'Despair' as 1,100 homes will be built before £250m A38 project

Aerial view of rooftops
-Credit: (Image: Geoff Parry Associates)


Councillors have voiced their intense “despair” after allowing a Derby developer to build 1,100 homes without any works to the A38. At a South Derbyshire District Council meeting last night (October 1) various plans relating to the New House Farm development in Mickleover were approved.

This included scrapping a condition meaning only 617 homes of the 1,100 could be occupied by the time a planned £250 million Derby A38 project starts. Granting approval last night, with councillors clear it was being permitted begrudgingly “while holding their noses”, the developers can now build and occupy all 1,100 homes without any works to improve capacity and traffic issues at the A38, primarily at the Kingsway junction.

In 2018 National Highways had originally called for a restriction on the number of homes which could be built before its planned Derby A38 project, saying only 317 homes should be occupied by the time the scheme was complete. However, over time this has been changed up to allowing 317 homes to be occupied by the time works start in 2020, then 617 homes in 2023 and now 1,100 homes.

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Cllr Matthew Holmes, a Derby City Council ward member for Mickleover, asked the council to delay any decision on the plans until the future of the Derby A38 project became clearer. The scheme has been tied up in legal challenges from environmental campaigners, most recently featuring in a High Court battle ruling in favour of the Government-backed plans.

However, the scheme is believed to be among those being reviewed by the new Labour Government as it plans its first budget, which will be announced in under a month on Wednesday, October 30. Floating the idea of a deferral until this budget announcement, councillors were told by Steffan Saunders, the authority’s head of planning, that the Derby A38 scheme was no longer found by National Highways or Derbyshire County Council highways to be necessary to offset the impact of the 1,100-home scheme.

As a result, the outcome of the budget would not change the position of officials on whether the condition could be scrapped or not based on highways issues. Derby City Council had opposed the scrapping of the plans saying they did not agree there would be an “insignificant” impact on the A38 by allowing 483 further homes to be built and occupied, saying the Kingsway junction “already operates over capacity”.

Cllr Holmes told the meeting: “It is clear the developer wants to build houses and will talk about how disappointed they are that they can’t progress with the district centre and other parts of the development.” He said the A38 project had formed part of the city’s strategic transport plan “for decades”, saying “we need the A38 scheme, we need it to cater for the houses, including in this case”.

Justin Gartland, on behalf of landowners CEG Land Promotions Limited and Robert William Walmsley, said the occupation of 1,100 homes would have “no detriment to the operation of the strategic highway network” and that there was “no justification for delaying”. Cllr David Muller called for the Stop A38 campaigners to “come to their senses” and allow the Derby works to proceed unhindered to lessen traffic issues to the west of the city.

Cllr Andrew Kirke said: “Anyone who lives in the area and queues at the Kingsway junction knows how dire the situation is already. It is a step too far to remove this condition. Residents are already raising issues about accidents on the roundabout for this development.”

Cllr Amy Wheelton said: “I despair at National Highways not objecting because it hasn’t left us with any chance of winning an appeal (if the council rejected the application). I personally would struggle to vote for this removal but this might be one of those cases where we have to hold our noses and do what has to be done.”

“We do need this infrastructure for our new Local Plan and we need to lobby our MPs and the Government to ensure this scheme gets delivered.”

Cllr Jayne Davies said: “I too despair that I am on the planning committee at times like this. There have been so many accidents at the roundabout already and having worked at the hospital I know that ambulances struggle to get there due to the traffic already.” Cllr Steve Taylor said: “It is very clear to all South Derbyshire councillors that the A38 works are essential.”

Seven councillors voted in favour of scrapping the restriction, with three voting against and three abstaining. Meanwhile, councillors also approved plans for the reserved matters – final details including layout and appearance) of 710 homes on the New House Farm site – along with a community centre, sports pitches and children’s play areas.

A planned vehicle link between the site and Selby Drive on the neighbouring Barratt Homes and David Wilson Homes development has been scrapped, but a pedestrian and cycling connection will be retained. Meanwhile, a “bus gate” will allow public transport – but no other vehicles – to drive throughout both estates without having to exit and reenter, with bus gates often monitored by cameras or enforced by rising bollards.

Councillors welcomed the amount of green space being planned but Cllr Kirke claimed trees already planted had either died or been damaged and that the developer had refused to replace them. He said: “The road to hell is paved with good intentions.”

Councillors congratulated the developers and council officers on the community centre plans, due to open by 2026, saying it needed to be reserved for residents instead of being a wider public facility, to ensure retained access. Alongside this, councillors approved plans to delay a planned new GP surgery on the New House Farm site until 450 homes are occupied (up from 250) – by December 2026 – and a primary school until 500 homes are occupied, in 2027.

The meeting was told a planning application for the new GP branch surgery would be submitted in the New Year.

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