The Site and Surroundings

The land north of Chingford Road, Bilborough (‘the site’) constitutes an area of open space of 6.16ha adjacent to Westbury Academy in Bilborough and is approximately 4.3 miles west of Nottingham City Centre. The site is bound on all sides by existing development; Chingford Road to the south, Westbury Academy to the south east, Denewood Crescent to the east, Yatesbury Crescent to the north and Wigman Road to the west. The site’s topography rises to the north-west but otherwise is generally level and flat. No public rights of way cross the site although public access can be achieved via Yatesbury Crescent and St Martin’s Road.

The site is situated in a wholly sustainable location close to local facilities and services in Bilborough, which are easily accessible by public transport, walking and cycling. The site is within 600m of Brocklewood Primary School and directly abuts Westbury Academy. Sheila Russell Community Centre is 100m to the north and Chingford Premier convenience store is located at the site access on Chingford Road. Further education and sports facilities, including the Harvey Haddon Sports Village, are located to the south east, and wider shopping facilities can be found at nearby Strelley, 600m to the north east. The 35 and 77 bus services operating on Strelley Road to the north and Wingman Road to the west provide 2 services every 10 minutes to Nottingham.

The site is allocated in the adopted Nottingham City Land and Planning Policies Document – Local Plan Part 2 2020 for a residential development of between 120 – 160 dwellings (site reference SR21).

The site is located within Flood Zone 1 and proposals for surface water drainage will be set out in a Flood Risk and Drainage Assessment to be submitted as part of the planning application. The site is located within the Nottingham Air Quality Management Area, but there are no significant environmental constraints associated with this site. Three listed buildings are located north of the site, including the Grade II* listed Church of St Martin, St Martin’s Cottage and the Bilborough Old Rectory. Consequently, a Heritage Assessment will accompany the application.

National Housing Crisis

The country is currently experiencing a national housing shortage which is only expected to be exacerbated by the ongoing covid-19 pandemic and the associated slowdown in construction work. As a result, the government is committed to significantly boosting the supply of housing.

In December 2020, the Government published an updated version of the standard method figures which show housing targets for Local Authorities. These included a 35% uplift in housing numbers in Greater London and Local Authorities which contain the largest proportion of the 19 most populated urban areas and cities in England. Nottingham is included in this and now has a housing target of 1,773 under the latest proposed standard method.

Nottingham City Council (NCC) Development Plan

It is the responsibility of Nottingham City Council (NCC) to plan for this housing need. The development plan for NCC currently consists of the Nottingham City Aligned Core Strategy (ACS) which was adopted in 2014 and the Land and Planning Policies Document (LAPP) which was adopted in 2020. The ACS is out of date as it is more than 5 years old. Therefore, NCC, along with its partner authorities, are currently reviewing it. The current housing trajectory for Nottingham City is 17,150 by 2028 which will increase because of the change in standard method.

We understands that NCC is committed to working with partners to bring forward significant housing delivery plans that will further strengthen the city and its economy. Strata will therefore be working alongside NCC to bring forward development on this site in an efficient manner. It would also be compliant with national policy and the Government’s main objective of significantly boosting the supply of homes. The site could be delivered in the short term to help address the housing need and demands of the market

Nottingham City Council has a known shortage of family housing and consequently the policies of the development plan support much needed new family housing. NCC continues to lose families to the surrounding boroughs due to outmigration, and the city has a particularly low proportion of homes suitable for families when compared to surrounding authority areas and the national average. It is therefore essential to bring new family housing forward throughout the city. This site presents an excellent opportunity to bring forward much-needed family housing.