Wilford Road Green Belt – Can you help save it?

Bloor Homes has submitted yet another revised plan for the development of Green Belt land off Wilford Road, Ruddington (formally known as RUD01 now referred to as Policy 6.1).

This time it’s a full planning application for 174 homes on the site. It’s now open for public consultation until 27th June 2019 and we urge anyone wishing to make comment to do so via the official portal here or by post to the Rushcliffe Borough Council (RBC).

The Wilford Road farmland where Bloor Homes wants to build 174 houses

It seems that Ruddington has been given another chance to save this significant piece of Green Belt land. In the shadow of the controversially approved large Asher Lane development, protecting this site which is currently used as arable farm-land – has never been more important for the village.

More detailed information about the plans can be found on the original article published by RUDDINGTON.info earlier this month.

Why is this application so bad?

Residents, community groups, MPs and the Ruddington Parish Council have campaigned for some time to stop this development based on a number of concrete arguments.

This latest attempt by the developer is arguably even more contentious because it is no longer required in order for Ruddington to meet it’s Green Belt housing quota (in fact, we would considerably exceed it) following the approval of Asher Lane. Notably, the land hasn’t actually been released by the Government’s Planning Inspectorate for development, and still may not be. The RBC is also currently consulting separately on a modification to its as part of the Local Plan 2. (Please comment by the 5th July – questioning the RBC why Ruddington’s quota for green belt housing has been raised from 350 to 525 with no consultation or review of local amenities).

Why should you object?

There are a number of reasons why you might want to object and we urge anyone who does – to make sure their objection counts by using the RBC online portal or writing to them. Below you can found some reasons we have highlighted as solid arguments AGAINST the development. While we encourage you to utilise this information – we urge you to put it in your own words for more impact and to add your own thoughts.

1. It’s Green Belt Land
   The National planning policy (the NPPF) states that ‘Green Belt boundaries should only be altered where exceptional circumstances are fully evidenced and justified’ – we do not feel this proposal is justified and there are no exceptional circumstances.
2. Green Belt Housing Quota
   With the Asher Lane Development approved, Ruddington does not require another large scale development in order to meet its housing quota. It can be more than met with the three other earmarked sites that will have less negative impact on the village.
3. Local Plan Part 2 – This land is not available!
   RBC’s Local Plan Part 2 has not yet been finalised and RUD01 has not been released for development – and may not be at all! The proposal is premature and we believe designed to confuse the public into thinking it’s a ‘done deal’ to reduce the number of objections it receives. Additionally, the Local Plan Part 2 only allows for 130 homes on this site, whilst the application proposes 174 homes (with a distinct lack of actual affordable housing). Moreover, this can only be achieved by moving Packman Dyke northwards and ‘developing’ half the former RUD02 (not in the Local Plan Part 2) into a balancing pond and flood plain/wet meadow – meaning yet more Green Belt is developed and agricultural land is lost.
4. Flooding
   The area has a history of flooding. There are concerns that development could increase the risk of flooding for nearby properties and render Sellors’ Playing Field unusable for much of the year. Furthermore, the extended development plans offer limited flood prevention solutions.
5. Rural View and Ruddington’s Last Green Gateway
   Ruddington’s rural look and feel is slowly being eroded away and this area is the last remaining true green gateway into the village so must be retained to preserve rural identity.
6. Traffic and Access
   Increased traffic for an already busy route – on top of the additional traffic travelling through the village and to the Asher Lane site would cause significant issues and danger to the area.
7. Amenities and Services
   The village amenities, facilities and services including schools and GPs are already at full capacity – and no allowances or resolutions to address this have been provided.
8. Limited Bus Service
   The seven day a week Navy 3 bus service shown in the developer’s travel plan was significantly cut back in January this year. It no longer runs on Sundays, early in the mornings nor in the evenings – meaning many householders here would not realistically be able to use public transport.
9. Coalescence
   The development of this Green Belt land would reduce the open space between the village and the City of Nottingham. This increases the risk of the two merging in the future.
10. Wildlife and Nature
    An important wildlife habitat would be lost.
    

