Nottingham City Council on target for 1,000 affordable homes
Nottingham City Council is on track to deliver or support the development of 1,000 affordable homes.
The Council Plan outlined the target, including newly built homes, new acquisitions and homes for the homeless such as temporary accommodation. The current projection is for the target to be exceeded, with 1,049 units available or due for completion.
To date, 151 new council homes have been completed, with a further 351 in the process of being built. Planning permission has also been granted for 24 more homes on the Oakdene site in St Ann’s.
A further 52 new build affordable homes have been completed on private sites through planning agreements, some of which have also been acquired by the council to add to its housing stock. The council has also converted nine upper floors over council-owned shops into new affordable flats for rent and bought 162 properties from the private sector market to further increase the number of council homes.
Housing Association partners have also been providing new affordable housing in Nottingham which is available to people on the council waiting list through the Homelink Partnership. Between them Housing Associations have built 76 new affordable homes with a further 182 homes currently being built on various sites across the city.
A further 142 units of homeless accommodation have been provided across Nottingham by the council and its partners with an additional 13 currently in development.
Portfolio holder for housing & human resources, Cllr Toby Neal, said: “We have made increasing the number of affordable homes available to local residents a priority and I’m pleased with the progress we’re making towards meeting our target.
“We are building good quality homes with high energy efficiency standards, giving the opportunity for more local families to choose a decent home which is so important towards ensuring good health and wellbeing.”
Blueprint for Leicestershire residents, businesses and other groups to work together on net zero plans approved
With the goal of making Leicestershire a net zero carbon county by 2045, Leicestershire County Council has approved the blueprint for residents, businesses and other groups to work together on an updated Net Zero Strategy and Action Plan.
After almost 1,400 people had their say during a consultation, the Net Zero Strategy and Action Plan sets out the approach to delivering the council’s ambitious desire to work with residents, partners and businesses to achieve net zero carbon emissions in Leicestershire by 2045 or before.
The strategy is accompanied by an action plan which highlights the actions the council will lead on and those which it will ask and influence others to deliver on over the next five years.
Some of the priority next steps for action to make the county-wide target a reality include:
- Delivering the Sustainable Warmth Programme to improve energy performance of homes, reducing emissions and fuel poverty
- Working with partners to develop a new programme of business support for carbon reduction
- Generating local renewable energy through the development of Quorn Solar Farm and successful rollout of Solar Together Leicestershire, to provide more than 1,000 households with solar panels
- Working with partners to reduce the carbon impact of food production, distribution and waste through the Sustainable Food Plan
- Bringing organisations, businesses and residents together to tackle climate change through the Leicestershire Climate and Nature Pact
Multi-million-pound Northampton Market Square revamp works to begin next month
The vision to enhance Northampton’s Market Square will start to become reality after planners approved the temporary relocation to the accessible Commercial St Car Park.
The plans by West Northamptonshire Council (WNC) to redevelop the historic Market Square include:
- 18 high-quality and bespoke fixed stalls which are larger and more structured to better serve traders, along with space for temporary stalls
- Permanent tiered seating
- Tree planting
- Relaying of cobbles
- New paving
- New lighting
- An interactive water feature
Toy departments set to close at Wilko
Nottinghamshire-headquartered Wilko is set to close its toy departments, focusing instead on selling garden and household goods.
The retailer informed suppliers of its intentions in a letter, according to reports from toyworld, stating the decision is part of its long term strategic direction.
Wilko will apparently, however, offer seasonal/outdoor toys at the relevant time of year.
The news comes after it was revealed that 95 Wilko staff in Worksop were at risk of being made redundant as the retailer looked to outsource its customer services, and follows the business agreeing a £40m two-year revolving credit facility with Hilco, to allow it to increase financial flexibility as it accelerates plans for turnaround.
This backstop facility is in addition to the recently announced injection of £48m from the sale and leaseback of its Worksop distribution centre and ongoing re-gearing negotiation successes with landlords.
Wilko’s year-end results showed a drop in sales, while the firm slipped to a pre-tax loss, as the pandemic continued to bite.
165 home residential scheme takes step forward in Leicestershire
Developers are set to progress plans for 165 homes off Cork Lane, Glen Parva, after the Planning Inspectorate, a Government appointed organisation, made its decision in relation to Blaby District Council’s refusal of the application.
Following a public inquiry into the refusal decision, made in May 2022, the Planning Inspector has granted reserved matters approval for the scheme.
It means developers Glen Parva JV LLP can progress to the next stage of the process, which will be to submit a further application to the Council to explain exactly how they will deal with the risks associated with contamination of the site due to its previous use as landfill.
