April 16th, 2013
Shipley Lakeside former American Adventure Theme Park,
Mixed Use Development Planning Application AVA/2013/0186
Cllr Kevin Parkinson – Member Comments:
Shipley Lakeside with a distinctive identity, formerly the American Adventure Theme Park, is 81 acres of prime land with 31 acres of water lying within Shipley Country Park.
In May 2007 Derbyshire County Council’s Cabinet resolved to market the site, including 182 acres of adjoining land within its ownership to secure sustainable redevelopment that protected the openness, leisure and recreational uses previously enjoyed across the site.
Derbyshire Wildlife Trust purchased the 182 acre site early in 2011 and created the largest nature reserve in the county outside the Peak District National Park. It is on the site of the former Woodside Colliery, one of the four that operated in this area until the 1960s. It contains a variety of habitats, including woodland, hay meadows and grasslands and a network of small wetlands. The grasslands are important for invertebrates, including several butterfly species such as common blue, gatekeeper, comma and meadow brown. Several species of ladybirds, grasshoppers and shieldbugs are also found here, as well as dragonflies and damselflies including the magnificent emperor dragonfly. Among the mammals that have been recorded on the site are brown hares and water voles. Wildlife is still being discovered across this extensive area of land and habitat management is encouraging more birds, invertebrates and other wildlife.
Parking for visitors to the nature reserve is provided at either Shipley Country Park Visitor Centre or Mapperley Reservoir giving access to a network of paths including the Nutbrook Trail, a 10-mile traffic-free path for use by walkers, cyclists and horse riders, part of which crosses the 81 acres held within this Shipley Lakeside development proposal.
Labour Market:
The decline in the Borough's traditional industrial base has led to former employment sites being redeveloped for housing, increasing patterns of out-commuting.
Whilst unemployment levels remain lower than national and regional averages, this masks pockets of higher unemployment, particularly in the eastern wards within Heanor and adjoining settlements. (Amber Valley’s Spatial Vision, AVBC Draft Core Strategy Policies April 2013).
Employment Land Requirements:
To the north-west of the site Heanor Industrial Estate provides for manufacturing and engineering and Heanor Town Centre provides retail and service sector employment opportunities. To the south-east, Manners Industrial Estate and Ilkeston Town Centre provides comparable employment, however, Ilkeston’s wider employment sites have declined becoming brownfield and have either redeveloped into new housing estates generating greater traffic movements and congestion on the A6007, Heanor/Ilkeston Road, or are held in the Nottingham HMA as preferred housing sties.
The former American Adventure Theme Park utilised 100% of the site for employment use requiring no off-site infrastructure and provided much needed employment and work experience opportunities to the local labour market. This housing-led mixed use development proposal provides for ‘only 6% employment use’ of the overall development site. The current proposal to create over 600 new jobs would provide economic and regeneration benefits for the area lowering unemployment rates which is acute within the local wards of Heanor and Ilkeston, however this application falls seriously short of opening up the site for prime employment use.
Unemployment Claimant Count: A slightly lower percentage of people in Amber Valley at 3.1% against the England average of 3.8%, however, 4.0% claimant count in Erewash with the impact felt most in Ilkeston North (32.6%). Whilst not a feature in Derbyshire’s adverse upper quartile, Cotmanhay (21.5%), Ilkeston Central (21.5%) and Heanor West (17.8%), Heanor and Loscoe (16.5%) and Heanor East (15.5%) are claiming Out of Work Benefits. (Derbyshire Observatory, February 2013).
‘Local concern exists within the proposed 10 year development delivery timetable which set against a flat and protracted investment market, could provide the developer with the option to submit alternative proposals to change the uses on the site compromising the prescribed already low employment benefit for greater housing yields. Given the timetable to deliver this application, there is no guarantee that 6% of the site would be held for employment use, and the site could remain subject to change of use and deliver less employment returns outlined in this current application’.
Town Centres:
The Borough's accessibility makes it an attractive location for commuters, as well as opening up opportunities for shopping and leisure activities in other towns and cities.
Heanor: The retail capacity of Heanor is becoming less and less viable and therefore alternatives need to be brought forward to ensure that the town centres vitality and viability is improved. Promotion should be giving through the planning process, to allow retail units on the High Street and Market Street to change and attract other uses. The retail core of Heanor should, however, be protected. Development which will enable the opportunities identified in the Heanor Masterplan 2008 to be realised will be actively encouraged. (Amber Valley’s Spatial Vision, AVBC Draft Core Strategy Policies April 2013).
