News: Rotherham Council planners recommend approval for over 200 houses on former greenbelt land
Despite a number of objections, plans for a large residential development on former greenbelt land in Rotherham look set to be approved, with a number of conditions.
Rothbiz has previously reported that landowners had worked together to secure a residential allocation for the nearly 50 acre site off Lathe Road / Worry Goose Lane / Sheep Cote Road at Whiston through the development of the borough's Local Plan.
The site consists of two arable fields divided by a bank and hedgerow and sits between existing housing and Sitwell golf course.
Outline plans for 450 house development on adjacent land at Whiston were approved by Rotherham Council's planning board in 2020.
The planning board at Rotherham Council are now being recomended to approve E V Waddington Ltd's outline plans for for up to 217 dwellings with access at land east of Shrogswood Road.
There might be potential for a housing mix including apartments, semidetached, detached and townhouses varying from 1 to 5 bedrooms. The site could be divided into two / three development blocks by different developers or come forward as a single development.
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Junction improvements are proposed at Shrogswood Road and East Bawtry Road, with new turn lanes into Shrogswood Road, along with a signalised pedestrian crossing in East Bawtry Road. Planners say that the junction improvement "would fully mitigate the impact of development traffic during the typical weekday morning peak hour, with no significant queues or delays on any approach."
91 letters of representation were received from individual addresses, including comments from Whiston Parish Council, the Local MP and the Local Action Group (Whiston Residents Action Group (WRAG)).
A Section 106 agreement (a mechanism which makes a development proposal acceptable in planning terms, that would not otherwise be acceptable) has been drafted. It includes measures including 25% of the total number of dwellings are to be provided on site for affordable housing provision, an education contribution, £500 per dwelling towards sustainable transport and funding for footpath and bus stop improvements.
Rothbiz has previously reported that £4.88m from the City Region Sustainable Transport Settlements (CRSTS) is to be used to improve nearby Worrygoose roundabout.
A planning report concludes: "The application is considered to be acceptable in principle given the site is an allocated Housing Site in the Local Plan, while the access arrangements being considered as part of this outline application would raise no significant highway issues that would warrant a refusal on highway grounds.
"It is therefore considered that the outline application would comply with relevant national and local planning policies in respect of the principle and access, and whilst noted and considered the issues raised by local objectors, would not, in this instance tip the planning balance towards a refusal that would be reasonably justified."
Images: Google Maps
Rothbiz has previously reported that landowners had worked together to secure a residential allocation for the nearly 50 acre site off Lathe Road / Worry Goose Lane / Sheep Cote Road at Whiston through the development of the borough's Local Plan.
The site consists of two arable fields divided by a bank and hedgerow and sits between existing housing and Sitwell golf course.
Outline plans for 450 house development on adjacent land at Whiston were approved by Rotherham Council's planning board in 2020.
The planning board at Rotherham Council are now being recomended to approve E V Waddington Ltd's outline plans for for up to 217 dwellings with access at land east of Shrogswood Road.
There might be potential for a housing mix including apartments, semidetached, detached and townhouses varying from 1 to 5 bedrooms. The site could be divided into two / three development blocks by different developers or come forward as a single development.
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Junction improvements are proposed at Shrogswood Road and East Bawtry Road, with new turn lanes into Shrogswood Road, along with a signalised pedestrian crossing in East Bawtry Road. Planners say that the junction improvement "would fully mitigate the impact of development traffic during the typical weekday morning peak hour, with no significant queues or delays on any approach."
91 letters of representation were received from individual addresses, including comments from Whiston Parish Council, the Local MP and the Local Action Group (Whiston Residents Action Group (WRAG)).
A Section 106 agreement (a mechanism which makes a development proposal acceptable in planning terms, that would not otherwise be acceptable) has been drafted. It includes measures including 25% of the total number of dwellings are to be provided on site for affordable housing provision, an education contribution, £500 per dwelling towards sustainable transport and funding for footpath and bus stop improvements.
Rothbiz has previously reported that £4.88m from the City Region Sustainable Transport Settlements (CRSTS) is to be used to improve nearby Worrygoose roundabout.
A planning report concludes: "The application is considered to be acceptable in principle given the site is an allocated Housing Site in the Local Plan, while the access arrangements being considered as part of this outline application would raise no significant highway issues that would warrant a refusal on highway grounds.
"It is therefore considered that the outline application would comply with relevant national and local planning policies in respect of the principle and access, and whilst noted and considered the issues raised by local objectors, would not, in this instance tip the planning balance towards a refusal that would be reasonably justified."
