Report by Local Democracy Reporter – Jon Cooper
A determined campaigner is appealing against a judge’s decision to refuse permission for a judicial review into plans for a controversial and massive Derbyshire housing scheme for 1,800 homes near two villages.
Bolsover District Council originally granted outline planning permission for Waystone Ltd’s application for its Clowne Garden Village housing scheme, near Clowne and Barlborough, in September, 2024, after it agreed financial infrastructure contributions worth millions of pounds to be paid by the developer.
And after Clowne Garden Village Action Group Chairperson Dom Webb recently learned that his call for a judicial review into the council’s decision to approve the housing scheme had been refused his solicitors filed and submitted an appeal on February 2 for the decision to be reconsidered.
Mr Webb said: “We are appealing the judge’s decision to refuse permission on the judicial review for Clowne Garden Village.”
He added: “The ruling from the judge is disappointing and the appeal clearly sets out for the court the important matters this case presents and where we believe the judge erred.
“Adding the Secretary of State as an Interested Party, is not trivial, but as the appeal filing states, the council’s actions, and by extension the judge’s decision to refuse permission, directly contradict Government guidance that would, if allowed to stand, undermine the planning system nationally.
“Ultimately though nothing has changed in respect of the facts of the case, and we believe we are correct on the law. We are confident the appeal, to be heard in open court, will see permission granted across all four grounds and the council can then, rightly, defend their actions in court.”
Mr Webb’s solicitors originally outlined alleged grounds for a judicial review into the council’s planning approval decision based on council agreements to postpone financial contributions from the developer for youngsters with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities, alleged failures to recognise the impact on wildlife habitat and the environment, and an alleged failed assessment of the impact on archaeology and heritage.
But a judge dismissed concerns relating to the council’s decision to defer the developer Waystone’s S106 financial contributions over viability, and felt that the equality implications and the impact to protected species had been addressed and considered, and that there was no need to assess the cumulative impact of the Clowne Garden Village scheme alongside a separate proposed nearby water park scheme being considered.
However, Mr Webb’s latest legal team, Landmark Chambers, have filed an appeal in light of the refused judicial review arguing the judge did not fully address the equality implications of the council’s decision to defer the S106 contributions on the grounds of the developer Waystone’s viability concerns.
They also argue that the equality implications and the impact on protected species were not fully addressed and properly considered, and that there was a failure to assess the cumulative impact of Clowne Garden Village and a nearby, separate, proposed water park scheme, as well as the need to mitigate against climate change.
Mr Webb and his lawyers are also arguing the council should have stated where within the ‘category of less than substantial harm’ the development fell, according to Planning Practice Guidance, and despite the judge’s findings that the PPG does not apply at the outline planning stage.
He has said the case is clearly about protecting our history, our most vulnerable people in society, and our environment and wildlife and he argued that had the council listened to what they had been told then this case would not be needed to protect Clowne from the local authority.
The Clowne Garden Village scheme aims to lie across 24 hectares of greenfield land and features plans for housing, employment, community and commercial developments, green infrastructure, educational and recreational elements, a retirement village, a neighbourhood centre, a hotel, restaurant and health care and leisure uses.
Many hundreds of residents and campaigners have raised objections amid fears the scheme will lead to overcrowding, place a strain on highways, health services and education, create drainage and flooding problems and affect the countryside and wildlife with the loss of some Green Belt land.
During the planning process, a consultation attracted at least 1,400 comments and the Clowne Garden Village Action Group’s membership grew to over 2,000 people and its online and paper petitions attracted over 6,000 signatures from residents opposed to the scheme.
Bolsover District Council’s planning committee approved Waystone Ltd’s outline planning application in September, 2024, and the S106 financial infrastructure contributions to be paid by the developer to support the area were agreed by the council in August, 2024.
The S106 contribution arrangements included an agreement to defer a £1,463,597 payment from developer Waystone towards helping young people with SEND depending on the scheme’s future viability, and this agreed leeway for the developer lies at the heart of Mr Webb’s call and appeal for a judicial review.
Mr Webb’s original law firm Leigh Day outlined the alleged potential grounds for an application for a judicial review into the council’s decision to approve the housing scheme.
These included the council’s decision to postpone contributions for youngsters with SEND from the developer pending a viability review and an alleged breach of Habitats Regulations with no clear conclusion on the scheme’s impact on wildlife breeding sites.
Other allegations included a breach of Environmental Impact Assessment Regulations due to the lack of an assessment whether the development would impact the structural integrity of the local reservoir.
Further claims included the need to consider the scheme’s impact from greenhouse gas emissions from construction, the cumulative environmental effects of the housing and other infrastructure, and the need for a further assessment of the impact on archaeology and heritage.
Mr Webb has argued that Bolsover District Council has wrongly allowed the developer to delay making a payment to Derbyshire County Council for SEND provisions and he has also argued there were significant gaps in the environmental assessment process of the planning application.
The Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government originally decided in February, 2025, not to call in the scheme’s planning application for further consideration and to leave its determination with the council.
The application for a judicial review into the council’s decision concerning the Clowne Garden Village was filed in October, 2025, for consideration by the courts.
Derbyshire County Council’s highways authority and Highways England raised no objections to the scheme, and the county council’s flood team, the Environment Agency, the Coal Authority, Derbyshire Wildlife Trust and Yorkshire Water also raised no objections.
The council has previously stated that it has met its duties under the environmental impact assessment regulations.
It also previously stated that it has been cooperating fully with relevant interested parties and it is committed to transparency and it will provide updates when it is appropriate to do so.
Waystone has claimed the scheme will support the need for housing and it will bring highway improvements and it will offer potential for economic growth, facilities and jobs.
Campaigners still suspect plans for a nearby water park resort in Derbyshire have been influenced by the approved Clowne Village Garden scheme.
They fear the two projects may lead to combined further impacts on the environment with an increase in traffic despite the judge’s findings that there was no need to assess the cumulative impact of the Clowne Garden Village scheme alongside the separate proposed water park scheme.
Bolsover District Council is considering Great Wolf Resorts’ plans for the indoor water park and resort on the edge of Clowne after the authority finalised Waystone Ltd’s planning permission for the Clowne Garden Village scheme with agreed financial infrastructure contributions from developer Waystone worth millions of pounds.
But the Clowne Garden Village Action Group campaigners fear additional developments including the water park, as well as others at nearby Creswell, could have a combined detrimental effect for the region’s highways and environment which is why Mr Webb claims this should also be considered by a judicial review.
Bolsover District Council Leader, Cllr Jane Yates, has confirmed that the council is expecting a planning application for the proposed water park to go before the council’s planning committee in the near future.
The filed appeal for the refused judicial review to be reconsidered lists Dominic Webb as the claimant and Bolsover District Council as the defendant and Waystone Ltd as an interested party along with the argued grounds for the case to be renewed.
A council spokesperson said: “Bolsover District Council do not wish to offer any further comment at this time as they are co-operating with the High Court process.”
Clowne Garden Village Housing Protestors, Courtesy Of Brian Eyre Of The Derbyshire Times