Your comments DO make a difference!

RUD01 Remains at risk despite Ruddington’s Green Belt quota already being met

Bloors Homes will be holding a “Public Exhibition” Thursday 13^th December St Peter’s Rooms 3-7pm showcasing their revised plans for the controversial proposed RUD01 (the land off Wilford Road) development.  Despite not yet being released for housing, Bloors, who have been openly interested in building on this land, have once again submitted premature revised plans for the area.

The event, which has had minimal promotion, with the flyer only just hitting some local resident’s homes in the last week or so will no doubt be designed to try and “alleviate” concerns that were raised in their 2015 plans – that showed no regard for the local area and infrastructure. However, the new plans fail to do so, in fact in some regard are worse as the development is no longer needed to fulfill Ruddington’s Green Belt quota, following the disappointing approval of the Asher Lane development.

We believe the developer will be relying on a minimal turn out at this event, to show reduced negativity towards the plans –  having needlessly arranged the event during this busy time of year and doing little to advertise it.   Thus, we urge everyone who opposes these plans, should the land be released; to ensure they are heard either by attending, writing to Bloors and/or Rushcliffe’s planning department.

The Plans were recently discussed at Government’s Planning Inspectorate on the 4^th of Dec – where representatives from Ruddington, such as the Parish Council and community groups including Protect Ruddington; spoke out incredibly well on behalf of residents against this development. Further details can be found over at RUDDINGTON.info who covered the story earlier this month.

Not only has the developer opted to resubmit these plans prior to the land even being released for development; Bloor’s “solutions” to some of the key concerns about this area remain insufficient. Their document fails to address local infrastructure concerns, suggest further unnecessary changes of use to surrounding agricultural land to help reduce flooding, and propose 170 homes on land that even if allowed to build on has only been allocated 130.

A member of Protect Ruddington and local resident commented “IF RUD01 is released, it is quite clearly ludicrous to suggest Bloor’s could accommodate 170 houses within the footprint they show and yet still leave a nice clear outlook of fields from along Wilford Road PLUS bungalows with long gardens bordering existing housing. Diverting Packman Dyke to accommodate their balancing pond and thus actually “develop” further Green Belt land which is not even in the Local Plan Part 2 is also completely unacceptable. Not only that but raising the land around Sellors’ Playing Field would cause surface water to run off into it and make it unusable for half of the year. That is NOT where we want Ruddington’s new swimming pool!”

Most notably, and frustratingly, the developer states that they have ‘chosen’ to not include Sellors’ Playing field in their plans – when in fact it was local campaigning that led the Parish Council to decided not to sell the land for development. This act alone, puts into perspective the intentions and questionable methods of this particular developer – who from what we understand has been engaged in pre-proposal discussions for some time.

So, despite not requiring the additional Green Belt development, RUD01 seems to remain at risk. Campaigners, local groups and some councillors remain vigilant and proactive in the removal of these plans – but we ask that you remain vocal and not give up on saving the only remaining rural area within the village.

Final chance to save the Wilford Road Green Belt

Since our last post, some seven months ago, rather a lot has happened!

WILFORD ROAD PARTIAL VICTORY

During last November’s public consultation there was considerable opposition from villagers, and even a vote by Ruddington Parish Council, to object to Rushcliffe Borough Council (RBC) including RUD01 (land off Wilford Road) in their Local Plan Part 2 shortlist. Despite this, RBC went ahead regardless and kept RUD01 in their final publication of three Green Belt sites (in BLUE on the map) they wish to sacrifice for housing development around our village.

BUT – thanks to your help – we did secure TWO very important victories:

1. Sellors’ Recreation Ground was taken out of RBC’s proposed RUD01
2. Consequently our historic Village Hall is unlikely to be bulldozed and moved to a location well away from the village centre (where remote new playing fields were mooted).

Sellors’ Recreation Ground play area

We are confident that both these amenities have now been saved for future generations of Ruddingtonians to enjoy. However, RBC still favours building 130 new houses on the flood prone land around Sellors’ Field. Adding in the numbers from the other two shortlisted Green Belt sites off Flawforth Lane and opposite Mere Way gave Ruddington a grand total of 350 houses… BUT!

