Newark and Sherwood District Council submit amended plans of delayed Yorke Drive and Lincoln Road Playing Fields redevelopment scheme in Newark
Plans for the long awaited redevelopment of a housing estate are making progress after years of delays.
Newark and Sherwood District Council have submitted amended plans for the redevelopment of the Yorke Drive estate in Newark.
The redevelopment scheme was originally launched as a way to transform the ageing 1960s estate by replacing the existing council housing with modern homes, but has for many years faced planning set backs.
If approved, these amended plans would see half of Yorke Drive, as well as the Lincoln Road playing fields, developed to create up to 207 new homes — originally 320 — with car parking, a pavilion, sports pitches, and other recreational facilities.
A new access road would also be built, following the demolition of several houses, connecting the estate to Lincoln Road.
The council has been in the process of buying properties back from homeowners, or not re-renting them once tenants had moved on, and preparing them for demolition.
However, many of these houses remain standing, left empty by delays to the redevelopment scheme, which has been a source of frustration for those living in the area.
Last year, residents of Yorke Drive spoke to the Advertiser and criticised the state of these boarded-up houses, which had started to attract crime, anti-social behaviour and fly-tipping.
Newark Town Council's planning committee was recently consulted on the amended plans and offered their support, albeit with a few comments.
Barbara Corrigan said she was "very pleased" to see the plans come forward and that she was "much happier with this design."
However, she raised questions on biodiversity, particularly with the loss of green space at the existing playing field.
This point was picked up by committee chairman Lisa Geary who suggested that as many original trees as possible should be retained and that wildlife buffers should be established before full redevelopment work takes place.
Laurence Goff also raised the question of access and getting in and out of the estate via a new connection to Lincoln Road, which he described as already being "heavily congested", but hoped that the plans would alleviate traffic in the area.
Tonight (Monday, November 4), Newark and Sherwood District Council's Cabinet will make a decision on the authority's equity loan model — seen as one of the final steps before the redevelopment scheme can fully get underway.
If approved, it will enable the authority to acquire privately owned properties, or enter into agreements where the house in question is due to be demolished as a part of the scheme.
As part of this, the council say they would provide an option of shared ownership for existing homeowners on the estate whose property fell within the demolition zone, which would allow owners to stay on the estate if they wish to.