Retail Impact Issues:
Very little detail is provided in this application about the scale and nature of the proposed Garden Centre and related retail leisure uses, although the developer at the pre-application stage, during the open public consultation events confirmation that they have secured a preferred option from an operator which they have previously delivered on another Derbyshire Regeneration site to the North of the County. (Dobbies Garden World, Chesterfield, 4 Highwood Way, Barlborough).
This operator provides store opening times covering Monday to Friday 9am to 8pm, Saturday 9am to 6pm, and Sunday 10.30am to 4.30pm. A 340 Seat restaurant with coffee bar and outdoor terrace, a Farm Foodhall with Delicatessen and in-house Butcher and Specialist Aquatics Department, alongside 15 concessions from the retail leisure sector.
Dobbies Garden Centres and Dobbies Garden World stores, (Part of Tesco Group) have an ambitious expansion plan. The aim is to build a £1 billion business and take the total number of stores to 100 before the end of the decade. They say they are more than just a garden centre, providing a new shopping environment which offers a great day out with something for everyone, from fashion to outdoor wear, home-ware to fine food & gardening through a number of concession partners.
Whilst this out-line application is devoid of any detail about a potential Garden Centre and leisure complex operator for 3.41 ha upon the site, my analysis and the previous statement made by Waystones at the public consultation events, raises concerns about the likely aspects this part of the development presents both to the planning and infrastructure authorities if planning permission is granted there-by creating a new regional retail destination with a wide drive-time catchment and trading implications for the town centres of Heanor and Ilkeston and possibly further afield.
‘On this basis alone, the planning decision should be to refuse the application on the grounds that the application fails to meet the sites specific development brief (AVBC 20th July 2011) of failing to respond to the plan which puts emphasis on supporting a resilient local economy, and does not equally conform to the concurrent technical planning responses provided by Derbyshire County Council of not supporting any major retail development that would conflict with local town centres’.
Housing:
More affordable housing will be provided and designed to the same standard as market housing and new housing shall be designed to provide for the needs of all sectors of the community, including gypsies and travellers. Existing traffic congestion that currently exists within all of the four market town centres will have been reduced and the quality of the environment in the town centres will have been improved.
Villages and rural areas in the Borough will have been protected from unsustainable development and access to these areas by means other than the car will have been improved. Existing village facilities will have been preserved and new development will have been provided where it had assisted in meeting the needs of the community.
All important green open spaces and areas of nature conservation interest in the Borough, including the Derwent Valley corridor will have been protected. All open space, parks, recreational areas, leisure facilities, community facilities and cultural facilities will be of the highest standard and easily accessible by pedestrians and cyclists. These will form part of a network of green infrastructure. As many sectors of the population as possible will have access to local facilities without having to use the car. (Amber Valley’s Spatial Vision, AVBC Draft Core Strategy Policies April 2013).
The developer, Waystones are arguing the case that this housing-led mixed use development proposal which is considered contrary to the emerging development plan strategy for the area, and a departure from the saved local development plan, provides strong evidence that the 400 houses will contribute to the national, regional and local housing targets. Whilst the current 5-year and 3-year land supply is contested by the applicant, this proposal covers a 10 year delivery cycle providing for 30 to 40 units per annum.
I am not going to comment further on the recurrent technical planning responses submitted by Derbyshire County Council, as these responses are sound and conform correctly to provide sufficient mitigation against the case and arguments put forward by the developer as to why this site should be considered appropriate for housing. ‘This site should not be considered for any housing’.
Instead, I wish to focus on the proposal to deliver ‘only 3% of affordable housing’, and the delivery of 30 to 40 housing units per annum.
Notwithstanding the first phase of the development completing the remediation, land reclamation and on-site infrastructure, the delivery of 30 to 40 houses per year ‘goes nowhere to delivering the stated aim of responding to the acute national, regional and local housing demand’.
It is therefore disingenuous for the developer to put forward their argument that this proposal responds to the ‘demand for housing’, as if this was the case then a more aggressive programme of delivery to generate higher year-on-year housing yields should have been submitted.