 

ASHER LANE SHOCK

On 24^th May the Government’s Planning Inspectorate dropped a bombshell on village residents around Asher Lane by overturning Rushcliffe Borough Council’s refusal to grant outline planning permission for 175 homes on the Green Belt there. This was after a successful appeal by the landowner who wishes to build on his farmland. This development is now almost certain to go ahead even though the site (formerly RUD07) never made it onto RBC’s final shortlist. Therefore it is NOT included in the total of 350 homes. Worryingly that means potentially Ruddington could end up with 525 houses on its Green Belt if we villagers don’t take further action NOW.

RUSHCLIFFE’S FINAL CONSULTATION IS ALREADY ON!

PLEASE, PLEASE make sure to take the time to complete RBC’s published Local Plan Part 2 consultation via the link below by 5pm on Thursday June 28^th 2018:

http://rushcliffe-consult.objective.co.uk/portal

We are asking you to urge RBC that, at the very least, it now needs to completely REMOVE RUD01 from its published Local Plan Part 2 Ruddington shortlist. Even though Sellors’ is saved, FIVE out of Protect Ruddington’s six original objections still apply:

We OPPOSE RUD01 for the following reasons – you are able to use this information in your own comments.

1. Rural view– The rural views and last remaining green fields on the edge of the village would be lost to this inappropriate development
2. Access and traffic– Increased traffic from additional housing would affect Wilford Road and other congested routes through the village
3. Flooding– The area has a history of flooding. There are concerns that development could increase the risk of flooding for nearby properties
4. Coalescence– The development of this Green Belt land would reduce the open space between the village and the City of Nottingham. This increases the risk of the two merging in the future
5. Wildlife and Nature– An important wildlife habitat would be lost

Most significantly, THREE of the above objections are echoed by Asher Lane Planning Inspector Nick Fagan himself – within his report dated May 23^rd 2018 which granted outline planning permission for the “appeal site” RUD07.

Mr Fagan states: “Whilst RUD01 is also urban fringe it is, in my judgement, far more prominent than the appeal site especially when viewed approaching the village on the south sloping Wilford Road next to the golf club. Its northern boundary is only a field ditch and this offers no screening to any new development, albeit that landscaping could be provided. Nonetheless, this boundary cannot realistically be termed strong or defensible. The green gap between West Bridgford and Ruddington is relatively narrow and development at RUD01 would narrow it even more. The majority of RUD01 is also in Flood Zone 2. Although the Council has carried out a sequential test, its decision to prioritise RUD01 above the appeal site is in essence based on the latter’s highway constraints. National policy does not favour development on sites in Flood Zones (FZ) 2 and 3 where land in FZ 1 like the appeal site is available.” 

 

YOUR VIEWS WILL BE HEARD!

All public comments on the published Local Plan Part 2 submitted to Rushcliffe Borough Council between now and June 28^th will, by law, have to be passed on to the Government’s Planning Inspectorate for them to see. THEY will actually be making the final decision about rescinding (or not rescinding) any further Green Belt sites in Ruddington, so objecting AGAIN to RUD01 is the best chance for ALL concerned residents who wish to reduce the potentially alarming new Green Belt housing total in our village.

 SO PLEASE HAVE YOUR SAY NOW – BEFORE IT’S TOO LATE!

Save Sellors’ Playing Field and the Green Belt

Rushcliffe Borough Council (RBC) wants your views on which Ruddington Green Belt areas should be sacrificed for new housing. We urge you to stop RUD01 being one of them!

Green Belt known as RUD01 in the RBC Local Plan

RUD01(the land off Wilford Road which includes Sellors’ Playing Field) is an important area of Green Belt valued by residents. Protect Ruddington believes there are alternative sites in Ruddington that would be more suitable and cause less harm to the village.

 What to do Next

Complete the RBC questionnaire or visit Rushcliffe-consult.objective.co.uk/portal to fill it in online. You must respond by Monday 27^th November.

