126-home development set to be parked because of ‘harmful’ road plans

Plans for a 126-home development on the former Clipstone Colliery site in Nottinghamshire are set to be blocked this week.

Planning officials at Newark and Sherwood District Council have recommended that councillors refuse permission when they meet this Thursday.

Warwick-based developer Harper Crewe is seeking to redevelop the former colliery site, which closed in 2003 after nearly 80 years of operation.

It wants to build 126 homes, including 38 affordable homes, alongside 12 hectares of employment land, while retaining the colliery headstocks.

However planners are set to refuse the application because of concerns about road design and parking, ecological impact, and a lack of support for additional infrastructure which the development would require.

The recommendation comes 14 months after the planning application was submitted. The council said the delay “is due to enabling the
applicant the opportunity of addressing various concerns raised by consultees (mainly NCC Highways) on numerous occasions”.

Planning officials believe the cumulative impact of a lack of parking, and narrow roads, drives and garages, has created an internal layout which is “harmful in highway safety terms”.