Campaigners have vowed to fight plans for a large business park near Bennerley Viaduct.
Developer Harworth has drawn up plans for a large business and logistics park on farmland and the former Bennerley Coal Disposal Point, located to the west of Awsworth, extending along the A6069 Shilo Way up to the A610, opposite the Giltbrook Retail Park.
Around 1.3 million square feet of industrial space is proposed, in a mix of large and smaller distribution units, which Harworth says will create 1,000 full-time equivalent jobs once operational.
A new country park near the Bennerley Viaduct and the Erewash Valley railway line is also planned. Land would need to be released from the green belt for the scheme, but some of it would be part of the country park, which would protect wetland habitats and floodplains.
Bridleways and footpaths currently exist within and around the site, connecting Giltbrook to Ilkeston via the Grade II-listed Victorian Bennerley Viaduct.
Residents of Awsworth and surrounding areas are campaigning against the plans, which have not yet been formally submitted.
Susan McEntee, 70, a member of the Awsworth & Neighbours Residents’ Association, has lived in nearby Kimberley since 1987.
She said: “It’s a large amount of mainly green belt land which has basically gone back to rewilding, which we hear the government wants to happen. People walk there, cycle there; it’s very beautiful.
“They said there would be a country park, which is on a concrete bit at the end, where lots of motorcyclists make a racket – how you can turn that into a country park, I don’t know.”
Another member of the residents’ association, who has lived in Awsworth for 26 years but asked not to be named, says the fields at the site are regularly used by dog walkers and that it will be “devastating” to see the green space lost to the proposed development.
They said: “We are surrounded in Awsworth by green fields, and that would change massively. It’s a haven of wildlife down there, but it’s also very prone to flooding – I don’t understand why they would want to build in a flood-risk area.”
They added that the area already has a “massive problem” with traffic on Shilo Way, and the development would exacerbate this issue.
The resident added: “We don’t understand why you’d put industrial units next to a Grade II visitor attraction [Bennerley Viaduct]; that’s odd.”
Broxtowe Borough Council is part of a partnership with Nottingham City Council and Rushcliffe Borough Council, which work together on building growth and development in their areas.
The former Bennerley Coal Disposal Point area has been identified for development as part of the Greater Nottingham Strategic Plan. There is also potential for a rail terminal connecting to the Erewash Valley Line for freight to come in and out.
The Awsworth resident says the council’s plan and Harworth’s proposals “are not talking in conjunction with each other”, as a potential rail terminal does not appear to be touched on in the developer’s plans.
Broxtowe’s council leader, Milan Radulovic (Brox Alliance), said the development was supported “overwhelmingly” by the area’s councillors at a December council meeting.
He said the council is speaking with Harworth to develop a 30-year plan to increase biodiversity in the area, ensuring the water in the River Erewash remains clean and cleaning up the Erewash Valley.
He said: “I accept the development is big. People are always opposed to developments. Other people have jobs; a lot of people haven’t – what we’re trying to do is attract as many jobs and businesses to the area.”
The leader added that they are ensuring as “small an impact as possible” on Awsworth in terms of traffic. Three access points to the development are planned, with the primary access coming from the Shilo Way/Gin Close roundabout and two other entrances from the existing A610 left-in, left-out junction, and a third from the A6096 to serve the country park and small employment units.
Cllr Radulovic continued: “There is a huge unemployment problem in our area; everyone recognises this, but no one wants [development] in their area.
“We need jobs, and we need to attract certain businesses to our area – opportunities like this are few and far between.”
He says the project will help boost employment in areas such as Eastwood, Cotmanhay, and Ilkeston, and will allow Artificial Intelligence companies and other technology firms to move into the area, adding: “The world has changed; it doesn’t stand still.”
Regarding the loss of land that people use for walking and scenery, he said: “We have the Erewash Trail; that won’t be affected. We plan to extend a large amount of the trail.”
He says the plans involve bringing parts of the site, which are currently fenced off from the countryside, back into use for people’s leisure.
“Bennerley Viaduct was originally a railway line… it was never a pretty bridge with a pretty view; it was functional for jobs essential to the development of our area – it will still have the view on one side to the openness and the wetlands,” he added.
Harworth was contacted for comment.