We OPPOSE RUD01 for the following reasons – you are able to use this information in your own comments.

1. Children’s playing field – It includes Sellors’ playing field, which was donated to the village in the 1940s. There is a covenant protecting it and it is a registered Asset of Community Value
2. Rural view – The rural views and last remaining green fields on the edge of the village would be lost to this inappropriate development
3. Access and traffic – Increased traffic from additional housing would affect Wilford Road and other congested routes through the village
4. Flooding – The area has a history of flooding. There are concerns that development could increase the risk of flooding for nearby properties
5. Coalescence – The development of this Green Belt land would reduce the open space between the village and the City of Nottingham. This increases the risk of the two merging in the future
6. Wildlife and Nature – An important wildlife habitat would be lost

Tell RBC that you don’t want housing on RUD01. Your views WILL influence RBC’s decision. Make sure to fill out the questionnaire and tell them why you object.

If you don’t have access to the internet or need a copy of the questionnaire, you can collect them from St Peter’s Rooms.

There is also a Parish Council public meeting on 14th November RPC on their Rushcliffe Local Plan Consultation Response in St Peter’s Rooms at 7.30pm.

For more information email protectruddington@gmail.com

Public Consultation on Ruddington’s housing plans – 17th October, St Peter’s Rooms 4-8pm

Following the recent scare that the fate of Ruddington’s Green Belt was to be decided on 12th September, we now have been informed of further consultation on Local Plan Part 2:Preferred Housing Sites.

Consultation on the Local Plan will commence on Monday 9 October 2017 and finish at 5pm on Monday 27 November 2017 with an exhibition event to be held at St Peter’s Rooms, Tuesday 17th October 4-8pm. 

This is great news, that there is still hope for guiding the Council to make appropriate decisions for the village however, it is essential that residents take this opportunity.  The last consultation attracted a disappointing 130 responses out of over 7,000 residents-  yet was still taken into account in decision making.

We have asked our representatives to re-alliterate concerns over RUD 1 as well as concerns that consultations are not being communicated effectively enough to gain what can be considered a representative response.

How to make your comments:

• At the event on the 17th October
• Via email  localdevelopment@rushcliffe.gov.uk
• Online (once made available) http://www.rushcliffe.gov.uk/planningpolicy/

What’s new?

During the meeting on the 12th it was unanimously voted to recommend the following:

Recommendation: 

It is RECOMMENDED that Cabinet

a) Supports the proposed housing and mixed use site allocations as recommended in the report;

b) Supports publication of the proposed housing and mixed use site allocations for the purposes of public consultation; and

c) Delegates authority to the Executive Manager-–-Communities, in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Planning and Housing, to determine the form of consultation and the detail of the main consultation document.

This means that Ruddington is still in line for the following housing allocations by 2028:-

 

The main concern here is that the plan and the main decisions to be made are regarding rescinding areas of Green Belt in Ruddington to make room for what is now nearly double the number of homes originally proposed. There are 4 areas in Ruddington that appear on the cards – most worryingly what is listed at RUD 1 – which still appears to included the covenanted land of Sellors’ Playing field.

We encourage everyone to once again take this opportunity to have their say.

Ruddington Green Belt could lose its Green Belt Status

Rushcliffe Borough Councillors will decide which sites in Ruddington will be removed from our Green Belt in order to make space for over 400 new homes on Tuesday 12th September.

Most notably, the report which the councillors will no doubt take into account identifies RUD1 ( Sellors’ Playing Field and the surrounding area) as land that should have its Green Belt Status removed. Should this happen, the controversial development of 180 homes could quite easily go ahead.

Protect Ruddington and The Ruddington Residents Association (RCA) that successfully secured the Sellor’s Playing Field as an Asset of Community Value urge residents to contact our council representatives ASAP for a final chance to have their voices heard. The RCA have written an open letter to the 3 councillors asking for their support.

“I have been asked to write to you on behalf of the Ruddington Community Association regarding the meeting, this Tuesday, on the future of the Green Belt in Rushcliffe.

