Matlock: Government to decide on plan for hundreds of homes
A plan to build hundreds of homes in Derbyshire will be decided by the government after a district council refused the application.Derbyshire Dales District Council refused outline permission for a development of 423 homes in the Gritstone Road area of Matlock in March, largely due to the perceived flood risk.William Davis Homes is seeking to build 345 and 78 homes as part of a hybrid application on a site known locally as the Matlock Wolds, and has appealed the council's decision.A public inquiry will now be held by the planning inspector, which is due to start on 11 March.
The council held an "extraordinary" meeting on Thursday to discuss the inquiry.The inquiry will focus purely on the 345 rejected homes, a short report published for Thursday's meeting said.It added that the council is retaining a slew of private planning experts from previous appeals for the upcoming inquiry, to be funded from a £250,000 pot agreed by councillors last year.The new report says there is a risk that the total £250,000 pot of money may not be enough should the inspector decide the council must meet some of the developer's appeal costs, and more money would need to be approved.
The council's rejection of the plans largely hinged on the perceived flood risk posed by development on green fields and by large flood water collection ponds forming part of the scheme, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.More than 2,500 people signed a petition by the Wolds Action Group opposing the scheme, and a total of 462 objection letters were submitted to the council.A council statement said the extraordinary meeting confirmed its view that the plans would have "adverse impacts" on Matlock in their current form."However, the unequivocal advice of technical and legal experts hired by the council is that these impacts can be overcome by planning conditions," the statement said.The statement said the council "reluctantly agreed" to focus on "securing the best possible planning conditions attached to any permission the Planning Inspector might grant, rather than defending refusal".It added: "It was agreed that to ignore such clear expert advice would not only be irresponsible but also pose significant financial risks to the council, which would be borne by taxpayers of the whole of the Derbyshire Dales."
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