Outline Planning for 70 houses on Throstlenest Way

Gladman – Outline Planning 24/00546/OUT – Throstlenest Way Site, Brailsford

This is your chance to make your comments on the Derbyshire Dales Council planning portal and searching for the planning application using the ref 24/00546/OUT.

The statement below is how the parish council have commented.

This statement is made in addition to objections already submitted by Brailsford and Ednaston PC in the light of new documentation made available during the consultation process. It should be noted that Councillors recognise that England has an assessed housing need but this must be taken in context in relation to the local requirements when 'one size does not fit all'. It is the position of the Parish Council that Brailsford has no need for more large housing estates but for limited small scale and tailored developments as set out in the approved Neighbourhood Plan.
The Parish Council has 7 core objections to the development of this site. These are as follows:
Over development in the 'village'. Brailsford has already been doubled in size during the lifetime of the current Derbyshire Dales Local Plan with c 230 home permitted and a further 70 being considered south of the A52 at the western end.
This application would add to the growth resulting in an increase of c 200% on that existing prior to the approval of the current Local Plan.
A village is typically defined as 'a group of houses and associated buildings, larger than a hamlet and smaller than a town, situated in a rural area'. In a 2024 residents' survey of the village, despite the level of new development, the majority of respondents cited the rural environment and village community as the predominant feature relating to the expected quality of life.
In addition, the Derbyshire Dales Planning Authority has now reassessed the housing need for the district with a substantial reduction of builds per annum proposed. There is understood to be sufficient land supply within the current set development boundaries to meet these needs and it would be expected that this requirement will be reaffirmed when a response is given to the requirement for statutory annual build targets.
The Throstlenest Way site is also considered contrary to the priorities being set by the current Government for planning reform which emphasise the use of brownfield and 'grey' field sites, and in particular those connected to existing conurbations and key places of employment.
Urban Sprawl. The site lies outside the current approved development boundary which was agreed to maintain some semblance of village form.
Major developments have already been permitted at the western end of the village, which, while being considered as a continuation of the traditional 'linear' nature of the village has also spread it northwards.
A further major development to the south of the A52 (which was refused by the Planning Authority) is now under consideration following an appeal. This would cover valuable agricultural land and spread the village south. The Gladman application compounds this sprawl by extending the village east and north.
As stated, both this application and that under Appeal lie outside the agreed development boundary for the village and are contrary to the main requirements of Parish Neighbourhood Plan which was approved as recently as 2021.
Her should be noted that a plan for the development of this site was refused in the 1990s because 'the proposed development would result in the indiscriminate and obtrusive spread of unacceptable residential development on a large scale and outside the boundaries of the rural settlement'. The Parish Council maintains that these statements remain current today.
Landscape and Environment
This is a greenfield site predominantly used for agriculture – the requirement to increase UK food security and protect valuable agricultural land has been recognised in recent national policy considerations
Previous applications for this site have been refused on landscape and environment considerations and the refusals upheld.
The site was determined to be unsuitable for development in the 2016 SHELAA and again in that presented in 2022 when it failed the overall assessment criteria.
The site lies adjacent to buildings and structures contained within the village conservation area, including listed buildings. These have been the subject of a number of individual applications – refused – demonstrating the recognised need by the Planning Authority to protect the integrity of the conservation area and the overall setting of these buildings
The site overlies an aquifer.
Despite comments made by the Conservation Officer in relation to the site and recorded in the 2022 SHELAA, the design of the proposed site is such that the level of visibility, especially from the north, will be high.
The site has established hedgerows and trees and a variety of habitats associated – although these are not recognised as of specific importance by the Wildlife Trust, they are an inherent part of the rural environment. The site is also crossed by a public footpath which make the natural site accessible. While noting that the later will be retained, it will not be 'preserved' as it will become a footway crossing an estate.
Form of Development
The majority of development in Brailsford to date has centred on 3-5 bed-roomed homes and taken little account of the demand identified in the Neighbourhood Plan for smaller properties and bungalows suitable for starter homes and available to older local residents wishing to downsize while remaining in the locality. This requirement has been recognised in the development of the revised Derbyshire Dales Local Plan.
While the application makes generic reference to a high quality of environmental standard for the build, the experience previously has been that these general commitments are made and then changed as an application proceeds to full application with cost issues cited. The applicant should be required to provide a full environmental specification for the properties setting out the measures to be taken – solar, heat pumps, insulation and the standards to be achieved. The application should not be considered until this is done.
It is not clear what provision is being made for car parking and garaging. The existing new estates already can be seen to have under provision, and this can lead to on-street parking making it difficult for service and emergency vehicles to access.
Despite the comments made about the careful design of the proposed development, this is nevertheless a large (by village standards) estate with estate form and standard housing design which can be seen anywhere across the UK. The form of mitigation measures will result – as can be seen in the other similar developments in the village in a basic form of mitigation measures and large areas of grass requiring high levels of maintenance which will form part of a management agreement for residents leading to concerns and disputes which frequently find their way to the Parish Council when the properties are occupied. A detailed plan of the measures proposed, and the planting regime should be supplied and assessed by an independent landscape expert (supported by the Tree and Landscape Officer) before consideration is given to the application. This will also confirm or otherwise the net positive biodiversity claims made by the applicant.
The Parish Council supports the comments of the Peak and Northern District Footpath Society and those of the Tree and Landscape Officer and considers that before any further consideration is given the developer should be asked to respond.
Traffic
All will use the A52/Luke Lane junction under the proposed access arrangements which already has congestion at peak times.
A recent traffic survey conducted for the Parish Council has shown that Luke Lane carries a higher number of HGVs movements than would generally be expected in its location, especially at peak times. These all pass the primary school. These traffic movements are governed by access to established quarry sites lying outside the Parish boundary.

