Report by Local Democracy Reporter – Eddie Bisknell
Plans for dozens of homes in a Derbyshire village have been lodged just weeks after officials announced a potential 150-home estate in the area.
Five weeks ago Derbyshire Dales District Council revealed it was considering earmarking a 150-home site at Jackhill Farm in Tansley, and now a 33-home scheme has been submitted for part of that plot.
If approved, the smaller plot would include access off Nottingham Road, close to The Tavern pub, stretching through a vacant field, with homes built in the field south of Goldhill.
Plans for the 33-home scheme show a retained “farm access” to numerous fields to the east and north, stretching past the primary school and up to Whitelea Lane.
These fields form part of a much wider 150-housing scheme pitched to the district council by developers, which the authority is considering formally earmarking as part of its future housing blueprint – its Local Plan.
The 33-home plans from Goldhill Homes Limited detail housing arranged in four “courtyard” areas.
If approved, 24 of the homes would be sold on the open market while seven would be classed as affordable housing.
Of the 33 homes, two would be one-bed, 11 would be two-bed, 13 would be three-bed and five would be four-bed.
Plans submitted to the council said: “The vision for the site is to create a high quality residential development built using the highest quality materials combined with exceptional design.
“There will be a mix of homes ranging from one-bedroom semi-detached properties to larger detached properties in generous plots to create a woodland setting.
“The design will deliver a safe, attractive and secure place to live, incorporating pedestrian and cyclist friendly routes which connect to the existing footpaths to new paths leading to Nottingham Road.
“This will provide enhanced safe routes for existing Tansley residents to the public transport network, school, church, Fete field recreation facility and other village amenities.”
Homes would be fit for first-time buyers, families and the “downsizing retirement market”, the developer claims.
It said: “The application site forms part of Jackhill Farm for a capacity of 150 dwellings. The approval of this application will form an important milestone in the delivery of this draft allocation (by the district council its Local Plan)
“The methodology for site selection and prioritisation for housing land allocations as part of the emerging Derbyshire Dales Local Plan also supports housing growth within or in close proximity to Tansley. This is reflected in the draft allocation of this site and adjoining land.”
Tansley Parish Council has already opposed the inclusion of 150 homes at Jackhill Farm as part of the district’s future housing plans, saying the village has already seen a 20 per cent increase in homes in the past five years alone.
It says the 150-home Jackhill Farm scheme would increase the village’s housing by a further 29 per cent – totalling a 50 per cent increase combined with previous new homes.
They say this is “unsustainable and disproportionate”.
Councillor Vicki Raynes, parish council chairman, told the Local Democracy Reporting Service: “We object to the possible development of the ‘green fields’ at Jackhill Farm.
“Tansley has no shop, doctor ,dentist or pharmacy, all everyday facilities being 2.5 miles away in our ‘service centre, Matlock’.
“Tansley has a bus service which runs six days a week – there is a bus to Matlock every two hours.
“The parish council also have concerns related to fresh drinking water, as last summer tankers were bringing in fresh water to the holding tank at Sunnyside for the village.”
She previously said the village had 400 homes in 2015, with 150 properties approved since then, largely through three schemes.
Cllr Raynes says she was “shocked and disappointed” at the plans and the district council process that has led to the potential earmarking of the housing.
A letter from the parish council details: “Residents have endured five years of construction disruption.
“The proposed volume of new sites would subject the community to a further five or more years of significant impact.
“The cumulative effect on resident wellbeing must be considered as a material planning factor.”
The parish council says the Jackhill Farm site was judged to be “undevelopable” by the district council in 2022 due to the steep sloping gradient of the hillside plots and the required new access.
It says there is already insufficient water supply and sewerage capacity in the village for existing residents, alongside flooding issues.
The parish council also says new residents would be entirely car dependent.
