Campaigners’ passionate plea to protect ‘beautiful’ countryside from development

Land stretching from Alfreton to Oakerthorpe in Amber Valley has become a focal point for developments over the past couple of years.

This includes current plans under consideration for 53 homes off the A615/Belper Road through Oakerthorpe; a 240-home retirement village off Wingfield Road next to Alfreton Golf Club; and a large solar farm across the fields between Oakerthorpe and Alfreton, north of Wingfield Road.

Plans from Waters Homes for 37 houses for land next to the golf club were approved in August 2020 and are now under construction.

Campaign group Save Alfreton Countryside aims to see all three proposed schemes rejected, declaring an early victory in the case of the solar farm.

Amber Valley Council rejected plans from Kronos Solar for the scheme, across acres of fields and said to have been capable of powering 11,500 homes.

It was thought to be too large, disruptive and in the wrong place by more than 750 objectors including councillors, Amber Valley MP Nigel Mills and Alfreton Park Special School.

However, the developer has appealed the decision in a bid to see its scheme approved.

Jamie Selby, of the Save Alfreton Countryside group, which has 1,600 members, said: “You couldn’t pick a more unsuitable location for these developments.

“The site is surrounded on effectively all four corners by heritage assets and as you can see today, they are bailing at the moment so it is clearly still capable of being farmed.

“Wingfield Manor is in the top 1 per cent of all important buildings in the UK and to say you can’t see it from here and it is not important is disingenuous.

“Residents love this area, it is beautiful. It is currently open countryside, a beautiful landscape, the land would be completely eroded if these developments are approved.”

He said the nation’s food security is of high importance, particularly now, and taking up viable agricultural land for housing and a solar farm would be poor use of the space.

Mr Selby, aged 45, who has lifelong ties to the area, walking through the fields since the early 1980s, said the site is also close to St Martin’s Church, Alfreton Hall and the Peacock pub and restaurant, one of the county’s oldest pubs.

He said Amber Valley has proven it has enough housing stock – approved, built and under-construction homes – without approving more sites for further properties.

Mr Selby, who runs a recruitment agency, said: “There just isn’t any need to build on any more green fields.”

He said plans from Chevin Homes to build six houses on land which is currently derelict agricultural buildings next to the Peacock is a good use of the space which can be supported.

Campaigners said the site of three-metre-high solar panels on the fields would ‘destroy’ the countryside for those living nearby or viewing the area from further away.

Hundreds of further vehicle movements from the proposed residential schemes were also a concern, as well as the pressure the proposals could place on health services and schools.

They hailed the area of countryside between Alfreton and Oakerthorpe as the ‘last bit of green space’ available, with Mr Selby saying the area had been a ‘lifesaver’ during the pandemic with mental and physical health benefits.

He said there are currently 1,200 houses either approved, under construction or under consideration around Alfreton.

“This development would infill the gap between Alfreton and Oakerthorpe, it would be all the eye can see,” he said.

Devastated

Debbie Horabin, who has lived in the area for 20 years, said she walks the fields which could become a solar farm every day.

She said: “I am devastated it is being considered. It would just be tragic and once the land is gone it is gone.

“The rate technology is advancing, solar panels will be out of date, they shouldn’t be taking up fields for solar farms when they could build them on industrial sites.”

Karen Bradley, who has lived in the area for a decade, said a survey of rooftop space available on industrial buildings in Somercotes found there is more than enough room to install solar panels and generate the same amount of electricity as the solar farm.

Pam Crofts, who has lived next to the site since 1970 , said: “If we don’t make a stand now we have lost this land forever. This is our last chance to save this land for the next generation.”

Concerns

Scott Moore, for Prospection, the firm behind plans for a 240-home retirement village for over-55s, said concerns have been taken into account and could largely be avoided.

A core reason for the chosen site, he said, is the apparently impossible task of obtaining a town centre plot, due to competition with housing developers who can pay more.

He said the development would have a much lower impact than traditional housing schemes, because the residents would be retirees and many services would be on-site, requiring less travel from a population expected to travel less anyway.

Mr Moore said: “There are lower trips expected from residents aged 75-plus who will be most of the residents and there would not be any school-related journeys. Traffic impact is thought to be minimal.

“They would have people visiting, but there would be little travel by car and we would be providing pedestrian crossings for people to use facilities in the town centre. At the moment, people have to cut across the road and walk down the verge and on substandard footpaths, so our plans are an improvement on the road safety side of things.”

He said the firm has been working with Derbyshire Council to secure bus stop facilities outside the site, saying the development would create more demand for bus services.

Mr Moore said the scheme would create a ‘significant’ number of jobs, about 100 overall, with part-time and full-time roles for landscaping, maintenance, cleaning, catering and carers.

He said: “Keeping older people together and care services on-site should reduce the burden on local care services.

“It should also free up family-sized houses currently occupied by elderly people on their own, releasing those back into the housing stock.

“There is nothing else in Derbyshire coming forward like this and it is only possible because the site owners wanted this to happen.

“There will be no trees cut down and at the moment it is just a field for hay products, surrounded by woodland. We do not think it is going to be too visible.

“We want to protect the countryside, but are not going to find these sites in towns and it is not in the green belt.

“A lot of care homes are not up to scratch and we need more retirement homes in the housing supply. Some bungalows will be built as part of residential schemes, but these are often extended.

“People will always complain and object, but maybe people should look at what we are trying to do and see we are not looking to vandalise the countryside.”

John Fearnehough, director at Chevin Homes, said its development would be slightly reduced in size.

He wrote: “Further to our initial application in September, Chevin has been working hard with Amber Valley Council to address the concerns of planning officers and residents and has this week submitted a revised and replanned layout which reduces the number of dwellings to 43 and provides a sensitive layout with more open space.”

Kronos Solar has been approached for comment.

Previously, the firm said turning down the scheme risked ‘undermining’ the need to act on climate change and would mean the UK relies on others to make changes.