There are a number of views around the future growth of housing on the Green Belt. The majority of our members are very concerned at building on any of the Green Belt which we believe is a significant step forward in diluting the village status of Ruddington. We do not believe that building in Ruddington is necessary for Rushcliffe to meet the targets set by Government. The decision to allow additional building on our local greenbelt is solely a decision of the Council. We have inherited this protected space and should consider the legacy we leave in making any decision.

Where members of Ruddington Community Association are unanimous is that the legacy of Sellors’ Playing Field should be respected, protected and cherished. This was a gift to the people of Ruddington through a covenant, not just for one generation but many. We believe it would be wrong for one generation to sell out this gift, at an entry point to the village, for future generations. We have gone so far as registering Sellors’ Playing Field as an asset of community value. A registration accepted by the Council and we are on the Council’s list of community assets.

Proposal for RUD1 does clearly include Sellors’ Playing Field in the withdrawal of Green Belt status and we would ask that this be amended.
Our strong preference is that RUD1 is rejected; if this is not the case we would ask that RUD1 is amended to exclude Sellors’ Playing Field and keep this in the protected Green Belt.
We would ask you as one of our local councillors to speak out against taking away part of our Green Belt and undermining our village identity.
We would hope your legacy as a councillor is to be seen to stand up for our village and not to have supported the dilution of our village identity and the undermining of a village asset.

Kind regards,

Ruddington Community Association”

You can read more about this and the other proposed sites by clicking here.

Additional green belt sites identified for development in Ruddington – and new threat of even more than 250 houses

See original post here as published by Ruddington.info 18/02/2017

Following last year’s public consultation, a further FOUR sites where new housing developments might be built in Ruddington have now been identified by Rushcliffe Borough Council.  Furthermore, the document states that the original allocation of 250 houses may have to be increased.

The council are now looking for further input from residents until 5pm on Friday 31 March 2017.

The documents are rather hard to follow and may take some time but you can get an idea of the main facts by joining in the conversation on the Village Facebook Page here.

Do not let the complex nature of the documents put you off commenting. The main arguments are clear:

• Green belt should not be used when brown field sites may come available before deadline date of 2028
• The village infrastructure and facilities are not geared up for any additional houses no matter 250 plus 250 or more on green belt (significant investment would need to be made – not a round about here or there)
• Large scale developments are not in keeping with the village – these are more appealing to developers because its more costs effective but smaller less invasive developments would be more suitable in Ruddington
• Nearly all of the proposed sites would impact township boundaries – especially the ones towards Clifton

Comments can be made:

ONLINE at http://rushcliffe-consult.objective.co.uk/portal

BY EMAIL to localdevelopment@rushcliffe.gov.uk

or BY POST to:

Planning Policy
Rushcliffe Borough Council
Rushcliffe Arena
Rugby Road
West Bridgford
Nottingham. NG2 7YG

It is worth noting that the document does factor in adequate facilities and infrastructure requirements – so we believe there is still much to fight for – as we all well know that the village currently cannot cope. The recent results from Highways and Transport in regards to the Asher Lane proposal, which was a recommendation to refuse development because of the sheer amount of works that would need to be carried out – also provide us with hope that common sense may prevail.

These are shown as RUD11, RUD12, RUD13 & RUD14 on a newly published map – adding to ten original sites aiming to accommodate at least another 250 houses on our greenbelt by 2028.
A statement on their planning website about The Local Plan Part 2 explains “We are now undertaking an additional round of consultation to consider further where new homes might be built. The main reason for this latest consultation is because extra land may potentially be needed for housing development within Rushcliffe. This could include identifying sites for new homes at a wider range of towns and villages than was previously being considered. This includes the villages of Cotgrave, Cropwell Bishop, East Bridgford, Gotham, Sutton Bonington and Tollerton.”

 

We encourage all residents to have their say – and stop the unnecessary use of green belt land for development!

Asher Lane Ruddington – Planning Application for 175 dwellings on Green Belt

Another application has been submitted for a potential 175 dwellings on Asher Lane, Ruddington. Submitted by the same developer as the 250 dwelling application 2 years ago (which was withdrawn following over 900 objections).

