400-home Warsop plans not reviewed until highways comments received

The development, on Stonebridge Lane, was due before Mansfield Council’s planning committee this week, but was withdrawn at the last minute pending further consultation with the highways authority.

The plans were last assessed at the start of August, when the developer was allowed to change several conditions on its existing planning permission – despite fierce objections from councillors and the public.

Barratt David Wilson Homes, the developer behind the scheme, successfully varied its plans to drainage, phasing, off-site highways and its ‘buffer zone’ to a nearby site of special scientific importance.

Under the amended proposals, the developer moved the rear gardens of some properties directly onto the five-metre buffer zone, located to the west of the development site.

This means some homes will now back onto the nearby Sookhole Brook SSSI. These proposals were supported at the time by Natural England following a consultation.

The developer also requested to alter drainage proposals by amending the steepness of proposed flood banks, as well as increasing the depth of drainage ponds from one to three metres.

This was done, the developer said, following a ‘detailed assessment’, after discovering the site had ‘poorer infiltration rates’ than originally thought when it was first approved in 2018.

The changes were met with criticism by both councillors and members of the public during August’s meeting.

Approved

However, they were ultimately approved following a deciding vote by the committee’s chairman.

The committee initially voted five votes for, and five votes against, before the casting vote greenlit the changes.

Developers had planned to bring the scheme back this month at the reserved matters stage, focusing now on landscaping, public open space and drainage infrastructure.

But Coun Bill Drewett, committee chairman, confirmed the plans had been withdrawn and moved to a future meeting.

He said: “It has been withdrawn due to awaiting highways comments from Nottinghamshire Council.”

The scheme is expected to be reviewed again before the end of the year.

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