Latest application for homes on former Flowserve Pump Division site at Balderton approved by Newark and Sherwood District Council

Plans for more than 309 homes on a former factory site have moved a step closer after the latest application was approved.

An application seeking approval of reserved matters for the development at the Flowserve Pump Division land on Hawton Lane, Balderton, was agreed by Newark and Sherwood District Council.

The layout and design of the development has already been given the green light so in this latest application the developers were seeking approval of reserved matters for the scale and appearance.

It was debated by Newark and Sherwood District Council planning committee.

The proposal by Lovell Partnerships and CB Collier NK Limited is for the 309 houses, including a mix of one, two, three and four bedrooms ranging from one to two storeys in height.

It includes five bungalows along with detached, semi-detached and terrace properties with a range of styles and types to meet all needs.

The proposal includes public open space, including areas of formal and informal recreation, with the new children’s play space to be centrally located. It also proposes to plant 689 trees

Parking spaces were proposed to accommodate the requirements to provide parking for the sports and social club with 38 spaces shown on the eastern part of the site.

John Piers, the development agent, said: “The development seeks to provide the infrastructure on-site to encourage active travel and travel by modes of transport other than the private car.

“The proposals make a significant contribution to meeting the housing needs of Newark in a well-planned and high quality residential development.

“The development would deliver new public open space, landscaping and tree planting, biodiversity net-gain, new drainage infrastructure, car parking for the sports and social club and opportunities for sustainable travel.”

Sue said: “309 houses in addition to the 3,100 houses at Middlebeck is just short of 3,500 houses and we have one attenuation pond at the end of the site.

“Anybody who knows this area knows how badly, the whole of this area, from Balderton to Farndon has flooded this year.

“I’m very concerned about the flooding issues having been involved in flooding issues from Storm Babet and Storm Henk, I see people who are still out of their houses and won’t be back in their houses until Christmas.

“That means they have been out of their houses for 14 months now, we are talking about people’s lives here, granted their lives weren’t in danger but they are not living in their properties and that is the main thing.

“Of course the flooding is a major issue with me and I am not sure that this is taken care of and we see it over and over and over again with planning applications that everything is taken care of until we get heavy rain and heavy storms and then bag, everybody is out of their houses and everything is ruined, it is not acceptable, this is a flood area.”

New on-site drainage infrastructure will be constructed to serve the development to ensure surface water on site is attenuated and discharged at an agreed rate, to reduce the risk of flooding.

The existing public rights of way through hand adjacent to the site were proposed to be retained in their current locations and resurfaced so that all users can use the paths year-round.

The new footpath and cycle links from within the site are proposed to include a three-meter wide footway cycleway that will connect to the existing Sustrans route that runs to the west of the site via Hawton Lane.

Tim Wildgust said: “I take into consideration things like the flooding risks but I am not an expert on it and very few people here are so I have to look at what the officers have done here and just reading from the statement which says the drainage strategy has been reviewed by Nottinghamshire County Council and LF FAA who raised no objection to the proposal.

“I have to give a lot of weight to that because I believe that the officers and the environment agency and everybody worked together to actually do the make sure this isn’t the case.”

Despite councillors’ worries including wildlife, but mainly flooding, the application was approved with seven votes in favour and four against.