Planning

We continue to seek solutions for many longstanding problems around the town, including the former Masons Arms on Spital Hill, the derelict site on Bridgegate, flooding issues in the town and repeated fly posting. Updates on these are provided at open meetings and frequently appear in our news-sheets

Town Centre Improvements

The Society has worked with the District Council to bring forward measures to improve the town centre using a grant received from the government. These are now almost complete and include replacing seats, litter bins and other street furniture and introducing more planters, trees and other vegetation. Some of the money is being targeted at improving the appearance of prominent shop fronts and plans are being developed to improve the market area.

Plans are being developed by the Council to upgrade seating and other street furniture along Market Street to protect people in The Square from terrorist attacks using a lorry. The Society is seeking to ensure that this work does not harm the appearance of the area.

Planning Applications

The Society monitors applications and proposals affecting Retford and comments where appropriate. All planning applications can be seen on the Council’s website. ( search planning applications )

Recent comments to the Council are below.

Application 26/00946/FUL Provide a Private Gypsy and Traveller Residential Pitch Comprising the Siting of Two Static Caravans, One Tourer for Residential Use by a Gypsy/traveller Family, Together with Associated Parking, Access and Existing Utility Connections. 8 Welham Road

This change of use should not be permitted and enforcement action should be taken to restore the land to its condition before the use was introduced.

Use of the land as a residential caravan site is harming the character and appearance of the area which is characterised by conventional dwellings in well maintained gardens. The site has been entirely hard surfaced and already there is one large mobile home, several other caravans and a camper van on the land. This is wholly incompatible with the character of the surroundings. It is also harmful to the setting of the adjacent listed building. Although at present this is screened by a rather neglected garden with numerous trees, this screening will almost certainly be much reduced at some time in the future when the visual impact on the listed building of the caravan site would be very harmful.

It is unlikely that anything other than minimal landscaping would be possible and compatible in the long term with use of the land as a caravan site.

The present harmful impact of use of the land as a caravan site would increase greatly if, as is likely, commercial use develops incidental to the residential use. Many sites in Retford associated with travellers are now being used for the storage and sale of large camper vans. In the past traveller sites have been used for various other commercial activities including scrap metal processing and vehicle repairing. Commercial use incidental to that for which permission is sought would add to the harmful visual impact of the development and this is another reason why permission should be refused.

Use of the land as a caravan site is likely to harm the living conditions of those in nearby dwellings as it will drastically alter their outlook and, if incidental commercial uses develop, expose them to increased noise, traffic and possibly other unpleasant effects.

If, notwithstanding these objections, the Council decides to grant permission there must be well defined and enforceable conditions attached to limit the number of static and touring caravans, camper vans, lorries, vans and other vehicles on the site. In addition, incidental use of the site must be restricted by precluding any commercial activity causing noise, smell or dust affecting neighbouring properties.

Application 24/00565/FUL 95 dwellings on land adjoining Grove Road.

The principle of residential development here is established in the Local Plan. However that assumed just 61 dwellings. The much higher density now proposed has made it impossible to achieve an acceptable quality of development.

Almost all the car parking spaces will be between the houses and the roads. Where there would normally be front gardens there would be almost continuous tarmac forecourts with cars parked on them. This would produce a most unattractive streetscene.

Legislation and local plan policy now require developments of this scale to produce a substantial increase in biodiversity but the application acknowledges that this cannot be provided within the site. Biodiversity improvements should normally be provided within development sites and there is no reason why this could not be achieved here. However that would mean a substantial reduction in the number of dwellings proposed.

For these reasons planning permission for what is now proposed should be refused and the developer should be pressed to produce a better scheme with fewer houses.

Application 23/01495/FUL Land between Bridgegate and Amcott Way. Erect Two Drive-Thru Restaurants with access from Amcott Way and erect 17 dwellings with access from Bridgegate.

Planning permission has been applied for to develop the vacant site off Bridgegate. This site needs developed. However, the Society considers that what is proposed now is not acceptable. A new access to serve two drive-thru restaurants would be built off Amcott Way between the roundabout and the Morrisons slip road and we feel this would add to the traffic congestion which is already a problem in the area. We also feel that what is proposed would harm the appearance of the conservation, would not provide all the affordable housing required by planning policy and would create poor living conditions for some residents.

Application 23/01302/FUL Erection of 28 Dwellings at Canal Turn, Welham Road

When this application was first submitted the Society objected to the development because of its failure to provide affordable housing on the site. Revised plans now being considered do not address the Society’s concerns and consequently the Society is still of the view that planning permission should be refused. The Society’s previous reasoned objection still applies in full and has only been strengthened by subsequent events.
• The Bassetlaw Local Plan is now adopted and its policy requiring provision of affordable housing in new development now carries the full weight of the development plan. It is consistent with the current NPPF and proposed changes to the NPPF. What is proposed is inconsistent with that policy.
• The flaws in the appellant’s viability assessment referred to in the Society’s objection have not been addressed. This is a relatively straightforward site to develop and there is no reason why its development cannot support affordable housing provision. The need for such provision was known when the appellant bought the site and would have been reflected in the price paid.
• There is no reason why affordable housing provision cannot be made on-site. However, even if off-site provision were agreed, the suggested link with development between Amcott Way and Bridgegate is unacceptable. There is no planning permission for that development and objections to it on highways and conservation grounds. It is unlikely to proceed. In addition, the scale of affordable housing proposed there is well below what is required.

The Society is also concerned about the practicality of the narrow strip of land between the proposed housing and the canal boundary. This strip is too narrow to be of recreational value and it is unlikely to be cared for or maintained. Extending gardens to the canal boundary and eliminating the strip would enhance the development for residents and ensure that the land and boundary are all looked after.

Neighbourhood Plan

Together with the Retford Business Forum and a wide range of other representatives of the local community we have produced a Neighbourhood Plan for the town centre. This has now been formally ‘made’, or adopted by the District and become official planning policy .