a Traveller site with new access for vehicles at The Stables, on Featherbed Lane, in Bolsover.
The committee had put the matter on hold before Derbyshire County Council’s Public Rights of Way Team confirmed it does not have any objections about the suitability of a longer part of the lane for the movement of vehicles and equipment connected with the Traveller site.
A council spokesperson stated: “Concerns were raised with regard to the surface condition and speed of some road traffic users on the private road and its impact on the neighbouring public way footpath.”
The council subsequently sought confirmation from the county council’s PROW team that they have no concerns with the use of a longer section of the private lane which has a Public Right of Way for vehicles and equipment from the Traveller site and that the surface is suitable and does not need modifying or improving.
District council development manager Chris Whitmore told the meeting the county council’s PROW team only maintains the lane to a standard that is suitable for its use as a public footpath and they pointed out that potential damage to vehicles along the road helps to suppress vehicle speeds and any modifications to the lane may also change its character.
A county council PROW officer stated damage to the surface by additional vehicles will likely impact private vehicular users of Featherbed Lane more than public footpath users so the applicants are not required to improve the surface but if they or other private vehicle users wish to improve the road for themselves they can apply to the county council to do so.
The officer added: “Featherbed Lane is straight and visibility is quite good. There are also substantial verges for pedestrians to step onto to allow vehicles to pass.
“Therefore, so long as drivers are considerate and prioritise pedestrian safety as they should, the issue is less about safety and more about inconvenience.”
Derbyshire County Council’s PROW team explained it had previously raised concerns about potential inconvenience and damage to the road surface during a previous application to more than double the number of pitches at the Traveller site but this was approved by the district council so it has raised no objections to the latest application because a further increase in vehicles is no longer expected.
The latest application includes the retention of an extended hard standing to provide additional parking or manoeuvring space for the Traveller site which was given planning permission in March, 2023, for just three pitches despite public concerns over traffic and road safety before it was granted further permission for a further four pitches in December, 2024.
It originally attracted traffic and road safety concerns from residents about the impact of the development on a narrow country lane and damage to its surface along a route which is also used as a public footpath.
Objections also included concerns about noise, the number of new inhabitants, that the area is a greenfield site and that access to Featherbed Lane from Shuttlewood Road is already very difficult and dangerous and that the area does not allow two vehicles to pass.
Others had also raised concerns that Featherbed Lane is unsuitable for traffic movement because it is an unadopted, public footpath and bridleway and it was not a suitable location for the original scheme.
The site’s subsequent expansion from three pitches to seven also attracted objections including further fears of increased traffic and concerns about poor access to Shuttlewood Road and the danger posed to pedestrians while the lane is used as a footpath along with concerns about emergency vehicle access.
Old Bolsover Town Council had also raised objections over the extension from three to seven pitches at the site on the grounds of road safety, the loss of greenfield land, drainage issues and feared damage to the lane.
But Derbyshire County Council’s highways authority stated it did not consider the proposed parking and storage area will have a detrimental highway impact or any impact on the adjacent public footpath on Featherbed Lane and there would not be an unacceptable impact on highway safety or a severe impact on congestion and that there are no justifiable grounds on which an objection could be maintained.
Bolsover District Council recognised the latest proposal to convert grazing land into a parking and manoeuvring area is not compliant with its Development in the Countryside policy but it also stated that it would contribute towards meeting an identified need for Traveller sites.
A district council spokesperson explained that because Featherbed Lane is an unadopted road or track which also forms a Public Right of Way the Travellers site has a condition preventing business use so it should continue to be limited to residential use only.
The district council planning committee’s approval for the parking and manoeuvring area for vehicles and equipment linked to the Traveller site is subject to a number of conditions.
These include a boundary hedge, a lighting strategy with any plans for external illumination, and that there will be no trade or business at the site, and that it shall not be used as a separate Traveller pitch.