In the case of ‘need for housing’, again this proposal fails to respond by only proposing to deliver 3% of affordable housing, falling far short of the saved policy of between 20% to 30% affordable.
It is therefore highly questionable whether the developer has provided strong enough evidence as to the strength of this application outweighing national, regional, and local including the saved local plan and affordable housing policies to satisfy a planning application approval.
Setting aside the site needing to be accessed predominately by private car, although proposals do exist to extend existing bus services onto the site, the broader uses for health care and retirement village must be also considered as not meeting the sustainable development test due to the sites isolated location and distance from established settlements and services.
I am however more concerned that this proposal if approved, would create additional requirements for off-site infrastructure and whilst the scale of housing development would usually provide for requested S106 and S278 financial infrastructure contributions, it is not possible to guarantee all of the main infrastructure requirements requested by the statutory public sector authorities.
The Planning Authority and District Valuer when assessing the viability of these proposals upon the site and stated required off-site infrastructure should satisfy themselves that sufficient development capital returns exist to mitigate all and any social and economic impact arising from a planning permission. ‘Given the scale of proposed on-site infrastructure, it is questionable that any financial contribution will be available for stated off-site infrastructure requirements’.
As such, the proposed development would be contrary to Policy EN3 of the saved local plan, and the requirements of the Shipley Lakeside Development Brief.
Conclusion:
‘This proposal presents significant risks to the openness of the Green Belt and conflicts in both scale and character within its surroundings. Visually, it will create a substantial impact on Shipley County Park and produce unsustainable traffic movements and congestion on the A6007 and across the highway infrastructure. The Garden Centre and related retail leisure proposals will impact on the viability of local town centres and could present further economic declines in established retail centres further afield. The scale of housing and inadequate affordable mix compounded with high risks of insufficient S106 gains for off-site infrastructure requirements, taken together present an application for inappropriate unsustainable development, and my recommendation is that this application is refused’.
Councillor Kevin Parkinson
Cabinet Member Regeneration, Derbyshire County Council, Member for Greater Heanor
Cabinet Support Member Developing Places to Live and Work Regeneration, Amber Valley Borough Council, Member for Shipley Park, Horsley and Horsley Woodhouse
October 2nd, 2011
Revealed, up to 400 Homes on Shipley Lakeside (opens in a new window)
Waystones Ltd are currently in pre application stages with Amber Valley Borough Council’s planning department.
An open public consultation will happen in November 2012 when Waystones will publish their vision and proposals for a mixed use development (opens in a new window). Housing disappointingly will be a larger feature of their original plans shared with Derbyshire County Council (land owner) and they will argue more housing is needed to make the master plan viable due to high infrastructure costs, and a flat business investment market.
Cllr Kevin Parkinson said, ‘’I don’t necessarily agree with that statement as their plans include significant excavation, land reclamation, and infrastructure like roads which conflicts with the adopted development principles approved by Amber Valley’s planning committee, which specifies any future use must not exceed the previous scale and density of the former American Adventure Park.’’
Views of some local people following the developer’s consultation on their outline proposals for developing the old American Adventure Theme Park site (opens in a new window)
July 18th, 2011
Amber Valley Planning Board:- DERBYSHIRE COUNTY COUNCIL Consultations Local County Council Member
Councillor Kevin Parkinson was consulted and commented as follows:
"Shipley is a Green Lung, preventing the Boroughs of Amber Valley and Erewash, and the Market Towns of Heanor and Ilkeston, merging, preventing urban sprawl.
The Lakeside site remains today a regular attraction for local people and visitors from the neighbouring County Country Park. Many daily visitors walk, run and cycle around the area, with fishing being in high demand on the lake, making the area a hive for leisure and recreation activity.
The community and I would like to secure free and open access across the site in any future development.
With many local jobs lost from the closure of the former theme park, it is important that the site delivers strong employment opportunities, from a diverse range of sectors, across the intermediate and professional skill base. Sustainable retail, whilst of some value, must not be of a scale to present any further decline in either Heanor or Ilkeston.
Equally any heavy industry including logistics is neither appropriate for the site and local infrastructure, nor fitting with the surrounding area.
It is my opinion that any housing development is inappropriate for Shipley Lakeside, given the need to protect Shipley's Green Lung and the need to protect free and open access, for the community to continue its leisure and recreational uses of the site.