This is required before any work can start on the building of up to 165 homes on the 12.5 hectare plot, a former brickworks and clay pit-turned landfill site. This is important in ensuring robust remediation and mitigation works against any migration of landfill gas, particularly methane gas.
When received, this application will be considered by the Council to ensure the developer can take the necessary steps to address any threats posed to future occupants and surrounding residents. If the Council is not satisfied then it can refuse the application and the development may not proceed.
The background to the appeal goes back to 2016 when outline planning permission was given to the original application to build up to 165 homes on land off Cork Lane, Glen Parva.
A reserved matters application was received by the Council in 2019 which sought approval for the appearance, landscaping, layout and scale of the development on this former landfill site.
In the reserved matters application the developer had made changes to the originally agreed approach to contamination.
Concerned that this new strategy may not be sufficient to eliminate risks from landfill gas, Council officers recommended refusal and at committee the application was denied.
Glen Parva JV LLP appealed this decision and a public inquiry was held last November.
During the run-up to the inquiry, new evidence was put forward by contamination experts from both sides.
This led to both parties agreeing in principle that the site could theoretically be remediated satisfactorily through measures including installing an underground protective gas curtain wall, increasing the depth of the capping layer and carrying out further monitoring.
The Planning Inspector agreed with this new approach and in his decision letter Mr Darren Hendley stated: “I conclude that the proposal would not have an unacceptable effect on the public health of the future occupiers of the proposal and the occupiers of nearby residential properties by way of land contamination.”
Councillor Ben Taylor, portfolio holder for planning delivery and enforcement and corporate transformation, said: “This is a very complex issue and a very complicated site given its history and the potential risks its development poses.
“This appeal decision is just one step in a long process to ensure any development on this site is carried out in a manner which protects future and existing residents.
“While, on the new advice of experts and after changes to the development layout were made, common ground has been reached on the ability to remediate the site it remains that as a Council we must be wholly satisfied any remediation plan is sufficient to ensure householders’ safety.”
Glen Parva JV LLP made a claim for costs against the Council. This claim was refused, with the Planning Inspector concluding the Council had been reasonable in taking the land contamination information submitted in the reserved matters application into account when coming to its decision. He determined the Council’s actions had not caused procedural unfairness to the developer.
300 jobs created in Silverstone factory expansion
Lunaz Applied Technologies’ vast vehicle upcycling campus at Silverstone Park is now fully operational following a major expansion.
The facility, the first of its kind in the world, now occupies a total of 200,000 sq ft according to Lunaz – nearly four times its original size when it opened in 2018.
Some 300 jobs have been created as a result of the expansion, making Lunaz Applied Technologies (LAT) one of the largest companies within the Silverstone Technology Cluster by space and employees.
The expansion means LAT can significantly increase production of its upcycled electric vehicles (UEVs), with capacity to now produce 1,100 of them per year.
Lunaz founder David Lorenz said: “The expansion of the Lunaz Silverstone campus is a clear demonstration of our commitment to breaking the ‘replace-with-new’ cycle.
“Lunaz now has the largest manufacturing footprint of any company within the Silverstone Technology Cluster.
“From this state-of-the-art facility, we unlock the power of upcycling, providing UEVs that are cleaner, cheaper and better equipped than their all-new equivalents.
“Our new and fully operational facilities, which gives us four times as much space as we had before, enables us to continue scaling up production of our UEVs, meet the demands of more fleet operators and government bodies who want to benefit from our technology.
“We will also continue to grow this critical sector through the research and development of our proprietary EV technologies, too.
“Above all, it’s a huge vote of confidence in our own technology and upcycling model, and in Silverstone as a location. We’re very excited that this new chapter for LAT has now begun.”
Upcycling involves taking conventional diesel-powered refuse trucks alongside other commercial vehicles and converting them to fully electric power when they reach the end of their normal working lives.
Lunaz says that UEVs are proven to be cleaner, cheaper and better-equipped than all-new equivalents, saving money for local taxpayers and helping authorities achieve their net-zero goals.
Research, states the business, shows upcycling also carries over more than 80% of the originally embedded carbon from the initial vehicle production process when compared to buying new.
An independent audit showed that the LAT model preserves the equivalent weight of the Eiffel Tower in carbon every year.
The additional space allows LAT to bring the majority of the upcycling in-house, giving it total quality control at every stage of the production process and enabling seamless integration of its proprietary technologies.
LAT has substantially extended the space devoted to innovation within its Silverstone Park facility. The company is pursuing various avenues of technology development to make the upcycling process even more efficient and cost effective, enabling further savings for its customers.
