Rushcliffe Borough Council’s Cabinet is set to decide whether to formally adopt a long-awaited planning framework intended to guide development of the major East of Gamston and North of Tollerton strategic housing site — an allocation that has remained one of the most sensitive and closely scrutinised growth proposals in the borough for more than a decade.
A report to Cabinet which will meet on 10 March recommends adoption of the East of Gamston/North of Tollerton Development Framework Supplementary Planning Document (SPD), which would provide detailed planning guidance for how the large-scale development should come forward and how infrastructure requirements are coordinated across the entire site.
The site was originally allocated for development through Rushcliffe Borough Council’s Local Plan Part 1 Core Strategy, adopted in December 2014, when land was removed from the Green Belt to allow for around 4,000 homes, approximately 20 hectares of employment land, a neighbourhood centre and supporting community infrastructure. Despite that allocation, comprehensive delivery of the scheme has yet to begin, with only limited development taking place to date.
The proposed SPD does not introduce new planning policy or grant planning permission.
Instead, it sets out a masterplanning framework that would become a material consideration when determining future planning applications across the allocation. Its purpose is to ensure development comes forward in a coordinated way rather than through separate schemes delivered independently by different landowners.
The council began preparing the framework after concerns emerged that planning proposals were progressing in a piecemeal manner. In 2020, developers submitted outline plans for up to 2,250 homes on part of the site, followed in 2024 by a hybrid application for around 1,600 homes on land at the former Tollerton airfield. The borough council stated at the time that a comprehensive site-wide approach was required before applications could be positively determined.
The SPD establishes a broad vision for land uses, transport connections, green infrastructure, schools, employment areas and design standards across the whole allocation. It also outlines how developers would collectively fund and deliver essential infrastructure through linked Section 106 planning agreements, ensuring each phase contributes proportionately to roads, schools, transport and community facilities.
A separate Infrastructure Delivery Plan will still need to be completed before planning applications are determined. This document will set out in detail what infrastructure is required, when it must be delivered and who will be responsible, meaning key technical matters — particularly highways mitigation — remain unresolved at this stage.
Transport impacts have been one of the most contentious aspects of the proposal locally, particularly concerns about congestion, rat-running and connectivity across the A52.
Public consultation on the draft SPD between October and November 2025 generated 318 responses from residents, statutory bodies and developers raising issues including traffic pressures, flood risk, land contamination, design quality and the future of Tollerton airfield.
Cabinet previously paused approval of the SPD in January 2026 to seek further clarification on highways matters from developers, Nottinghamshire County Council as highway authority and National Highways. Responses now confirm that the main landowners and developers have agreed a single, aligned highways access strategy for the entire allocation, replacing earlier competing proposals.
The joint approach includes proposals for three agreed A52 junctions serving the site and continued collaborative transport modelling to establish what mitigation measures are required. Potential interventions under assessment include a pedestrian and cycle bridge over the A52 and possible park-and-ride provision, although neither has yet been confirmed as necessary.
Highway authorities have maintained that a comprehensive transport assessment remains essential before planning applications can be determined, and National Highways continues to hold objections pending further evidence. Council officers state, however, that detailed transport solutions can appropriately be finalised through the Infrastructure Delivery Plan and planning application process rather than delaying adoption of the SPD itself.
Officers warn that failing to adopt the framework could weaken the council’s ability to ensure infrastructure is delivered alongside development and increase the risk of planning appeals being decided without a coordinated masterplan in place. Continued delays could also place pressure on Rushcliffe to identify alternative land elsewhere to meet housing and employment requirements if the strategic allocation does not progress.
The timing of the decision is also significant. The report notes a likely national cut-off date of 30 June 2026 for adopting supplementary planning documents under existing regulations. Missing that deadline would require preparation of a more complex Supplementary Plan subject to public examination, potentially adding months of further delay.
If approved by Cabinet, the SPD would guide all future planning decisions across the East of Gamston and North of Tollerton site, but individual housing schemes would still require separate planning permission and detailed assessment before construction could begin.
