'It's already chaos. We simply can't have 2,500 new homes near Mickleover'

Cars on a road
-Credit: (Image: Derby Telegraph)


Residents in a Derby suburb say they are “shocked” and “disgusted” at plans which could see 2,500 homes built on their doorsteps. The 45 houses that sit between the A516 and the A38 flyover, in The Hollow and Haven Baulk Lane in Mickleover, could form the connection between Derby and a new 2,500-home extension.

Under draft plans, subject to public consultation, from South Derbyshire District Council, the land stretching from the A516 down the A38 Findern Interchange and west towards Burnaston and the former Pastures Hospital site could be earmarked for a new urban extension including homes, shops, services and up to 24 acres of business space. Residents living in the 45 homes west of the A38, while living in the Derby city limits, look out onto fields which sit in South Derbyshire, criss-crossing either side of Staker Lane – which they claim is infamous for traffic, speeding and flooding.

They are nearly unanimous in their understanding that more housing needs to and ought to be built but say this must go hand in hand with new infrastructure to support it, including upgrading roads and building new schools and health facilities including doctors’ surgeries. Existing pressure on the roads leaves residents in these 45 houses effectively trapped until the daily rush-hour periods end, regularly facing up to a 20-minute wait to exit their driveways – particularly when there is an incident on the A38 – they claim.

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John Dandy, aged 68, has lived in Haven Baulk Lane for nine years and said: “They’ve got to build houses somewhere, but places like Findern village need to be kept as a village. The areas between Findern, Littleover and Mickleover should be protected by Green Belt. We are just becoming one large suburb of Derby when we should be building infill development instead. That’s the way to go.”

Fields and a hedgerow
Fields off Haven Baulk Lane are within the land earmarked for 2,500 homes -Credit:Derby Telegraph

James Birks, aged 82, a former boot man for Derby County Football Club who has lived in Haven Baulk Lane for 60 years, had a contrary view, saying: “The more the better. I’m not one of these people to complain. We get traffic everywhere when there is a pileup but we need to build houses. There is no divine right to stop anybody. I am too old to worry about that now. You have got to live and let live.”

Eileen Storer, aged 62 and a full-time carer, said it would be “chaos” if the plans are approved, saying she currently waits until 11am to leave the house to avoid waiting to leave her driveway and then sitting in traffic. She said: “I don’t like the sound of that. It is chaos already, it is ridiculous. They speed down this road at all times of the day and night with sound machines in their cars. I can’t sleep.”

Joe Hill, aged 54, who works at Royal Crown Derby, was concerned that new housing would not be reserved for long-term residents and would instead be prioritised for “migrants”. He said he had been told the land across to Burnaston was protected Green Belt and could not be built on, saying he was “shocked” at the potential plan and that he “didn’t think it was right”.

A country road
Staker Lane in Mickleover, which would run through the proposed 2,500-home extension, has been described as a notorious 'rat run' for the A38 -Credit:Derby Telegraph

Karen Howe, a 46-year-old secretary who has lived in Haven Baulk Lane for nine years, said she was “disgusted” at the plans, saying: “I am really not impressed. The road doesn’t move anymore in the morning. The traffic is horrendous.”

A resident who did not want to be named said her children would miss seeing the cows and sheep in the surrounding fields, should the plans go ahead, saying: “It is going to be a shame. Staker Lane is really fast, there are lots of accidents there. I hope they do not lose the sheep, it is a beautiful place.

“We will lose the wildlife, the nature will go and it will ruin the greenery, with the trees cut down.”

Rebecca Middleton, a 61-year-old gardener, whose parents have lived in Haven Baulk Lane for 60 years, called the potential plans and existing traffic “horrendous” and that development needed to include an increase in supporting infrastructure, such as doctors’ surgeries, and to protect wildlife. Claire Mcleod, aged 47, who has lived in The Hollow for 17 years, said the route past her house was treated as a “rat run” for motorists seeking to avoid traffic on the A38.

Map showing the proposed housing site
The proposed draft plan for 2,500 homes south of Mickleover, off the A38 at Findern -Credit:South Derbyshire District Council

She said congestion has worsened over the past 10 years, saying it is now “horrendous, all the time” with the new potential plans to create “gridlock” and residents “unable to get off the driveway”. Kathryn and Paul Dodds, aged 39 and 46 respectively, who live in The Hollow, said loading more housing into the area would be an “accident waiting to happen”, with pavements too narrow for the number of school pupils expected to use them safely.

Mr Dodds said: “Staker Lane floods already and that is with the natural soakaway. Adding more housing to it would only make things worse. South Derbyshire are planning this as far away from their district centre as possible and putting all the pressure on Derby’s services.

“It can already take 40 minutes to get from the Findern Interchange to here (a distance of one mile) and this is just going to cause more problems. There is a degree of inevitability. You understand that people need houses but also Mickleover has its fair share of development.

“Findern, Mickleover and Littleover are merging into one. The city is on its way to Tarmac all the way to Hilton." Mrs Dodds said: “People sledge on those hills. People say they can’t get kids away from their screens and out of the house but we are taking away their ability to have fun and do something outside.”

Gary Bell, aged 68, a former mill operator, who has lived in The Hollow for 30 years, called the plans “ridiculous” and feared the environmental impact and the ability of infrastructure to take the extra strain. Dawn Hithersay, aged 51, who has lived in The Hollow for 27 years, said traffic was already “terrible” and would only worsen with extra housing, saying: “I know we need houses but nobody wants them near them.”

Andy Smith, aged 59, who has lived in The Hollow for 10 years, said: “The contribution that Mickleover and Littleover have given in terms of housing has now gone well beyond what they can sustain. It has become another Birmingham overspill, with housing constantly being built in Burton, Tamworth and Lichfield too.”

The potential 2,500 home plans are part of South Derbyshire’s current draft Local Plan, with the “strategic allocation” to include 12 to 24 acres of employment land, a potential retirement village, Gypsy and Traveller pitches, a three-form primary school and nursery, healthcare facilities, a local centre including shops and other services, a new “country park” to the north, west and south of the former Pastures Hospital estate, along with new cycling and walking routes.

The council aims to ensure bus stops and routes are provided into Derby city centre from the site and that all mitigation to prop up the scheme, such as schools, public transport, healthcare and road improvements are in place before any homes are occupied. The healthcare improvements could come in the form of financial contributions for expansions at existing facilities.