28th
March 2012
Planning
Control Department
Broxtowe
Borough Council
Foster
Avenue
Beeston
Notts
NG9
1AB
Dear
Sirs,
The
above application was considered at the Council meeting of 26th
March 2012 which was attended by a large number of residents who expressed a
variety of concerns regarding the application which have been summarised below:
TRAFFIC ISSUES;
The
transport assessment J-D0915-R000-TA states that the speed recorded at the
proposed site of the new junction is 40mph and that the NCC is considering
reducing the current 60mph limit to 40mph to incorporate the area of the new
junction. Residents’ experience is that it is a fast moving road and despite
the suggested lane proposals in/out of the junction it will be a difficult
junction to emerge from/into safely. The decrease in speed limit will increase
congestion at the Nuthall island at peak times. There will be a general
increase in traffic at peak times caused by the anticipated traffic generated
by the site itself.
FUTURE DEVELOPMENT OF THE NET TRAM
SERVICE;
Whilst
mention is made of the existing tram service in the transport assessment
referred to above, residents were concerned that no consideration has been made
to future muted plans that the Phoenix park line may be extended. In this
instance there will be a need to traverse the Hempshill Vale site.
The
development plan shows no preferred route defined but as the existing estate is
urbanised it would suffer severe detriment if any tram line was to pass through
it. Residents were concerned that the new site, currently the best route
through the Hempshill Vale area would in fact “push” any future tram line into
using the existing estate, probably along the Apollo Drive roadway which is
adjacent to the local primary school with all the safety implications this
would generate as well as effectively cutting the existing Hempshill Vale state
in half.
IMPACT ON GRADE II LISTED BUILDINGS;
Hempshill
Hall Farmhouse, Barn and Stable range to the north of Hempshill Hall Farmhouse
and Hempshill Hall itself are all grade II listed buildings (as confirmed in
Broxtowe Borough Council Planning and Building Control’s “Listed Buildings
Nuthall” publication). As such consideration must be given to the aspect and
surroundings in which these sit in order that their historical importance is
not detracted from by future development.
The
residents of Hempshill Hall and Barn consider that this has not been reflected
in the planning application and should be reviewed in the light of the rules
appertaining to buildings of this category. It has been acknowledged items 3.7
& 4.16 of the Heritage Impact Appraisal that there will be a detrimental
effect.
As
the Barn and Stable range and the Farmhouse are both outside of the Broxtowe
Borough (as defined in the Broxtowe publication noted above) then should this
matter not be referred to the City Council for comment and further analysis
before any decision is made?
FOOTPATHS, COMMUNITY ACCESS AND
RECREATION;
Great
concern was lodged at the loss of public access to safe walking and recreational
space that would be caused by the development. Whilst the public footpaths remain,
their accessibility and enjoyment potential will be lost as they are restrained
by the new development.
To
the best of local knowledge there has never been an issue with abuse of the
site, and walkers, dog walkers, children and families have all responsibly
enjoyed space to roam freely from the footpaths throughout the site’s history. Referring
to item 9.13 of the Heritage Impact appraisal “I note that, although truncated
from its original form, this is still a well used pedestrian route through the
site from Hempshill Vale to the main A610.” This is undoubtedly the case and
should be taken into account as a priority issue in the decision making
process.
WILDLIFE AND FLORA/FAUNA;
It
was noted that the report was an update from one carried out in 2009. The
calendar timing of the site visit and subsequent findings was queried as to its
effectiveness in identifying and quantifying the species of plant and wildlife
in the development area.
Whilst
it is stated that there are no plans to remove hedgerows they will be cut back and
“cultivated” and therefore there will be impact on the birdlife etc.
Residents
at the meeting identified additional species that need to afforded
consideration in the area and have been asked to identify these directly with
the Planning department so that any resultant query can be adequately responded
to by the observer(s) directly.
NOISE AND AIR QUALITY;
Councillors
and residents that had “walked” the site all reported that the noise levels
from the A610 and Low Wood Road, added to the Nuthall Island itself meant that
the site had very high noise levels for residential property and that, it would
be reasonable to assume a significant impact on air quality.
It
is noted that the “shortened” measurement procedure had been carried out. From
this report item 4.6 clearly states that part of the site is NEC D designated by your table 2.3 in the
report as “Planning permission should normally be refused”. A further
significant portion of the land is NEC C “Planning permission should not
normally be granted”. Couple this with the comments in 4.8/4.9 that even the
erection of a 2m fence will not have a significant change but will in itself blight
the landscape of the area this is not considered acceptable mitigation.
Peripheral dwellings on the site, whilst shielding the inner dwellings
somewhat, according to the figures still fall into category NEC C above. It
would be interesting to know when this was undertaken as the foliage of the
trees would be a significant part of the readings taken and as some loss of
trees are planned as part of the development this should be taken into account.
Regarding
Air Quality it seems that the report relies on previous reports and surveys
carried out and states in 7.6 that there are no automatic monitoring sites in
the immediate vicinity of the site. It is suggested that a full survey with
actual measurements be carried out and not merely the re-analysis and
extrapolation of previous figures be relied on with models that have become
outdated taken to reflect the current situation and furthermore that allowance
should be made for the reduction of air quality caused by the lack of foliage
on trees and surrounding hedgerows which currently act as a natural shield to
the site.
STATUS OF SITE;
One
of the residents recalled that the site had been given “protected status” some
time ago. Whilst it was not clear if this was the case and what impact it would
have on the development process it needs to be determined as to if this is on
fact the case.
LACK OF CONSULTATION;
The
residents who attended the Council meeting were a mixture of Broxtowe and
Nottingham City residents that, to all intents and purposes live in the same
community, but which by simple geographics are classed as being in different
political and planning areas.
There
was frustration and annoyance that only certain residents had been contacted by
Broxtowe Borough Council and that there was limited notification on lamp posts
etc. It was only due to the efforts of a small number of residents to “spread
the word” that had resulted in the large attendance.
Nuthall
Parish Council has always recognised the fragmented nature of the Hempshill
Vale Estate and have endeavoured to treat City residents with equal respect as
Nuthall ones. It was expressed by the residents present that Broxtowe Borough
Council should show the same level of consideration to this conurbation and
make additional efforts in future to ensure that there is a more widespread
consultation area.
IN SUMMARY;
For
the reasons given above the Nuthall Parish Council voted by majority to object
to the planning application and wish this to be recorded accordingly.
Yours
sincerely,
Susan
Stack
Clerk
& RFO
Nuthall
Parish Council
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