I believe private residences on Shipley Lakeside would both set a precedent for more housing in the future, conflicting with a community asset, and losing the important ability of preventing urban sprawl. I, therefore, oppose housing development. However, I would support health and social care residential development and temporary accommodation to support any commerce on the site, providing there is no community access reduction.
Developments that supplement the rich diversity of the adopted leisure and recreational activity and other uses which generate strong employment opportunities, whilst protecting the Green Belt and limiting local impact on the existing infrastructure, are welcomed."
Amber Valley Borough Council Planning Department Response
These comments are noted and the draft development brief as written supports such aspirations. The draft development brief can be amended to clarify the Council's position regarding any future housing development proposals on the site.
June 20th, 2011
Shipley Lakeside Development Brief issued by Amber Valley Borough Council
Amber Valley Borough Council have produced a Development Brief for Shipley Lakeside (the former American Adventure theme park).
The purpose of the development brief for this site is to:-
o Set out clearly the Borough Council's vision for the future use and development of land within the Brief site
o Give greater certainty to existing landowners, prospective developers, the Borough Council and the local community as to an appropriate
form and scale of development within the Brief site
o Support established planning policies for the Brief site, by providing more detailed guidance against which specific development proposals
can be considered
o Provide a focus for public involvement in the development of the Brief site, prior to the consideration of any detailed planning applications
A development brief for this site provides a framework against which detailed development proposals can be considered, to ensure an efficient pattern of land use and sustainable development which does not detract from the openness of the Green Belt and the character of the locality.
The site has been vacant since its closure in 2007 and offers the opportunity to develop a high quality mixed use waterside development, including business, leisure, recreation, education and health uses.
Extract from the Shipley Development Brief:-
3 Policy Framework
3.1 Planning Policies
There is a wide range of national, regional and local planning policies, which will guide any redevelopment proposals in relation to the Brief site.
The key policies are those in the Amber Valley Borough Local Plan, which aim to:-
o Maintain the openness of the Green Belt
o Make best use of previously developed land
o Provide employment and leisure uses
o Secure the provision of community facilities
o Manage flood risk
o Conserve and enhance the environment, including landscape
The Brief site is within the Green Belt and therefore policy EN2 of the adopted Amber Valley Local Plan (2006) is a material consideration. However, as there has been a former theme park on this site, policy EN3 of the adopted Amber Valley Local Plan (2006) specifically refers to this site and states that planning permission will be granted for development, providing the proposals do not:
1) Have any greater impact on the Green Belt than the existing development.
2) Exceed the general height of the existing buildings within the site.
3) Significantly increase the existing density of development within the site or occupy a larger area of the site than the existing buildings,
unless this would achieve a reduction in height, which would benefit visual amenity.
4) Create additional requirements for off-site infrastructure.
It also states that:
o any new buildings and other structures will need to be located having regard to the openness of the Green Belt, existing landscape features
and the need to integrate with surrounding land uses.
o Any major development proposals will also need to be the subject of a comprehensive scheme in accordance with an approved
development brief. View the Shipley Development Brief here (opens in a new window)
April 9th, 2011
Shipley Country Park receives Natural England Accreditation (opens in a new window)
Derbyshire’s Country Park has become the only one in the county to be accredited by Natural England.
Shipley Country Park, between Heanor and Ilkeston, was assessed on criteria including easy-to-follow paths, bridleways and cycle paths. It passed on all 39 points, according to the county council.
The voluntary accreditation scheme was launched in 2009 so that any site with “Country Park” in its title could show it met certain standards.
March 13th, 2011
Shipley Lakeside set to go Wild (opens in a new window)
PLANS to create Derbyshire’s largest Nature Reserve (opens in a new window) outside of the Peak District have been warmly welcomed by residents.
Derbyshire Wildlife Trust revealed its vision for the 182-acre site, (opens in a new window) once part of the former American Adventure theme park in Shipley, at a public meeting in Ilkeston last week.
Amber Valley borough and Derbyshire county councillor for the area Cllr Kevin Parkinson also said there will be increased numbers of visitors to the site.
He said: “I don’t think the reserve will have any greater impact on the area than American Adventure had, but it will be managed better than the theme park was. It will attract different people at different times.”
