Councillors to be given four options for progressing controversial Ashfield housing plan

New documents have set out the next steps for the 8,226-home plans before councillors meet to determine the fate of the controversial document, which outlines where the council plans to allow major residential development.

The Ashfield Independents administration announced it wanted to remove the 3,000-home greenbelt settlement from the 15-year plan last month, following a huge backlash.

Instead, councillors revealed proposals to submit a document with slightly more than 5,000 homes to Whitehall inspectors.

The move came following public outcry over the proposed development, including an almost 8,000-signature petition, relaying concerns about the loss of a popular wildlife site and its impact on existing infrastructure.

Council leaders said at the time they were responding to comments made by the now Prime Minister Liz Truss during Conservative Party hustings.

Ms Truss described housing target calculations as ‘Stalinist’ and has said she wants to put planning powers ‘back in local councillors’ hands’.

Under local plan rules, the Government sets a housing target calculation method and councils must use this to determine how many homes are needed in their area.

They must then draw up a housing plan, setting out sites where homes can be built.

In Ashfield, the Government calculation meant 8,226 homes were required between now and 2038, a target the authority has described as ‘unrealistic’.

Councillors then put the plan on hold after the first round of consultation following similar comments from former Prime Minister Boris Johnson and his then-Levelling Up Secretary Michael Gove.

At the time, they believed a change in national policy was likely and now say they feel confident they can justify a significantly-altered plan without Whyburn Farm.

However, a second site for more than 1,000 homes off Cauldwell Road, Sutton, remains on the cards, despite huge opposition, including a 1,600-signature petition against the ‘obliteration’ of green space and wildlife.

A decision on the next steps will be made by the council’s local plan development panel.

Documents published for its next meeting have revealed a number of risks associated with the move.

These include requiring the authority to show the plan meets the district’s ‘objectively assessed needs’, including the amount of homes needed across the area.

The authority would also need to ensure the amended plan is ‘ready for examination’ and legally compliant.

The new report, written in part by assistant planning director Christine Sarris, confirms the four options to move the plan forward.

These include continuing to pause the plan, or submitting it in its current form. Other options include the Whyburn Farm removal. or making smaller changes, but keeping a similar-sized document.

Outlining the risks with the latter two options, Ms Sarris said: “At the examination, one of the key aspects the inspector will be considering is whether the plan seeks to meet the area’s needs and can be justified.

“This would include the basis of the housing need and the justification of any constraints meeting the need.

“The onus is on the authority to submit a plan ‘ready for examination’.”

The panel will assess the four options at a meeting on Tuesday, September 13, before recommending their preferred option to be taken forward by cabinet members on September 20.