In keeping with its wider environmental mission, the LAT facility is powered entirely by renewable energy.
New Skegness hotel gets green light
Plans for a new hotel in Skegness have been approved by East Lindsey District Council.
Burney Property Group are behind the proposals for the former Crazy Golf site on South Parade, which has been left vacant for the past four years.
The new scheme involves two units on the site; a six storey Travelodge hotel with 80 rooms, and a drive thru Starbucks restaurant.
A design statement indicates that the development would create a significant number of local job opportunities, and have knock on beneficial impacts associated with the wider regeneration and investment in the local area.
EV charging points would be included in the development, along with cycle parking spaces, 65 car parking spaces for the hotel and 17 spaces for the Starbucks unit.
A publicly accessible food and drink outlet is also proposed on the hotel’s fifth floor, with panoramic views across Skegness beach and coastline.
Former Notts County owner sets sights on Scunthorpe
Alan Hardy, the former owner of Notts County, is said to be leading a consortium interested in purchasing Scunthorpe United.
The reports from BBC Radio Humberside come after the football club was handed a winding-up petition over money owed to HMRC.
A sale by current owner Peter Swann looked close at the end of 2022, with a deal agreed for the acquisition of Scunthorpe United by a local group.
At the start of December it was said the National League club would work with the group during the final due diligence and transition into their ownership “over the coming weeks.”
Hardy took over at Notts County in 2017, selling to Christoffer and Alexander Reedtz, the owners of football statistics firm Football Radar, in 2019, following the club’s relegation to the National League.
Congestion-busting road takes another step forward
Councillors have approved the latest stage in Leicestershire County Council’s quest to deliver congestion-busting measures on a stretch of the A511 between Ashby and Coalville.
The A511 Coalville Growth Corridor scheme will see major improvements to eight junctions along the A511 and a dual carriageway between Thornborough Road and Whitwick Road.
Integral to the whole plan is the construction of a link road off the Bardon Road roundabout to connect with housing developments off Grange Road.
The planning application relating to the link road proposals was approved by members of the county council’s Development Control and Regulatory Board.
Councillor Ozzy O’Shea, cabinet member for highways and transport, said: “Gaining planning permission for the link road is a small, but nonetheless, significant step in the progress of the scheme. The A511 has suffered from congestion for many years and this scheme will not only improve traffic flow, but provide us with the opportunity to improve public transport and promote walking and cycling initiatives.
“For example, the link road will include lit footpaths and cycle paths, meaning that local residents can be less reliant on their cars when travelling between the new housing developments and Coalville town centre.”
The road will also provide better access to around 3,500 new homes off Grange Road for which developers have been granted planning permission.
The public right of way on the land would also be re-routed to line up with the road, and a crossing provided for pedestrians.
In addition, there will be an 18-tonne weight limit to restrict heavy vehicles from using the route and proposals to implement a 30mph speed limit.
Mr O’Shea added: “We wanted to ensure that we fully took into account the views of residents and businesses so we also consulted on the link road proposals last year.”
In 2021, the Government approved the county council’s initial plans for the Growth Corridor scheme and awarded £40m to the scheme with around £7m coming from developer contributions as part of a funding strategy developed with North West Leicestershire District Council.
This strategy has also identified approximately £23m of additional developer contributions which would be used to support the scheme, particularly in the light of rising costs, much of it around materials.
The full business case for the A511 scheme is also due to be submitted to Government for final approval in advance of works starting. Work on the scheme is scheduled to start in Summer 2024.
Eastwood site acquired for £27m, 107-home development
Avant Homes Central has acquired an 11-acre site in Eastwood to deliver 107 new-build homes with a gross development value (GDV) of around £27m.
Called Lawrence Point, the development is located eight miles from Nottingham city centre on Lynncroft.
Subject to planning approval, the development will comprise a mix of two, three, four and five-bedroom homes.
Of the 107 homes proposed, 10 per cent have been designated to affordable housing. Avant Homes has also committed to community contributions of around £680,000 for the provision of local education, healthcare, improvements of bus stops and library facilities, a travel plan, and public open space.
Avant Homes Central Managing Director, Chris Coley, said: “We’re consistently searching for development opportunities across the region. Following great success with our developments in Wollaton, Mansfield and Ruddington, Lawrence Point is a fantastic opportunity to further expand our presence in Nottinghamshire.
“We now await the planning decision from Broxtowe Borough Council, and, subject to approval, we look forward to commencing initial groundworks in due course.”