Shipley Lakeside former American Adventure Theme Park,
Mixed Use Development Planning Application AVA/2013/0186
Cllr Kevin Parkinson – Member Comments:
Shipley Lakeside with a distinctive identity, formerly the American Adventure Theme Park, is 81 acres of prime land with 31 acres of water lying within Shipley Country Park.
In May 2007 Derbyshire County Council’s Cabinet resolved to market the site, including 182 acres of adjoining land within its ownership to secure sustainable redevelopment that protected the openness, leisure and recreational uses previously enjoyed across the site.
Derbyshire Wildlife Trust purchased the 182 acre site early in 2011 and created the largest nature reserve in the county outside the Peak District National Park. It is on the site of the former Woodside Colliery, one of the four that operated in this area until the 1960s. It contains a variety of habitats, including woodland, hay meadows and grasslands and a network of small wetlands. The grasslands are important for invertebrates, including several butterfly species such as common blue, gatekeeper, comma and meadow brown. Several species of ladybirds, grasshoppers and shieldbugs are also found here, as well as dragonflies and damselflies including the magnificent emperor dragonfly. Among the mammals that have been recorded on the site are brown hares and water voles. Wildlife is still being discovered across this extensive area of land and habitat management is encouraging more birds, invertebrates and other wildlife.
Parking for visitors to the nature reserve is provided at either Shipley Country Park Visitor Centre or Mapperley Reservoir giving access to a network of paths including the Nutbrook Trail, a 10-mile traffic-free path for use by walkers, cyclists and horse riders, part of which crosses the 81 acres held within this Shipley Lakeside development proposal.
Labour Market:
The decline in the Borough's traditional industrial base has led to former employment sites being redeveloped for housing, increasing patterns of out-commuting.
Whilst unemployment levels remain lower than national and regional averages, this masks pockets of higher unemployment, particularly in the eastern wards within Heanor and adjoining settlements. (Amber Valley’s Spatial Vision, AVBC Draft Core Strategy Policies April 2013).
Employment Land Requirements:
To the north-west of the site Heanor Industrial Estate provides for manufacturing and engineering and Heanor Town Centre provides retail and service sector employment opportunities. To the south-east, Manners Industrial Estate and Ilkeston Town Centre provides comparable employment, however, Ilkeston’s wider employment sites have declined becoming brownfield and have either redeveloped into new housing estates generating greater traffic movements and congestion on the A6007, Heanor/Ilkeston Road, or are held in the Nottingham HMA as preferred housing sties.
The former American Adventure Theme Park utilised 100% of the site for employment use requiring no off-site infrastructure and provided much needed employment and work experience opportunities to the local labour market. This housing-led mixed use development proposal provides for ‘only 6% employment use’ of the overall development site. The current proposal to create over 600 new jobs would provide economic and regeneration benefits for the area lowering unemployment rates which is acute within the local wards of Heanor and Ilkeston, however this application falls seriously short of opening up the site for prime employment use.
Unemployment Claimant Count: A slightly lower percentage of people in Amber Valley at 3.1% against the England average of 3.8%, however, 4.0% claimant count in Erewash with the impact felt most in Ilkeston North (32.6%). Whilst not a feature in Derbyshire’s adverse upper quartile, Cotmanhay (21.5%), Ilkeston Central (21.5%) and Heanor West (17.8%), Heanor and Loscoe (16.5%) and Heanor East (15.5%) are claiming Out of Work Benefits. (Derbyshire Observatory, February 2013).
‘Local concern exists within the proposed 10 year development delivery timetable which set against a flat and protracted investment market, could provide the developer with the option to submit alternative proposals to change the uses on the site compromising the prescribed already low employment benefit for greater housing yields. Given the timetable to deliver this application, there is no guarantee that 6% of the site would be held for employment use, and the site could remain subject to change of use and deliver less employment returns outlined in this current application’.
Town Centres:
The Borough's accessibility makes it an attractive location for commuters, as well as opening up opportunities for shopping and leisure activities in other towns and cities.
Heanor: The retail capacity of Heanor is becoming less and less viable and therefore alternatives need to be brought forward to ensure that the town centres vitality and viability is improved. Promotion should be giving through the planning process, to allow retail units on the High Street and Market Street to change and attract other uses. The retail core of Heanor should, however, be protected. Development which will enable the opportunities identified in the Heanor Masterplan 2008 to be realised will be actively encouraged. (Amber Valley’s Spatial Vision, AVBC Draft Core Strategy Policies April 2013).
