Agenda item

Please contact the Neighbourhood Development Officer at least 3 days before the meeting with any issues you wish to raise

To respond to an issue raised by Chris Easton, Bestwood Park Church, prior to the meeting, Mark Lowe and Matt Gregory (Housing, Planning and Regeneration officers) attended the meeting.

It was stated that:

·  a number of development sites are in the Bestwood ward, including Padstow, Ridgeway, Haywood and Eastglade, and these could result in around 570 new homes being built;

·  although the overall population growth in the area represented by these developments was relatively small, concerns had been raised about the impact on local services, including health, schools, policing, transport and Early Help / Sure Start;

·  Health - health provision planning is undertaken by the Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG). As part of the development proposals, discussions are ongoing between Council officers and the CCG;

·  Schools - Nottingham City Council education officers have been engaged in the process for new build housing in the area and have agreed that there is a need for additional school places to be created. The plan was to meet the additional requirements by extending existing schools, rather than building a new school. They are currently reviewing the options and a Section106 contribution for education expansion will be received through the planning process;

·  Policing - this is the responsibility of Nottinghamshire Police and it is consulted on all relevant planning applications;

·  Transport - a full transport assessment would be carried out for each site and submitted as part of any planning application. The sites are all close to existing bus routes and also link to the existing road network;

·  Early Help / Sure Start - Early Help services are delivered from Sure Start Children’s Centres and Play and Youth playgrounds and centres.  Play and Youth services are delivered from the Ridge Adventure Playground, which should have the capacity for any additional demand.  Officers managing the Early Help Service are aware of the development proposals and the possible impact from population growth.

As the majority of the homes are planned to be private-rented or open-sale, it is not envisaged that they would create a large additional demand in terms of children who fell into the target group for additional support. Nevertheless, the effect on demand for services in this area was being tracked and the services would respond appropriately to changes in demand;

·  In addition to the above, the Council has also applied for £5.85 million from the Housing Infrastructure Fund, specifically to provide additional infrastructure improvement in the Bestwood area. The bid related to a range of transport improvements around the Hucknall Road/Arnold Road, Gala Way/Hucknall Road and Arnold Road/Beckhampton Road junctions. It also requested funds to support education provision expansion in Bestwood and for the improvement of open space on the proposed development sites.

In response, Mr Easton stated that he was a Governor at Henry Whipple Primary School and, despite the school suggesting to the Council that it moves from a single to a 2-tier entry (from 30 to 60 admission), no-one from the Education Department had yet contacted the Governors to discuss possible expansion to meet future requirements.

The Committee stated that the High Pavement/Gainsford Road junction should also be included as part of any transport improvement proposals.

RESOLVED that the thanks of the Committee to Mark Lowe and Matt Gregory for the informative update be recorded.