Second bid to score with houses on Sutton football pitch -- but council could play VAR role
Their first attempt was disallowed – but now developers are hoping to score with a fresh plan for houses on a football pitch in Sutton.
And they are hoping that Ashfield District Council won’t play the role of VAR and rule out their goal again.
The award-winning, Derby-based construction company, Chevin Homes, first submitted a planning application to the council for homes on the Unwin Road site three years ago.
But it was rejected on the grounds that it would mean the loss of open space and because of “an unacceptable impact on highway safety due to a sub-standard access”.
Chevin is back for another go, though, with a plan “on a similar scale” as before, hoping to build 14 affordable homes on the pitch, which was once used by Mansfield Athletic Football Club.
The land is still designated as formal open space. But the company argues that the pitch is now fenced off, vacant and redundant because the football club considered it “surplus to requirements”, surrendered their lease and sold off its portion of the 1.3-acre site to raise funds.
A planning statement says: “The site has not been used as a playing pitch for many years. And the football club does not oppose this development.
"As such, there is considered to be no impact on the supply of playing pitches in the area. There are alternative facilities within one kilometre – at the Polly Bowls Sports Ground, Quarrydale Academy and Sutton Lawn.”
Chevin is also banking on a new, improved access from Unwin Road winning over the council’s planning officers this time, as well as a separate footpath for pedestrians.
“It is a safe and suitable access, which would not result in any adverse impacts on the surrounding highway network,” the statement says.
The plan is for two one-bedroom homes, six two-bed and six three-bed, each with their own private gardens. There would be 26 off-street parking spaces.
Chevin points out that a regular bus service operates close by and that the site is only 15 minutes’ walk into Sutton town centre.
The homes would be modern and so well insulated that their heating costs would be “relatively low compared to much of the private rental housing stock available”.
With regard to biodiversity, the developers say the site “offers little or no habitat value”, but new trees and hedges would be planted.
Chevin also stresses that Ashfield badly needs to identify land for new projects to alleviate the district’s housing shortage.
"There is increased pressure to deliver affordable housing,” says the planning statement.
"The benefits associated with these 14 homes would be significant in meeting a chronic demand for affordable housing at a time when a cost-of-living crisis is being felt across the country.
"The social and economic benefits far outweigh any potential harm arising from the loss of a redundant playing field.”
The council’s planning department is now considering the proposal and has set a deadline date of Thursday, November 27 to make a decision or recommendation. Interested residents can post their comments on the council’s website.
THE details of many planning applications can be found in public notices advertised by local and regional newspapers. To catch up on all the latest public notices, go to https://publicnoticeportal.uk/
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