Retail Impact Issues:
Very little detail is provided in this application about the scale and nature of the proposed Garden Centre and related retail leisure uses, although the developer at the pre-application stage, during the open public consultation events confirmation that they have secured a preferred option from an operator which they have previously delivered on another Derbyshire Regeneration site to the North of the County. (Dobbies Garden World, Chesterfield, 4 Highwood Way, Barlborough).
This operator provides store opening times covering Monday to Friday 9am to 8pm, Saturday 9am to 6pm, and Sunday 10.30am to 4.30pm. A 340 Seat restaurant with coffee bar and outdoor terrace, a Farm Foodhall with Delicatessen and in-house Butcher and Specialist Aquatics Department, alongside 15 concessions from the retail leisure sector.
Dobbies Garden Centres and Dobbies Garden World stores, (Part of Tesco Group) have an ambitious expansion plan. The aim is to build a £1 billion business and take the total number of stores to 100 before the end of the decade. They say they are more than just a garden centre, providing a new shopping environment which offers a great day out with something for everyone, from fashion to outdoor wear, home-ware to fine food & gardening through a number of concession partners.
Whilst this out-line application is devoid of any detail about a potential Garden Centre and leisure complex operator for 3.41 ha upon the site, my analysis and the previous statement made by Waystones at the public consultation events, raises concerns about the likely aspects this part of the development presents both to the planning and infrastructure authorities if planning permission is granted there-by creating a new regional retail destination with a wide drive-time catchment and trading implications for the town centres of Heanor and Ilkeston and possibly further afield.
‘On this basis alone, the planning decision should be to refuse the application on the grounds that the application fails to meet the sites specific development brief (AVBC 20th July 2011) of failing to respond to the plan which puts emphasis on supporting a resilient local economy, and does not equally conform to the concurrent technical planning responses provided by Derbyshire County Council of not supporting any major retail development that would conflict with local town centres’.
Housing:
More affordable housing will be provided and designed to the same standard as market housing and new housing shall be designed to provide for the needs of all sectors of the community, including gypsies and travellers. Existing traffic congestion that currently exists within all of the four market town centres will have been reduced and the quality of the environment in the town centres will have been improved.
Villages and rural areas in the Borough will have been protected from unsustainable development and access to these areas by means other than the car will have been improved. Existing village facilities will have been preserved and new development will have been provided where it had assisted in meeting the needs of the community.
All important green open spaces and areas of nature conservation interest in the Borough, including the Derwent Valley corridor will have been protected. All open space, parks, recreational areas, leisure facilities, community facilities and cultural facilities will be of the highest standard and easily accessible by pedestrians and cyclists. These will form part of a network of green infrastructure. As many sectors of the population as possible will have access to local facilities without having to use the car. (Amber Valley’s Spatial Vision, AVBC Draft Core Strategy Policies April 2013).
The developer, Waystones are arguing the case that this housing-led mixed use development proposal which is considered contrary to the emerging development plan strategy for the area, and a departure from the saved local development plan, provides strong evidence that the 400 houses will contribute to the national, regional and local housing targets. Whilst the current 5-year and 3-year land supply is contested by the applicant, this proposal covers a 10 year delivery cycle providing for 30 to 40 units per annum.
I am not going to comment further on the recurrent technical planning responses submitted by Derbyshire County Council, as these responses are sound and conform correctly to provide sufficient mitigation against the case and arguments put forward by the developer as to why this site should be considered appropriate for housing. ‘This site should not be considered for any housing’.
Instead, I wish to focus on the proposal to deliver ‘only 3% of affordable housing’, and the delivery of 30 to 40 housing units per annum.
Notwithstanding the first phase of the development completing the remediation, land reclamation and on-site infrastructure, the delivery of 30 to 40 houses per year ‘goes nowhere to delivering the stated aim of responding to the acute national, regional and local housing demand’.
It is therefore disingenuous for the developer to put forward their argument that this proposal responds to the ‘demand for housing’, as if this was the case then a more aggressive programme of delivery to generate higher year-on-year housing yields should have been submitted.
