Bloor Homes will be holding a public exhibition about plans for new homes on land to the north of the village off Wilford Road.
The exhibition will be held in St Peter’s Rooms, Church Street, Ruddington on Friday 6th March 2015 from 2.30-7.30pm. A number of display boards explaining the proposals will be on show and representatives from Bloor Homes and the project team will be on hand to answer visitors’ questions.
The location for the proposed new homes is the land to the north of the village between the Wilford Road, the existing brook and Sellor’s Play Area.
Bloor Homes is promoting this land for new homes as part of Rushcliffe Borough Council’s plans for future housing growth in the village. At this stage, no planning application has been made and the public exhibition is part of the community consultation to help shape the plans before an application is submitted to the Borough Council.
Bloor Homes is in discussion with the Parish Council about this masterplan and the possibility of including the Sellor’s Play Area (that belongs to the Parish Council) in the plans as part of a land swap to help deliver new public open space with improved play facilities. The possibility of a new Community Centre/Village Hall for the village is also being explored. At this stage no agreement has been reached.
The Housing Debate
Background
Recently two planning applications have been discussed for new houses being built on Green Belt in Ruddington. One, already submitted, for 250 houses off Asher Lane and one still in the pre-application stage on land around Sellor’s Play Area which has already been mentioned in the Village Newsletter.
So why is this happening?
Nationally the Government set a number of new houses needed. This is then broken down in numbers for each local authority. Rushcliffe Borough Council (RBC) had to find land for 13,150 houses. RBC then has to identify sites. RBC (in their Core Strategy) indicated a requirement for a total of 584 new houses in Ruddington between 2011 and 2028. 29 have already been built and potential brownfield sites for 305 have been identified by RBC. If some of the brownfield sites do not become available it does not automatically follow that alternative provision would have to be provided elsewhere in and around Ruddington. An article in the next newsletter will talk more about brownfield sites.
This leaves 250 for currently unidentified sites – likely to be from the Green Belt. So, the landowners/developers are interested in putting in planning applications. Chairman of the Parish Council, Councillor Allen Wood, said “The issue facing Ruddington is not so much if the new houses get built but where is the best place”.
RBC need to identify sites in the next phase of their Core Strategy. This process is ongoing and currently there is no specific timetable for the information to be published. Councillor Allen Wood
Don’t Lose Your RAG!
Ruddington has always been proud of its unique identity and rural character. However in recent years we have witnessed significant new housing infill on the available “brownfield” sites within our village. Now we’re seeing applications to construct large new estates on our surrounding green fields!
This is because it’s been estimated that 250 new homes will have to be built on Ruddington’s green belt by 2028 to satisfy our quota – so speculative developers are understandably keen to get THEIR plans submitted and chosen first.
It must be stressed that no decision has yet been made about Asher Lane and that consultations about building on Wilford Road’s green belt are at a very early stage. However recent Parish Council involvement in mass objections to the plans for Asher Lane – followed by articles in the Village Newsletter regarding a possible “land-swap” with developers on Wilford Road – have led some residents to believe the latter is already a “done deal”. These events were more than enough to set alarm bells ringing and in the formation of RAG – Ruddington Action Group.
“Fundamentally we are a proactive protest group which will aim to stop unsustainable planning applications in their early stages and respond reactively to all those already in play” says group spokesperson Alison Sail.“We have a 12 strong nucleus but an ever growing following around the village. Our purpose is to ensure appropriate and sustainable development across all areas of the village by working in partnership with residents, other established groups and local agencies to influence local planning decisions – so that Ruddington remains a great place to live.”
RAG is a voluntary group and welcomes input and support from all interested local residents and businesses. They can be contacted via ruddingtonaction@gmail.com
Meantime make a note that the Bloor Homes “pre-application public consultation” on their Wilford Road/Sellors’ Field plans is being held in St Peter’s Rooms on Friday 6th March from 2.30pm until 7.30pm.
By Graham Wright