Council set to rubber stamp controversial outline plans for 185 houses in Maltby

Applicant Hargreaves Maltby Limited hopes to be granted permission to build the properties on land north of Tickhill Road, Maltby, during today’s planning board meeting.

Planning documents state that the site is currently made up of disused allotments, woodland and a former sports field set between Maltby and the former Maltby Colliery.

Although the details of the homes will be confirmed at a later date, applicants say the development will be made up of terraced, semi-detached and detached housing between two and four bedrooms. A minimum of 25 per cent of the dwellings will be affordable.

Hargreaves has reduced the number of homes on the application, from 200 to 185.

A report by planning officers stated that access will be taken from Tickhill Road, which has been subject to a road safety audit which has ‘raised no issues’.

Around 100 allotments will be accommodated on a 1.2-ha area of land at the northern end of the site, and the existing public open space will be retained and enhanced.

The current 40mph speed limit on Tickhill Road will be extended to the east of the site access to improve road safety.

The report adds: “There have been numerous subsidence claims made by the residents immediately to the west of the site, 16 of these have resulted in monetary compensation with a further 15 receiving repairs to their property.

“The coal mining legacy is not considered to represent a ground stability risk in the context of the proposed development.”

The council has received 39 letters of representation, including one from Yorkshire Wildlife Trust, Alexander Stafford MP, and two councillors.

Residents have raised concerns about the overdevelopment of the site, loss of wildlife, additional traffic, lack of capacity at dentists, doctors and schools, and loss of allotments.

Alexander Stafford has also stated that he has been contacted by residents concerned about ‘how such a large development will impact further local services and the highways/traffic’.

He added that antisocial behaviour currently on site should ‘not justify the loss of small holdings’

The Yorkshire Wildlife Trust say that the proposed access will result in the loss of a small section of ancient woodland, and say they are concerned that the proposed public open space ‘may not be adequate to accommodate the various age groups of future residents’.

The council’s report states that the developers will be required to pay £181,557 towards improvements to the nearby leisure centre or 3G football pitch.

It adds that the existing allotments on site are in a ‘poor condition and subject to significant anti-social behaviour and crime. The majority have beenabandoned over recent decades, with little prospect of the allotments being brought back into use’.

‘Whilst there is a loss of sports facilities on this site, the facilities have not been in use for a number of years and the mitigation together with the proposals put forward on and off-site will compensate for this loss.

‘The scheme put forward will provide much needed new housing on an allocated housing site close to local facilities and in a sustainable location that would not result in significant impact on the local highway network, air quality or the environment.’

The scheme is recommended for approval at RMBC’s next planning meeting on November 23, following a site visit.