In the case of ‘need for housing’, again this proposal fails to respond by only proposing to deliver 3% of affordable housing, falling far short of the saved policy of between 20% to 30% affordable.
It is therefore highly questionable whether the developer has provided strong enough evidence as to the strength of this application outweighing national, regional, and local including the saved local plan and affordable housing policies to satisfy a planning application approval.
Setting aside the site needing to be accessed predominately by private car, although proposals do exist to extend existing bus services onto the site, the broader uses for health care and retirement village must be also considered as not meeting the sustainable development test due to the sites isolated location and distance from established settlements and services.
I am however more concerned that this proposal if approved, would create additional requirements for off-site infrastructure and whilst the scale of housing development would usually provide for requested S106 and S278 financial infrastructure contributions, it is not possible to guarantee all of the main infrastructure requirements requested by the statutory public sector authorities.
The Planning Authority and District Valuer when assessing the viability of these proposals upon the site and stated required off-site infrastructure should satisfy themselves that sufficient development capital returns exist to mitigate all and any social and economic impact arising from a planning permission. ‘Given the scale of proposed on-site infrastructure, it is questionable that any financial contribution will be available for stated off-site infrastructure requirements’.
As such, the proposed development would be contrary to Policy EN3 of the saved local plan, and the requirements of the Shipley Lakeside Development Brief.
Conclusion:
‘This proposal presents significant risks to the openness of the Green Belt and conflicts in both scale and character within its surroundings. Visually, it will create a substantial impact on Shipley County Park and produce unsustainable traffic movements and congestion on the A6007 and across the highway infrastructure. The Garden Centre and related retail leisure proposals will impact on the viability of local town centres and could present further economic declines in established retail centres further afield. The scale of housing and inadequate affordable mix compounded with high risks of insufficient S106 gains for off-site infrastructure requirements, taken together present an application for inappropriate unsustainable development, and my recommendation is that this application is refused’.
Councillor Kevin Parkinson
Cabinet Member Regeneration, Derbyshire County Council, Member for Greater Heanor
Cabinet Support Member Developing Places to Live and Work Regeneration, Amber Valley Borough Council, Member for Shipley Park, Horsley and Horsley Woodhouse
October 2nd, 2011
Revealed, up to 400 Homes on Shipley Lakeside (opens in a new window)
Waystones Ltd are currently in pre application stages with Amber Valley Borough Council’s planning department.
An open public consultation will happen in November 2012 when Waystones will publish their vision and proposals for a mixed use development (opens in a new window). Housing disappointingly will be a larger feature of their original plans shared with Derbyshire County Council (land owner) and they will argue more housing is needed to make the master plan viable due to high infrastructure costs, and a flat business investment market.
Cllr Kevin Parkinson said, ‘’I don’t necessarily agree with that statement as their plans include significant excavation, land reclamation, and infrastructure like roads which conflicts with the adopted development principles approved by Amber Valley’s planning committee, which specifies any future use must not exceed the previous scale and density of the former American Adventure Park.’’
Views of some local people following the developer’s consultation on their outline proposals for developing the old American Adventure Theme Park site (opens in a new window)
July 18th, 2011
Amber Valley Planning Board:- DERBYSHIRE COUNTY COUNCIL Consultations Local County Council Member
Councillor Kevin Parkinson was consulted and commented as follows:
"Shipley is a Green Lung, preventing the Boroughs of Amber Valley and Erewash, and the Market Towns of Heanor and Ilkeston, merging, preventing urban sprawl.
The Lakeside site remains today a regular attraction for local people and visitors from the neighbouring County Country Park. Many daily visitors walk, run and cycle around the area, with fishing being in high demand on the lake, making the area a hive for leisure and recreation activity.
The community and I would like to secure free and open access across the site in any future development.
With many local jobs lost from the closure of the former theme park, it is important that the site delivers strong employment opportunities, from a diverse range of sectors, across the intermediate and professional skill base. Sustainable retail, whilst of some value, must not be of a scale to present any further decline in either Heanor or Ilkeston.
Equally any heavy industry including logistics is neither appropriate for the site and local infrastructure, nor fitting with the surrounding area.
It is my opinion that any housing development is inappropriate for Shipley Lakeside, given the need to protect Shipley's Green Lung and the need to protect free and open access, for the community to continue its leisure and recreational uses of the site.
