Liberal Democrat Chesterfield Borough Councillor Paul Holmes,
Report by Local Democracy Reporter – Jon Cooper
A worried Derbyshire councillor is urging the Government to prioritise brownfield sites in its continued drive to build 1.5 million homes in England by 2029 while two large Chesterfield housing schemes are already being planned for greenfield sites.
Chesterfield Borough Councillor Paul Holmes, opposition Liberal Democrat Group Leader at the Labour-led council, has pressed Labour Government Prime Minister Andy Burnham to put into practice his claims from when he was the Greater Manchester Mayor to always prioritise brownfield over greenfield sites for housing schemes.
Cllr Holmes, who oversees Whittington, said: “In his first Prime Minister’s Questions, Andy Burnham said that as Mayor of Manchester he had always put building houses on brownfield sites ahead of building on greenfields.
“As Prime Minister he said, he would have the same approach. I support him absolutely on that. But his warm words, like those of the Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire [East Midlands] Mayor and local MPs, are utterly meaningless unless they are actually put into practice.”
Cllr Holmes highlighted how developers want to build 580 houses on green fields near New Whittington and Barrow Hill, and 1,000 homes on green fields at Brimington.
Harworth Group’s proposal to develop fields for 580 homes near Whittington Road first emerged in an Environmental Impact Assessment screening request opinion to Chesterfield Borough Council in May which the council ruled did not require an Environmental Statement ahead of any planning application.
Brimington Parish Council also hosted a meeting on September 8 which attracted over 150 people to discuss Hallam Land’s proposed housing scheme for 1,000 properties near Manor Road, in Brimington.
Both housing plans have been met with concerns from residents and some councillors.
Derbyshire County Councillors Mark Cliff and Dawn Taylor are concerned about the potential impact on infrastructure around Whittington and Barrow Hill, and Staveley Town Cllr Paul Mann has argued only brownfield sites should be considered and Green Belt land should be protected.
Former Chesterfield Borough Council Leader John Burrows explained stopping the Brimington scheme will be difficult due to the Government’s drive to build properties after it has pledged to build 1.5 million homes in England by 2029 to address an acute housing shortage.
Nearly all of Derbyshire’s district and borough councils are also struggling to demonstrate a five-year supply of suitable housing sites under ambitious Government targets making it more difficult for council planning authorities to refuse prospective development schemes.
To help meet housing demands, councils have been given leeway under the National Planning Policy Framework to permit developments on low quality Green Belt land known as Grey Belt such as car parks, as well as on greenfield sites and in the countryside, and especially where proposed schemes are considered ‘sustainable’ in areas with existing facilities and services.
Campaigners opposed to developments have raised concerns about the loss of countryside and the strain on infrastructure while councils face pressure to approve schemes under the Government’s drive for more housing.
Cllr Holmes says he understands the Government has demanded that councils allocate land for twice as many houses as previously.
He highlighted how the derelict Staveley Steel works brownfield site could accommodate 1,500 or more houses but this land cannot be considered until Derbyshire County Council and the East Midlands Combined County Authority receive confirmation of Government funding towards the proposed ‘£197m’ Chesterfield Staveley Regeneration Route bypass scheme.
But while this scheme remains in limbo this land cannot be used so developers are targeting other land including greenfield sites and with more housing schemes in the area congestion and pollution is expected to get worse the longer the area goes without a bypass.
Cllr Holmes added: “That new road would also divert traffic congestion and pollution away from the notoriously bad A619 route through Brimington and Staveley.”
East Midlands Mayor Ms Ward said EMCCA has done all it can to support a feasibility study and ground investigations for the bypass scheme and now it is up to the Government and the Department for Transport to make a decision on the funding.
Chesterfield Labour MP Toby Perkins has also repeatedly called for the bypass scheme to progress and in July he called for the plans to be given the go-ahead after claiming residents are being ‘exposed to unacceptable levels of air pollution’ due to traffic congestion.
Cllr Holmes said: “We need the Prime Minister, the Mayor and local MPs to stop ‘making the right noises’ and instead to put ‘their’ money where their mouth is.
“Perhaps the October budget will see this as one of the rabbits pulled out of the hat to prove that Andy Burnham really does represent a new direction.
“I really do hope so and will happily applaud if so. If not, residents of Whittington will be absolutely furious if they see greenfields, supposedly protected in the council’s [Chesterfield Borough Council) Local Plan, being destroyed whilst the next-door old steelworks site remains derelict.”
A Government Department for Transport spokesperson has stated the proposed Chesterfield-Staveley bypass scheme – which originated around 2022 – is still under review and a decision will be made as soon as possible.
Cllr Holmes argued a better overview is needed with proposed housing schemes concerning the impacts on highways, sewerage, schools, GPs and dentists.
He added: “580 houses on green fields between New Whittington and Barrow Hill throws all that extra traffic onto the appalling Troughbrook junction in one direction and onto the badly congested Whittington High Street and Whittington Hill in the other.
“Build the ‘Relief Road’ and it not only dramatically improves the road infrastructure but opens up a massive brownfield site too.
“They can’t just keep pushing more and more modern traffic onto roads that are basically unchanged since Victorian times.
“The idea of cars, from another 1,000 houses at Brimington, using Manor Road between Brimington centre and Calow is horrendous.”
Cllr Holmes added: “Chesterfield Borough Council area has now been built up to the edges of its boundaries in most directions as with the last available land of significance currently being built on at Linacre and Dunston.
“The only significant green land still available within Chesterfield Borough Council boundaries is in the Brimington, Barrow Hill, Staveley direction. All of which returns us to the road, traffic problems outlined above.
“The ‘Relief Road’ would ease a lot of these issues but it needs to be built before, not after, the large extra volumes of cars are produced by all this new housing.”
Cllr Holmes is also concerned about new planning rules expected in October which he fears will further restrict the influence of residents and councillors over planning applications.
The Government stated it knows that in some places brownfield alone will not be enough to meet development needs which is why it is asking local authorities, who cannot meet their needs, to review Green Belt land to identify opportunities to create affordable, well-designed developments in sustainable locations.
But the Government also expects local authorities to prioritise the development of brownfield and other low-quality grey belt land.
A Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government spokesperson said: “We will build the homes this country needs to restore the dream of home-ownership across the country.
“We’ve been clear that we expect local authorities to prioritise the development of brownfield and other low-quality grey belt land.
“In the limited cases where development is allowed on Green Belt it must deliver more affordable housing, better infrastructure, and new or improved green spaces so that local people benefit.”
Chesterfield Borough Council, EMCCA and Labour Chesterfield MP Toby Perkins were all approached for statements but at the time of publication had not yet commented.
