Bolsover Council identifies 61 potential housing sites across the region as ‘available’
Bolsover Council has identified 61 sites as ‘available’ in the region for potential housing developments.
The sites, in and around largely rural and some brownfield areas on the outskirts of villages and towns, are part of the council’s on-going, long-term Local Plan.
The Labour-controlled local authority undertook a ‘call for sites refresh’ in July 2025 and assessed just over 100 suggested sites for suitability, availability and achievability in and around 15 main villages and towns after they were identified in accordance with the council’s land availability assessment (LAA) for 2026 to support growth plans and to identify possible future housing sites.
However, the council stressed the LAA does not allocate sites for development and does not grant or refuse planning permission so these sites are not yet allocated for developments or subject to any planning approval at this very early stage but they simply present potential future possibilities.
A council spokesperson stated: “These decisions are made through separate plan-making and decision-making processes, such as adopting a Local Plan or granting planning permission.
“A site’s inclusion in the LAA is not an indication that the council supports development of that land.
“The LAA is a technical exercise and represents a snapshot in time regarding the site’s suitability, availability and achievability and its boundaries may change following the publication of a LAA and further sites may come into consideration.”
Assessments resulted in 61 sites being considered as ‘available’ for residential development, including15 in Bolsover, six in Shirebrook, six in Clowne, four in New Houghton, six in Whitwell, four in Creswell, three in Glapwell, one in Langwith and one in Pinxton.
Forty further sites, including ones in Bolsover, Shirebrook, Clowne, New Houghton, Whitwell, Creswell, Glapwell, Barlborough and Langwith were all subsequently deemed unsuitable.
One site in Glapwell was considered not available but oddly suitable and needing further assessments on achievability.
None of the 102 assessed sites were deemed to have achieved all three categories outright of suitability, availability and achievability combined.
Bolsover Council stressed it is seeking sustainable growth needed for the district to flourish and prosper and it is necessary to plan for the right amount and type of homes to meet the district’s needs in the right places with the right infrastructure in place to support residents and businesses.
A spokesperson said: “The Local Plan for Bolsover district is an ambitious document which actively tackles the issues we face today in seeking to achieve sustainable growth.
“It is underpinned by sound evidence and a spatial strategy that retains the district’s distinctive identity whilst providing the growth that is needed for the district to prosper and flourish.
“This means that it plans for the right amount and type of homes to meet our needs in the right places with the right infrastructure in place to support all residents and businesses going forward.”
The Government has urged all relevant councils that they must help to reach a target of 370,000 new homes per year with plans to address the housing shortage crisis by fast-tracking developments and by prioritising local buyers for local developments.
Under new planning rules, the Government has prioritised building on previously developed brownfield-used land to reduce environmental impacts but it has also introduced the new ‘grey belt’ land definition to allow and encourage more developments on low-quality green belt areas.
Bolsover is currently preparing a new Local Plan to replace the one originally adopted in March 2020 and they carried out a ‘call for sites’ to give people and organisations the opportunity to suggest sites with the potential for residential uses.
The Local Plan for Bolsover originally adopted in 2020 covers a period from 2014 to 2033 for housing requirements and a period from 2015 to 2033 in relation to employment land.
The council has still to finalise one of the district’s most significant housing developments in recent times after it granted outline planning permission for Waystone Ltd’s application for the Clowne Garden Village housing scheme for 1,800 homes near Clowne and Barlborough, in 2024.
However, these plans are subject to an appeal from campaigner Dom Webb to the Court of Appeal in his continued bid for a judicial review into the scheme concerning its SEND funding arrangements and contributions.