Town planner on board

A Growth Point manager has been appointed to oversee the scheme.

Mrs Fiona Hooton, a chartered town planner, has been with the district council for about three weeks. She previously worked in planning consultancy and her last job was as a land and planning manager for Miller Homes in Solihull.

Mrs Hooton said she was trying to meet everyone who had an involvement in the Growth Point.

She has met Newark town councillors and over the coming months will meet members of the community, public and private sector companies, and visit other Growth Point areas.

She will work with the Catesby Property Group, the developers who own the 250-acre site off Hawton Lane and Grange Road, where up to 6,000 homes are planned.

Mrs Hooton said part of her role would involve selling the Growth Point to the community.

She said towns such as Mansfield were expected to deliver the same number of houses as Newark but did not have the advantage of being Growth Point areas.

Mrs Hooton said residents were nervous about the number of homes planned, but said they would have to be built regardless of whether Newark was a Growth Point or not.

“Having the Growth Point means we can do it properly,” she said.

She said Growth Point status gave more leverage with central government.

Other organisations such as the Environment Agency were also more likely to listen to what was being planned.

“The moment you say you are a Growth Point, people can say they can help you,” she said.

Mrs Hooton has an office at the Newark Beacon centre, Cafferata Way, which is being leased for £13,000 a year.

Mrs Hooton’s role, along with the office, is being paid for using Government money given to the council by the Department for Communities and Local Government.

The council has secured £3.9m over three years starting in this financial year.

The head of planning, Mr Michael Evans, said the office would allow them to meet representatives of the other nearest Growth Point areas — Lincoln, Grantham and Gainsborough.

It would also be used for other meetings, for instance with the town council or public.