Plans for 144 homes in Chesterfield move forward - despite £1.7million bridge dispute

Woodall Homes Ltd, of Chesterfield, has submitted a planning application to Chesterfield Borough Council to demolish existing buildings on a brownfield site at Tapton Business Park, on Brimington Road, Chesterfield, and to build 83 dwellings, 41 apartments, and 20 flats over garages with ground floor commercial units and landscaping.

When the application was previously left non-determined by the council, Woodall Homes submitted an appeal for a public inquiry as the council raised concerns about the need for funding for improved footpaths and a £1.2million contribution towards a new £1.7m pedestrian and cycle bridge over the River Rother.

Following a council planning committee meeting on Wednesday, and despite Woodall’s insistence the bridge funding request would be unviable, councillors voted unanimously in favour of the project – but the final decision now lies with the public inquiry scheduled for September 19.

Following the committee meeting, Woodall Homes Land and Planning Director Chris Dwan said: “It’s a really exciting opportunity with this site and one we are looking forward to delivering for the local area as a local developer.”

Mr Dwan said he was delighted with the planning committee outcome but explained the deciding public inquiry still has to go ahead although it should now be more straightforward given the council’s position that it would have been minded to approve the application.

Planning officers had highlighted the poor nature of footpaths around the site and the need to improve them and the need for a new, replacement bridge between Riverside East and the Waterfront areas.

They had argued that even though the paths and proposed bridge fell outside the site they fell into the council’s masterplan requiring access, connectivity, and open space.

Planners called for a new, upgraded bridge across the River Rother and for improvement to the riverside footpath and cycleway, including connections to other parts of the scheme with financial contributions.

These included requests for a financial contribution towards an improved pedestrian cycle route alongside Riverside Park, secondary pedestrian streets connecting Brimington Road with the riverside, and a new £1.7m pedestrian bridge across the River Rother.

Planners requested Woodall Homes should pay £1.275m towards the cost of any new bridge and they also identified path improvements could cost as much as £131,750.

Woodall Homes argued it cannot be responsible for matters beyond its site boundary and that to invest in this additional work would not have been financially viable and it would have left a deficit.

However, Woodall Homes Planning Director Darren Abbott said the developers had provided connections to the site and they may be able to help in some way with future plans for improved paths and a new bridge.

The council’s planning officers had recommended the planning committee refuse permission on the basis the multi-million pound development would not be in accordance with its masterplan due to a failure to incorporate and deliver improvements to access routes with a connected scheme.

However, Cllr Stuart Brittain, Vice Chair of the planning committee, told the committee: “This scheme is not ideal and it is not ideal because of the complexities of the site. I think this has been well thought out in discussions with our officers – thank you to them – but I honestly do not think we are likely to get a better scheme and I would propose acceptance of this scheme.”

The planning committee voted unanimously that it would have been ‘minded’ to approve the application with a possible proposal that some funding might be sought at a later stage to contribute towards a bridge but the final decision now lies with the public inquiry.

Following the committee meeting, Woodall Homes Land and Planning Director Chris Dwan said that the request to fund the footpath improvements and a replacement bridge was simply something the developers could not afford.

He added: “With the best will in the world I do not think anyone could have provided that surplus contribution and if we could have provided the bridge, we would have done.”

The 2.59 hectare site is part of the council’s Chesterfield Waterside Regeneration plans aimed at ensuring a contribution to jobs, the restoration of the canal and river by achieving mixed uses and improving access with footpaths and a cycle network while managing flood risk.