The new application, stipulates a smaller number of houses but fails to address any of the issues previously raised by residents. With this in mind,  the same support from our Parish Council and the residents; as a community we are in a good place to once again stop this application in its tracks.

Therefore we urge everyone who previously objected to do so again and encourage their friends and neighbours to support the cause.

Deadline is 1st February 2017

Any objections must be made directly to the borough council here: Click here to submit your objections to the council.

On what grounds are residents objecting?

There are many different reasons why people are objecting to this application. Here is a sample of some of the reasons provided by residents two years ago and over the past few days.  You can use these to help you submit your comments.

1. A short notice period for comments provided
2. This is green belt land – one of the few truly rural areas left within the village boundaries
3. Traffic through the village is already really bad, access to this estate would  be via the village centre and down Asher Lane which is already single file traffic and would affect the existing residents negatively not to mention emergency vehicles. Any suggestions for limited parking along Asher Lane would be unfair on existing residents.
4. The rail track is regulatory used (which the developer claims is ‘disused’) and would cause a lot of noise for the new estate – which could lead to the rail track and heritage centre being closed
5. The local kennels could also prove to be too noisy for the new estate – again could be forced to close
6. Local schools are unable to cater for additional families (already at breaking point)
7. GP appointment waiting times are regularly around 3 weeks already
8. This is a rural landscape which supports a variety of wild life
9. Ruddington simply cannot take any more houses despite the allocated number we have to build by 2028
10. The ownership of the road accessing the site is still unknown – and the developer would look to take ownership – which could cause country park, allotment, local business and farm access issues.

Any objections must be made directly to the borough council here: Click here to submit your objections to the council.

Do we really need to build on the greenbelt?

As submitted to the Parish Council  by Ian Wilson

Each new housing application leads to the same conversation: why are we building more houses around our village?

The answer, we are told, is because it is in “the plan” known as the Core Strategy that we must build them. This is said as if this should be the end of the debate. The plan was written by Rushcliffe Borough Council, where we have three councillors. The plan for new houses can be changed by Rushcliffe Council.
In 2012, the Council had a total target for the borough and Ruddington’s share was 250 houses, to be built outside what most of us recognise as the current village boundaries. Any new houses in the village do not count towards this total.

If, like me, you feel that we need to do much to improve the quality of life in the village, then it is time for this to be revisited and the 250 houses not to go ahead.  There are many reasons for Rushcliffe Council to change their plans, my main three are:

East Leake has had twice the growth set out in the plan. East Leake had a target of 400 houses, though will build 800 at least. If East Leake is contributing an extra 400 houses and the total has not changed, why do we need to have the extra 250 houses in Ruddington?

Each change seems to be encouraging us to become a commuter village. The character of the village could be tipped dramatically if there is a poorly integrated mix and location of these extra houses. There was good reason for many of the other sites in Rushcliffe with improvements in job opportunities and transport links; this is not the case for Ruddington.

There has been significant public investment in broadband and Rushcliffe’s superfast coverage will increase to over 90%, with many rural houses gaining superfast broadband access for the first time. Given the aim is to allow connectivity to those living in rural areas, why do we not see new housing being sympathetically planned to be based around our changing infrastructure? This could be a significant step in supporting the viability of smaller rural communities.

The time has come for Rushcliffe Borough Council to revisit these plans and lift the shadow of 250 new houses.

Ian Wilson

TUE 15th MARCH: IMPORTANT MEETING TONIGHT!

Should Ruddington Parish Council express ‪#‎GreenBelt‬ housing opinions to Rushcliffe when they are land owners on one of the sites under consideration? Or should they stand aside and just let villagers have our say in Rushcliffe’s consultation?

Additionally if councillors do express preferences on locations they are liable to divide village residents – ALL of whom they are meant to serve.

Go along to let them know your opinion at their meeting TONIGHT, at 7.30pm, in St Peter’s Rooms. The public can comment on any agenda items before councillors make their decision.

Download the agenda here: https://t.co/aNfsdseVlQ