Step forward for more than 100 homes in Huthwaite as initial plans signed off

Huthwaite is set to grow by 104 homes built on land off Mill Lane after developer MyPad’s outline plans were formally approved by Ashfield Council.

Councillors approved the scheme back in November 2025, but the development did not have formal permission at that stage due to conditions needing to be agreed first.

But following the sign-off on the developer’s financial contributions to the local area, and following minor alterations to the site regarding an unregistered parcel of land, the authority gave the green light on the ‘outline’ proposals on July 24.

The entire estate is proposed to be 100 per cent affordable housing.

Council planners had previously argued the scheme’s single access would create traffic problems and were against the “unjustified loss” of trees and hedgerows.

Residents had previously written to the council to share their objections.

One resident, who lives opposite the site, stressed various animals are active on and around the site, including owls, foxes, bats and horses along the lane, where vehicle access would be a ‘direct danger’ to horse riders.

Others had concerns about flooding, with resident Mr Allen-Turner saying the scheme would ‘significantly degrade the quality of life’ for existing residents.

He said: “The local lead Flood Authority has already raised significant concerns about surface water management, particularly given the site’s known susceptibility to flooding.

“The proposed run-off pond underscores the high flood risk associated with covering this area in impervious surfaces.

"It is clear that Nunn Brook and other drainage points will be strained further, inevitably increasing the flooding risk for residents along Common Road and beyond.”

Another anonymous resident said they suffer from pooled water around 18 to 24 inches deep at the bottom of their garden during heavy rainfall, which is ‘channelled from the edge of the development’ as run-off from the fields at the site and nearby.

Others were concerned for the village’s infrastructure, where resident Kate Morton said the new homes would create more traffic in an area that does not ‘have enough school places, doctors, dentists’.

Sharon Chillery also objected, saying the local infrastructure was ‘already at breaking point’.

Ms Morton continued: “Mill Lane, Windmill Way and connecting roads already struggle with flooding in bad weather as the drainage can’t cope with the rain fall coming off the proposed site.

“The access in and out of the proposed site isn’t adequate.

“The estate is already busy and this will create more traffic flow and interrupt children playing out, people walking though the area and the view of fields taken away.

"Why are we taking away all fields, open space and greenery?”

Mr Allen-Turner also raised concerns about the single access to the development, saying the traffic survey in the application was ‘outdated’ and ‘fails to account for known queuing and roadblock issues on Common Road’, with its close proximity to the M1 and A38.

Mill Lane was described as a ‘rat run’ by village resident Louise Martin.

Despite these concerns, the new homes are said to make a ‘significant contribution’ to the council’s housing waiting list, which has increased in the past two years.

At the end of March 2024, the number of people on the housing register stood at 4,008 applicants. This slightly fell to 3,847 in March 2025 before jumping up to 4,458 by the end of March 2026.

An Ashfield Council spokesperson said: “The council is committed to creating more affordable homes in the district.

"This is either through our own housing developments such as Hardwick Lane and Kirkland Gardens or through other developments like Mill Lane which is being brought forward privately and we have recently granted planning approval.

“These additional 104 affordable homes at Mill Lane will make a significant contribution to supporting people on our housing waiting list and potentially others looking for affordable purchase schemes.

“The current administration has built the first new council homes since 1974, and that’s more than 100 already now.”