Representatives of the Forum Steering Group & Chetwynd CIC met on 12th September with Milan Radulovic (Leader, Broxtowe Borough Council), taking him up on the offer he made at the end of the Council meeting where the Neighbourhood Plan was adopted to meet with the Forum.
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Milan asked if the Forum would be willing to work collaboratively with him in relation to possible major developments in the Forum Area, and on anything else where there is a joint/mutual interest affecting the Forum. We of course said Yes!
Milan explained that he had “robustly challenged” potential developers to provide funding for a “link road” from the A52 to Chetwynd Barracks and the Toton Strategic Location for Growth. He also stated that, whilst Broxtowe had sufficient land allocated for housing to meet its housing requirements under the new government’s housing figures, there was little “headroom” should developers delay construction of the housing within the present allocation and that further allocations might be needed.
Milan stated that the developers response, to the request for the Link Road, was that this would require an additional development of around 900 homes in the Area. The only possible location for these additional homes being the Green Belt land north of the Tram and across either side of the A52.
Milan set out his vision for a new ‘country park’/public open green space as part of this development proposal for the land north of the tram line through our Area and onwards to Bramcote & into Stapleford – basically covering the Wheatgrass Farm land northwards either side of Baulk Lane and across the A52.
Although we of course know the area concerned, we have requested a map/diagram showing the boundaries of the land involved, including where he believes the link road could be routed from the Chetwynd Barracks northern boundary to the A52.
This land is presently Green Belt, but Milan suggested that it was an obvious area for “infill” at some point in the future and that his proposals would protect the “Country Park” (an area of around 60Ha) in perpetuity.
This environmental gain could be funded from the developer’s Biodiversity Net Gain contribution. In addition, infrastructure & facilities (e.g. Medical, Leisure, Community Centre, Schools etc. as per the Neighbourhood Plan), plus the link road that is also key, to support these new homes would be funded from the Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL)/Section 106 monies.
We informed Milan that the Chetwynd CIC would be willing to provide long-term stewardship of green spaces, and CIL/Section 106 monies could be used to fund this.
The new ‘Country Park’ would provide a link to Attenborough Nature Reserve and be part of the ‘Attenborough Great Park’ concept.
The issue is further complicated by the fact that, at the end of August, Conditional Approval was granted for a Battery Energy Storage System on part of this area (see our previous posts on this here), so how that would fit in with the vision of the overall development remains to be determined. In any event, we have asked Milan for clarification on this aspect.
Milan pointed out that development on the Barracks and the Toton Strategic Location for Growth sites was outside of Broxtowe Borough Council’s control i.e. dependent on the landowners, principally the MoD & Nottinghamshire County Council. Which as we all know, is leading to uncertainty, rumour and speculation. Whereas working with the current landowner for the area north of the tram line (as above) could provide much needed new homes sooner, together with the additional benefits Milan outlined to us.
A number of other things were discussed, including the potential extension of the tram to Long Eaton, and possibly onwards to Derby, with a potential train/tram/transport hub where HS2 would have been located. Whether the extension would also extend to EM Airport (in a similar way that the Manchester Metro does to Manchester Airport) remains to be seen.
The Forum and Chetwynd CIC look forward to continued collaboration with Broxtowe Borough Council, and we await further news and the next invitation to discuss the proposals in more detail, hopefully at an early stage before they are put forward for formal public consultation so that we can help shape them in line with the Neighbourhood Plan. In our view it is better to be involved at the outset and in a position to influence proposals, than having to respond after they have been put forward and attempt to rectify issues retrospectively. After all, the Neighbourhood Plan is ‘made’ and its policies will influence this proposed development when it comes forward.
So what do you think?
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