Hundreds of homes proposed for city green wedge

Plans to build hundreds of homes on green wedge land in Derby are set to be approved, despite opposition.

Up to 350 homes are proposed to the east of Moorway Lane in Littleover, on the protected Littleover and Sunnyhill green wedge, a planning designation designed to protect open areas of land between settlements.

Objection letters have been submitted by 220 residents, while a petition launched by campaign group Greener Littleover has been signed by 3,390 people.

However, Derby City Council planning officials have recommended the application be approved at a meeting on Thursday, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

Highways officials noted the impact the development would have on nearby roads and said work to improve the Moorway Lane-Bleagraves Lane junction as part of the scheme should be "essential".

Applicant Ainscough Strategic Land has requested permission to build a number of homes before junction improvements are finished.

As well as highways concerns, objections also highlighted the impact on neighbouring Millennium Wood and the green wedge within which the site sits.

Derbyshire county councillor Martyn Ford, whose patch borders the site, has opposed the plans, saying it would "add to the chaos" of Derby's road network, in partnership with a district council-backed plan for 2,500 homes on the outskirts of Mickleover.

Derby MPs Catherine Atkinson and Baggy Shanker have not opposed the plans but have submitted a letter sharing the concerns of residents about traffic, public transport, active travel, the green wedge, flooding, and stretched public services.

Planners said the authority only has a 2.7-year housing land supply - below the expected five years - which makes it harder for the council to resist new housing sites.

A report to the council meeting said a "viable" green wedge would still be retained and that the "adverse effects" of the development "do not substantially outweigh the benefits of the scheme, which are very significant in the context of the council's housing land supply and affordable housing needs".

Listen to BBC Radio Derby on Sounds and follow BBC Derby on Facebook, on X, or on Instagram. Send your story ideas to [email protected] or via WhatsApp on 0808 100 2210.