Images: Google Maps
14 comments:
"91 letters of representation were received from individual addresses, including comments from Whiston Parish Council, the Local MP and the Local Action Group (Whiston Residents Action Group (WRAG))."
And as always, they were ignored!
Not be building many house's,when house price collapses,which is on cards,and with higher and higher interest rates,who's going to buy em?STOP BUILDING ON OUR GREEN SPACE'S!
Good to see that some affordable housing is provided for in this development. This area of Rotherham is overdue for development and expansion.
Count yourself lucky that our resident spiderman is not a councillor. He'd have skyscraper apartments up in a heartbeat. That would have the Whiston and Wickersley nimbys in a right tizz.
Of course the planners approved it. Wasn't it them who recommended the fields were removed from the greenbelt in the first place?
To make this work, let's be clear. They aren't just building on a field, they are altering a major part of the road infrastructure, which will cause untold misery for every one who uses East Bawtry Road (probably the same poor sods who are currently trying to navigate their way through the town centre contraflow system).
RMBC has already granted an access road which will be located on a near blind corner on Worry Goose Lane, effectively signing the death warrant for some poor soul. Now they are knackering up East Bawtry Road, by narrowing this busy arterial road which isn't just used as the main route from Maltby to Sheffield, but used when there are problems on the M1/ M18. The road changes will cause a massive bottleneck (no matter what the traffic software they are using says)
I wonder if they think their precious cycle lanes will negate the need for people who might want to buy one of these houses using their motor to commute to Sheffield, Doncaster, Leeds etc? I'm sure there are some who think the new residents will probably make these journeys by penny farthing!
They also seem to fail to recognise just how under-serviced the local public services: doctors, dentists, schools etc are (not an isolated problem in its own right), but they seem to have forgotten that they've also added massive pressures on the local infrastructure with their other fairly chunky developments granted nearby which will also contribute to the problems with this.
And then they seem to think that these shiny new houses are a better option than adding to the woes of the poor folk who live at the bottom of the hill in Whiston, who will almost certainly need to buy longer wellies if this goes forward.
This will cause nothing but misery and problems. Why? because it's the wrong development in the wrong place.
But according to our planners, it ticks the boxes (the same ones I suspect they may have had hand in creating), and probably also fits some sort of flowchart of doom.
The housing industry is a dirty game and the construction lobby in the UK is far too powerful for its own. Sadly because there is a demand for housing in major cities, councils across the UK are being forced to free up land.
It's bound to go through when it goes to the planning committee, even though councillors and politicians of all colours locally have consistently said this is bad idea.
The planner's recommendation makes it a lot harder for the planning committee to refuse it and I doubt there isn't much appetite to pay a planning enquiry if they lose.
So this will come down to a decision between common sense and justifying a previous bad decision to take this land out of the green belt.
Sadly, I suspect we all know what the result will be. I really hope the councillors do the right thing by kicking this out now and kicking out the other one when the detailed plans are submitted.
I'm preparing myself to be disappointed though.
So you're generally in favour then?
No town centres are place for them,like virtually every town in country... other than Rotherham,we prefer to build bungalows.
Wellies? Has he walked through Whiston after heavy rain, water is turbid from all the soil run off from the fields upsteam. SUDS from the new housing estate will reduce the risk of flash flooding as the whole estate will be managed with holding / attenuation ponds, something that is not being done by the farmers, if anything they maintain field drains to remove water. Take a walk around the catchment area to Whiston brook and the majority of housing with drives dont have any SUDs including ones in the bottom of valley. There are plenty of new / renewed driveways that should have drainage measures in place when built / replaced, including those in village. Some of the houses in village have storm water runoff direct in to the brook (look at the new house next to Parish Hall on old church car park, whilst the house has been built above the flood zone, there are several 4" pipes been installed through the wall of the brook).
House price crash less likely when we have a housing shortage.
Hopefully this development will help progress improvements to local roads that have been affected by commuters from housing developments in areas like Thurcroft and Dinnington, yet nothing has been done on Worrygoose Lane.
"potential for a housing mix including apartments, semidetached, detached and townhouses varying from 1 to 5 bedrooms" 5 bed townhouses will likely be 4 stories, so good for Spiderman training?
Shame RMBC didn't allow planning permission for new housing at Hellaby rather than the huge eye sore they did allow.....
Maybe but makes more sense have large warehouse next to motorway to keep lorries off local roads.
No good talking sense on here mate.
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