Rainworth has been earmarked for 133 new homes.
Homes for Honey, a Sheffield-based housebuilder, first tabled plans for 133 houses in Rainworth last year.
The plans for the homes, off Kestrel Rise, have been recommended for approval at a Newark and Sherwood District Council planning meeting next Thursday (4 June).
Rainworth sits on the edge of Sherwood Forest and is home to the Rainworth Heath reserve, which is one of the last remaining areas of heathland in the county.
Planning documents state: “The site is approximately five hectares in size and is rectangular in shape, comprising a field overgrown with vegetation, shrubs, and trees.
“The site is located on the southern edge of Rainworth, with designated Green Belt land to the south. To the north of the site lies an area of public open space, beyond which is further residential development along Preston Road.
“This application seeks full planning permission for a residential development comprising 133 dwellings, including an 11 per cent provision of affordable homes, two access roads, internal road layouts, internal footways, open green space, a children’s play area, and sustainable urban drainage features.”
Some 43 people have objected to the plans, including Rainworth Town Council.
The authority cited the “extreme over-intensification of the site”, as well as concerns over a lack of amenities and congestion.
Cllr Tina Thompson (Ind), who represents Rainworth South and Blidworth, has brought the plans to the planning committee “on the grounds of conflict with the masterplan, an over-intensive form of development out of keeping with the surrounding built form, insufficient parking spaces, highways concerns regarding access, and the impact on wildlife and ecology”.
Other objectors say they have concerns regarding the impact on wildlife, including bird species, badgers, bats, foxes, deer, and rabbits, while there are further fears that access through Nightjar Way and Linnet Drive will be a problem due to congestion and parked cars.
The plans come shortly after the announcement of 400 homes on the site of Rufford Colliery, near Rainworth, last year.
Mining at the colliery ceased in 1993, and plans to build a waste incinerator at the site were rejected in 2011.
Alongside the housing, a new data centre could also be built on the site, which developers Harworth say would provide up to 100 new full-time equivalent jobs.
The road leading into the site, off the A617 Rainworth Bypass, would be upgraded if the plans were approved to provide better access.
