Speculative development has taken place across greenfield sites in Harworth and Bircotes, you state that this has previously been due to a lack of a 5-year land supply. We now have an up-to-date 5-year land supply, yet a large scale development has recently gone through. Why has this happened?
Speculative development has continued in Harworth Bircotes because there is not an up-to-date Local Plan and associated planning policies for Bassetlaw. As a result, more weight is applied to National Planning Policy as identified in the National Planning Policy Framework.
What does sustainability mean in terms of planning?
Sustainability is defined as ‘’sustainable development’ in the National Planning Policy Framework as:
Achieving sustainable development means that the planning system has three overarching objectives, which are interdependent and need to be pursued in mutually supportive ways (so that opportunities can be taken to secure net gains across each of the different objectives):
a) an economic objective – to help build a strong, responsive and competitive economy, by ensuring that sufficient land of the right types is available in the right places and at the right time to support growth, innovation and improved productivity; and by identifying and coordinating the provision of infrastructure;
b) a social objective – to support strong, vibrant and healthy communities, by ensuring that a sufficient number and range of homes can be provided to meet the needs of present and future generations; and by fostering a well-designed and safe built environment, with accessible services and open spaces that reflect current and future needs and support communities’ health, social and cultural well-being; and
c) an environmental objective – to contribute to protecting and enhancing our natural, built and historic environment; including making effective use of land, helping to improve biodiversity, using natural resources prudently, minimising waste and pollution, and mitigating and adapting to climate change, including moving to a low carbon economy.
As part of sustainability you talk about education provision, but in Harworth we currently do not have appropriate education capacity or provision, does this not mean that Harworth has tipped the scales on sustainability?
Advice about education provision comes from the education authority – Nottinghamshire County Council. They advise on provision and capacity throughout the preparation of the Local Plan. They will also provide comments as part of the planning application, where appropriate.
How do people get involved and comment on the Masterplan regarding the town centre?
Contact the Town Council or the District Council’s Regeneration Team.
Are we not at risk of playing catch up and chasing our tails as a result of the growth from the 1700 homes that currently have planning permission in Harworth and Bircotes if the developments do not also deliver the required infrastructure?
The required 1700 homes for Harworth Bircotes either already has planning permission or it has been completed since 1st April 2020. Due to this, the Local Plan is not proposing any additional growth over the plan period.
After the closure of the colliery in 2006, the site became one of five in the country to receive government funding to invest in and clean up the contaminated land for it to be used as a brownfield site to provide housing. However, this has not happened and instead developers have been able to develop on greenfield land, and have not delivered the required infrastructure such as schools and doctors surgeries either. How do we know that in the future the developers will deliver what is required and what they have promised?
The former Colliery site has been a major focus for regeneration in Harworth. This site is considered a long-term site for development due to its size and the complexities of site clearance and contamination. Other sites around Harworth have since been brought forward for development in response to changes in national planning policy and the Core Strategy becoming out of date.
An up-to-date adopted Local Plan will help better manage speculative development in Bassetlaw and ensure planned growth is supported by the necessary investment and infrastructure.
Why has the Neighbourhood Plan not been updated in order to give the local community an opportunity to voice their opinions?
Any review of the made Neighbourhood Plan will come through the Town Council and is a decision for the community.
Having been a part of the local community for most of my life, I have attended numerous events to discuss local infrastructure issues, yet developments have still been able to come through which have not delivered what is required. Why have we not reacted before now? Why has housing been delivered first with the infrastructure to follow?
Speculative development has continued in Harworth Bircotes because there is not an up-to-date Local Plan and associated planning policies for Bassetlaw. As a result, more weight is applied to National Planning Policy as identified in the National Planning Policy Framework.
Through speculative development, any impact to infrastructure is dealt with through the planning process. Any required improvements or contributions are sought through a Section 106 Agreement with the Council.
I understand that external funding is needed to help provide for educational requirements. Recently two sites have been proposed which initially included schools, but these have now been removed from the applications. How are education needs assessed for planning and the Local Plan?
Advice about education provision comes from the education authority – Nottinghamshire County Council. They advise on provision and capacity throughout the preparation of the Local Plan. Any required improvements to provision will be detailed in the Council’s infrastructure delivery plan. They will also provide comments as part of the planning application, where appropriate.
Why do Retford, Worksop and the Garden Village proposals include new and investment in educational facilities, yet children from Harworth and Bircotes are being told they need to use rural and out of the area educational services? If the expected growth is delivered, that’s potentially another 2,000 children. Why has no provision been made for this is the Local Plan?
The difference between Worksop/Retford and Harworth is that the Local Plan is proposing growth in both towns, but is not proposing growth in Harworth. Therefore there will be no direct impact on infrastructure from the proposed Local Plan for Harworth. The planning system and the Local Plan is not designed to solve existing infrastructure capacity issues.
As someone who is new to the area, if we know that over 1,000 houses and being built/ have consent, why and who makes the decisions on infrastructure delivery?
The existing planning permissions are considered a commitment and any impacts to infrastructure were considered as part of planning application process. Infrastructure providers – such as the utility companies, the County Council, NHS etc… will have had the opportunity to comment on those planning applications at the time. Any contributions towards improving infrastructure will be secured through a Section 106 agreement or planning condition.
How do we account for future provision? Why does the Local Plan not outline an infrastructure plan for the future of Harworth and Bircotes?
As the Local Plan is not proposing new growth for the town, then there will be no requirement for additional planned infrastructure in the Local Plan. This does not mean there will not be improvements to existing infrastructure, although this will come investment through the relevant organisation or will be secured through a Section 106 agreement or planning condition.
Last Updated on Thursday, November 21, 2024