I believe private residences on Shipley Lakeside would both set a precedent for more housing in the future, conflicting with a community asset, and losing the important ability of preventing urban sprawl. I, therefore, oppose housing development. However, I would support health and social care residential development and temporary accommodation to support any commerce on the site, providing there is no community access reduction.
Developments that supplement the rich diversity of the adopted leisure and recreational activity and other uses which generate strong employment opportunities, whilst protecting the Green Belt and limiting local impact on the existing infrastructure, are welcomed."
Amber Valley Borough Council Planning Department Response
These comments are noted and the draft development brief as written supports such aspirations. The draft development brief can be amended to clarify the Council's position regarding any future housing development proposals on the site.
June 20th, 2011
Shipley Lakeside Development Brief issued by Amber Valley Borough Council
Amber Valley Borough Council have produced a Development Brief for Shipley Lakeside (the former American Adventure theme park).
The purpose of the development brief for this site is to:-
o Set out clearly the Borough Council's vision for the future use and development of land within the Brief site
o Give greater certainty to existing landowners, prospective developers, the Borough Council and the local community as to an appropriate
form and scale of development within the Brief site
o Support established planning policies for the Brief site, by providing more detailed guidance against which specific development proposals
can be considered
o Provide a focus for public involvement in the development of the Brief site, prior to the consideration of any detailed planning applications
A development brief for this site provides a framework against which detailed development proposals can be considered, to ensure an efficient pattern of land use and sustainable development which does not detract from the openness of the Green Belt and the character of the locality.
The site has been vacant since its closure in 2007 and offers the opportunity to develop a high quality mixed use waterside development, including business, leisure, recreation, education and health uses.
Extract from the Shipley Development Brief:-
3 Policy Framework
3.1 Planning Policies
There is a wide range of national, regional and local planning policies, which will guide any redevelopment proposals in relation to the Brief site.
The key policies are those in the Amber Valley Borough Local Plan, which aim to:-
o Maintain the openness of the Green Belt
o Make best use of previously developed land
o Provide employment and leisure uses
o Secure the provision of community facilities
o Manage flood risk
o Conserve and enhance the environment, including landscape
The Brief site is within the Green Belt and therefore policy EN2 of the adopted Amber Valley Local Plan (2006) is a material consideration. However, as there has been a former theme park on this site, policy EN3 of the adopted Amber Valley Local Plan (2006) specifically refers to this site and states that planning permission will be granted for development, providing the proposals do not:
1) Have any greater impact on the Green Belt than the existing development.
2) Exceed the general height of the existing buildings within the site.
3) Significantly increase the existing density of development within the site or occupy a larger area of the site than the existing buildings,
unless this would achieve a reduction in height, which would benefit visual amenity.
4) Create additional requirements for off-site infrastructure.
It also states that:
o any new buildings and other structures will need to be located having regard to the openness of the Green Belt, existing landscape features
and the need to integrate with surrounding land uses.
o Any major development proposals will also need to be the subject of a comprehensive scheme in accordance with an approved
development brief. View the Shipley Development Brief here (opens in a new window)
April 9th, 2011
Shipley Country Park receives Natural England Accreditation (opens in a new window)
Derbyshire’s Country Park has become the only one in the county to be accredited by Natural England.
Shipley Country Park, between Heanor and Ilkeston, was assessed on criteria including easy-to-follow paths, bridleways and cycle paths. It passed on all 39 points, according to the county council.
The voluntary accreditation scheme was launched in 2009 so that any site with “Country Park” in its title could show it met certain standards.
March 13th, 2011
Shipley Lakeside set to go Wild (opens in a new window)
PLANS to create Derbyshire’s largest Nature Reserve (opens in a new window) outside of the Peak District have been warmly welcomed by residents.
Derbyshire Wildlife Trust revealed its vision for the 182-acre site, (opens in a new window) once part of the former American Adventure theme park in Shipley, at a public meeting in Ilkeston last week.
Amber Valley borough and Derbyshire county councillor for the area Cllr Kevin Parkinson also said there will be increased numbers of visitors to the site.
He said: “I don’t think the reserve will have any greater impact on the area than American Adventure had, but it will be managed better than the theme park was. It will attract different people at different times.”