Plans set to go public next year

Plans for about 6,000 homes south of Newark are expected to be made public in the new year.

The planning application, which will be submitted by the Catesby Property Group, will be the biggest ever received by Newark and Sherwood District Council.

The proposed development is part of the Newark Growth Point scheme.

The district’s head of planning, Mr Michael Evans, said it could take up to a year for the plans to be processed and a recommendation brought to the planning committee, where a decision would be made.

He did not know when building would start as that depended on market conditions.

Mr Evans said the Growth Point was not exclusive to Newark and included the whole district.

“It has become a concept rather than a location,” he said.

The government has said 17,800 homes need to be built in Newark and Sherwood by 2026.

Of that figure, 7,000 have already been built or granted permission.

In the Government’s plan for the East Midlands, which was revised in August, the growth was pinpointed in major urban areas.

Mr Evans said Newark must take a minimum of 5,000 homes.

“It may be that other sites are put forward as well,” he said.

The council has identified two other sites for potential development.

They are east of Newark between the East Coast main line, the A1 and Beacon Hill Road, and land around Fernwood.

A consultation document called Key Decisions For The Core Strategy has been produced on which people can comment.

The council wants to know where people think growth should be in the district.

It stresses that growth cannot be delivered without facilities and infrastructure.

It is preparing an Infrastructure Delivery Plan to ensure all service providers are providing facilities that match the proposed development.

The deputy leader of the council, Mr Roger Blaney, said: “What we are talking about is a concerted effort to plan for all the residents of the district during the next 20 years.

“This means that there must be new jobs as well as homes, new schools, improved healthcare, better public transport, roads and enhanced open space and leisure facilities.”

The Key Decisions document can be viewed at www.newark-sherwood dc.gov.uk/planningpolicy and at libraries in Newark and Sherwood, and at Kelham Hall.

Comments should be returned to the district council by Monday November 17.