Rearranged date confirmed for meeting to determine future of Ashfield’s local plan

The Local Plan Development Panel meeting was due to take place on September 13, but was cancelled following the death of Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II.

The meeting will see councillors determine the next steps for the housing document, including whether controversial plans to build 3,000 homes on the greenbelt at Whyburn Farm, Hucknall, will be scrapped.

Now the Ashfield Independents-led authority has confirmed the meeting will take place on Friday, September 23, in time for councillors to make recommendations to a cabinet meeting on September 27.

It comes after the housing document was paused when the Ashfield Independents sought clarification from Whitehall about potential changes in national policy, in response to comments by former Prime Minister Boris Johnson and then Levelling Up Secretary Michael Gove.

Both suggested changes to housing calculations and restrictions on greenbelt building could be on the horizon.

Local plan rules mean councils set their own housing targets based on calculations provided by the Government, with 8,226 homes required in Ashfield between now and 2038.

This is a target councillors, including Coun Jason Zadrozny, council leader, have described as ‘unrealistic’.

He later revealed plans to scrap Whyburn Farm from the plans.

It came after a public backlash, with an almost 8,000-name petition calling for the greenbelt site to be removed.

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.

Coun Zadrozny’s comments came following remarks by the new Prime Minister Liz Truss during summer hustings events, when she described housing calculations as ‘Stalinist’ and suggested giving more planning powers to local leaders.

The Ashfield Independents now hope her comments will lead to a significant shift in how housing plans are created.

And papers published ahead of the local plan development panel last week confirmed councillors will be presented with four options in moving the plan forwards when the rescheduled meeting takes place.

These include continuing to pause the plan, progressing it as is, removing Whyburn Farm, or making separate, smaller changes but continuing with the 8,226-home target.