Controversial 177-home scheme nears final stage

The final details of a controversial development for a town in Derbyshire have been submitted to planners.

Permission to build 177 homes off Chesterfield Road to the north of Alfreton was approved in late 2024 by a government planning inspector after Amber Valley Borough Council had initially rejected the application.

Almost 500 objections were raised against the proposal but inspector William Cooper overturned the council's March 2024 decision due to the "most acute national housing crisis in living memory".

Now the council must rule on a reserved matters application from Allison Homes East Midlands, said the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

This application sets out the scale and appearance of the buildings, the development's layout and landscaping and how residents and visitors will access the site, which the 3,000-member Save Alfreton Countryside campaign group had called the "last accessible countryside for the people of Alfreton".

Concerns around the development's impact on nearby St Martin's Church and Alfreton Park, and the loss of a medieval footpath, were also raised.

The scheme - made up of six one-bed, 37 two-bed, 76 three-bed and 58 four-bed homes - will include 53 homes classed as affordable housing.

At the inquiry, Cooper said there had been 2,000 households on the borough council's housing register waiting list, with 1,400 in overcrowded or unsuitable accommodation and more than 300 specifying Alfreton as their preferred location.

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