Ashfield District Council will ask developers to alter the layout of a 47-home quarry development after residents raised concerns over a loss of privacy.
Members of the council’s planning committee looked set to approve the plans, based in an old quarry off Stoneyford Road, Sutton-in-Ashfield, on Wednesday, August 25.
But a resident living on the adjacent Mount Pleasant told the committee the location of some properties would “adversely affect” his and his neighbours’ homes.
If plans were approved, both the gardens and upstairs bedrooms of some new properties would be overlooked by Mount Pleasant gardens.
This, the resident said, would lead to a loss of privacy for both new and existing residents.
Concerns were also raised about the loss of light and that many back gardens on Mount Pleasant, currently overlooking the quarry field, have low fences.
Under previous, outline proposals approved by the council in 2018, the housing plots bordering properties in Mount Pleasant had been earmarked as bungalows.
However, a revised layout in the latest application proposed two-storey homes in their place – leading to calls for the plans to be altered again.
Ricky Youd lives in Mount Pleasant and spoke at the planning meeting on Wednesday.
He said: “The proposed terraced properties would cause shading, loss of daylight, and the roof-line would block the evening sun onto my garden and downstairs windows.
“With the proposal, I would look from my garden straight down and into the bedroom of the new properties. There is a difference in height that, when I’m standing in my garden, I would be looking straight into the bedroom.
“The occupiers of the proposed new properties would also have their privacy lost, they would be overlooked straight into their bedrooms from anyone standing in their gardens.
“I don’t understand why these plots cannot be bungalows.”
Councillors on the committee discussed issues surrounding privacy and loss of light, asking whether it would be possible to amend the layout proposals.
They voted unanimously to defer the application and ask the applicant if changes are possible.
Councillor Jason Zadrozny (Ash Ind), leader of the council, said: “I support a deferment because I think residents have largely been very accepting of quite a decent-sized application.
“It’s so important to us, we need to open negotiations [with the developer] quite quickly.”
Councillors were also reassured the quarry development, based on land described as “derelict” with a history of anti-social behaviour, has been assessed for cliff stability.
This was requested following potential concerns over a repeat of the 2019 and 2020 Berry Hill quarry collapses in Mansfield.
Councillors hope the application will be reviewed again at the next available opportunity.