The Parish Council considers the proposed access arrangements with vehicles travelling through an existing estate to join Luke Lane – opposite another housing development and close to the A52. A recent traffic survey conducted for the Parish Council has shown that there c1320 traffic movements already on this Lane with over 100 during each peak hour when traffic from the new estate is also likely to be at its s peak. The access arrangements are therefore considered to be unsustainable.
The uncontrolled junction is already subject to high volumes of turning traffic at peak times, often creating tail backs along the A52 westward bound, and especially at peak times, as there are regular HGV movements turning right into Luke Lane. Movement takes longer when there are queuing vehicles on the southbound carriageway of Luke Lane.
Traffic generated by the Throstlenest way development will add to this burden. Because little allowance has been made for committed and potential development, the cumulative effectat the junction is probably understated by the applicant. Modelling taking account of the cumulative effect of committed and potential development undertaken for the Parish Council suggests that the junction may become over capacity in a relatively short time scale. There is limited scope for improvements at this location.
The Parish Council believes that the traffic assessments and projections produced by the applicant may be flawed as:
• they do not appear to take account of the cumulative effect of neighbouring development in Brailsford, including Ashbourne airfield which has yet to be developed
• the months of assessment may not be appropriate (neutral months).
• the assessment of trips per day is likely to be underestimated as compared with normal convention.
Travel Plan
The application claims to have a balanced Travel Plan with the appointment of a Co-ordinator to develop/assess. It is noted that an assessment will not take place until the site is 75% occupied when it will be too late for any significant changes to be made. In particular the Parish Council would question:
• The current traffic statement 'plays down' the use of the private car – although 140 identified - with generic statement about the Travel Plan Co-ordinator working to reduce the levels but here are limited local opportunities for employment and it is likely, as recent experience shows, that most occupiers will be commuters along the A52 – predominantly to Derby but some to Ashbourne and onto Stoke or S Yorkshire. The Parish Council believes that this aim is unrealistic. Therefore, the applicant needs to specify the level being worked to and how in practical terms the reductions will be achieved as based on the demographic and location this is thought to be unlikely.
• The actual impact of the cycling proposals – this can only lead to cycling along the A52 which has no dedicated cycling lane with a high level of danger to cyclists from speeding traffic with the speeds identified in the recent traffic survey. Perhaps the developer could consider a contribution to the construction of a dedicated cycle lane.
• Access to the primary school requires crossing the busy Luke Lane – no pedestrian crossing or suitable crossing point. Consideration should be given to this aspect before the application is considered.
• A significant number of village 'amenities' lie on the south side of the A52 and require the road to be crossed. The existing Pelican pedestrian crossing can assist but this lies some distance from key services such as the GP surgery.
• While the current bus service is being improved (more frequent) on a temporary basis this has been achieved with one-off funding and is unlikely to be sustained. Consideration should therefore be given to S106 funding for the service before any approvals are given. This could be included in the Travel Plan.
• The current bus service does NOT provide access to Derby railway station as implied, and this requires a c 10-15 min walk from the bus station.

Infrastructure

As has been identified and commented on in relation to other applications relating to the village, significant new infrastructure is required to sustain the additional housing. This relates to:
• The local Primary School is already oversubscribed.
• The GP surgery has recently undergone a 'requires improvement' CQC notification and although significant improvements have been made the controlling practice has indicated that the current facilities need modernising/enlarging to cope with existing and future demands.
• The drainage and sewage systems have not been improved since the 1990s. The village is frequently subject to flooding along the A52 and to sewage overspills into neighbouring watercourses. Gardens in the adjacent Cameron Homes development have also been subject to flooding. Seven Trent Water have advised the Parish Council at a recent meeting that due to recent climate conditions, which resulted in the need to use tankers to take surplus water from the sewage plant, they have changed their view on surface water entering the sewage system and will require developers of new sites to use existing watercourses and retention facilities to deal with this. This will create additional pressure on the drainage system within the village and an increase in flooding risk. The Parish Council therefore considers that the developer submits proposals to manage this risk.
Sustainability
The Parish Council strongly disagrees with the applicant's sustainability statement. Sustainable development is a balance of economic, social and environmental needs. This application may:
• Economic: Make a small contribution to national GDP but has no promises in relation to local employment opportunity during the construction phase. There are very limited employment opportunities in and around the village leading to a likely high level of commuting and an increase traffic burden from those occupying the type of property proposed.
• Social. The development does not offer the type of property which meets local needs and will be detrimental to community cohesion in the village
• Environmental: The application will create overall detriment to the rural environment, potentially destroying centuries old landscape features such as tree and hedges and adding to the flood risk burden – which may not be considered to be of national importance but has significant impact on the lives of local residents and adds to safety dangers on a busy road in times of heavy rainfall.

It is also unlikely to result in the net positive biodiversity gain suggested by the developer unless more direct and distinctive proposal are made. In any case 'net
positive' can be applied to any other location and may not benefit the local community.

Community Consultation the Parish Council recognises the strong local feeling about this application as shown by the number of individual local representations. There are few findings in favour. On the basis of representations made to it, the findings of the recent all Parish survey; and previous experience relating to the 'watering down' of key commitments once permission is granted the Parish Council would urge that local consultations are given high weighting (including our own) in any formal considerations and urge the Planning Authority to uphold the approved development boundary and published site assessments and refuse this application.