Plans submitted for up to 70 homes at the edge of Southwell
The edge of Southwell could grow by another 70 homes if plans are approved by the council – but resident opinion is mixed.
Property consultant Fisher German, on behalf of an applicant, applied to Newark and Sherwood District Council on Friday, November 14, for ‘outline’ plans for up to 70 homes to be built on land west of Allenby Road, Southwell.
The site is located to the west of the town next to the existing residential properties which border open countryside towards the village of Halam.
While there are limited details about what these properties would look like, planning documents say a mix of homes would be included, such as bungalows, semi-detached and detached homes.
Documents say the proposed development would “help support delivery of smaller [house] types in Southwell” suitable for elderly people looking to downsize and for young people buying their first home.
Developers have included open green space in the proposed scheme, along with new play equipment for children and the retention of the two existing Public Rights of Way on the patch to link residents to the wider countryside.
Plans show a new access to the proposed housing would come from Allenby Road.
One resident, who asked not to be named, has lived in the area for eight years and said the plans were “fantastic”.
They said: “I’ve got a business in Southwell, so more people, more potential business.
“I know people are worried about infrastructure, schools, doctors, but maybe with more housing comes more infrastructure – the more residents, the more you get.
“People don’t like change. Once their house didn’t [exist] here, did it just pop up out of thin air? No. We need more people. As a business owner I think it’s fantastic.
They added they hoped the development encourages young families to live in the area and Southwell needs a bit of “refreshing”
Other residents had concerns about whether the existing infrastructure would cope with an increase in people.
One man, who asked not to be named, has lived nearby for around three years and said: “They’ve got no doctors, they don’t do anything else for the infrastructure, they just build houses. We’ve got one little supermarket, you can’t get parked or go up anyway.
“It’s not going to be that much of an estate… say if it was a massive housing development they have to put in another school, but because they only do small little fields every now and again they just get away with it – I’d rather it not.”
He questioned “how big” new housing plans were going to extend, adding: “How long is it going to be before Halam and Southwell are just fully connected? Everybody lives around here because they like living in the countryside, they want to be out here. It’ll just be like what Nottingham is soon.”
Chris Miller has lived in the area for nearly 20 years and has concerns for flooding near to the proposed site and called it “swamp” land.
He added: “It’s alright building 70 houses but there’s more housing going down [nearby] – that’s hundreds of people living on top of everyone else.
“You do get a bit deflated when you ring the doctors and they say you can have an appointment in three weeks time.”
The council will decide on the application at a later stage.