Hundreds more homes could be built at Top Wighay after extra usable land was identified under a new plan – but there are fears nearby villages will become “gridlocked”.
Gedling Borough Council is set to discuss its developing Local Plan in a cabinet meeting on Thursday, 10 July, which includes a map revealing where thousands of homes could be built across the borough.
The former Top Wighay Farm site, near Hucknall and Linby, already has permission for 763 one-, two-, three-, four- and five-bedroom homes to be built, along with 21 acres of employment land, a local centre, and a new primary school.
This land has previously been allocated for around 1,500 homes.
Nottinghamshire County Council’s new £19 million Oak House building also forms part of the site.
But the new map to be discussed next week shows more land near the Top Wighay site could be used for further housing – potentially meaning hundreds of extra homes could one day be built at the growing site.
Conservative county councillor for Newstead and borough councillor for Newstead Abbey, Stuart Bestwick said today (3 July) he has concerns about increased traffic through nearby villages if these homes are built in future.
He said: “That’s going to be an enormous increase in traffic going through Linby and Papplewick, and Hucknall as well – that would be a major consideration.
“They’ll say [in future] the developers will have to make payments to bodies like the NHS, education [as community contributions] – that’s not going to change the road between Papplewick and Linby; there’s no space for a bypass or a dual carriageway.”
Denise Ireland, chair of Linby Parish Council said: “We’re going to be gridlocked” if any extra housing development takes place at the site.
She said nearby residents are concerned about potential flooding issues with the growing number of homes in the area, saying the parish has already experienced run-off from the county council’s new Oak House building.
She added: “There are real concerns that never get addressed. All the houses we’ve had so far, like in Hucknall – have we had more infrastructure? The new Labour government promises there won’t be new houses without infrastructure.
“Why doesn’t Nottingham [city] look towards [building] up? Nottingham’s quite a low-level city. We can’t just keep going out and out without the infrastructure to support that growth.”
Cllr Bestwick said there are meetings planned “in the near future” to resolve flooding concerns in the area.
He also added the land identified as extra space for development offers “more houses than [the council] actually needs”, where not all of it will be used, with the 15-year plan not starting until 2028.
Gedling Borough Council had previously worked with Nottingham City Council, Broxtowe Borough Council and Rushcliffe Borough Council on a “Greater Nottingham Strategic Plan” that would plan out housing across the south of Nottinghamshire.
The council pulled out of this joint plan after the government changed national planning guidance in December 2024, explaining it could better meet local housing needs this way.
The Local Plan will be discussed in next Thursday’s cabinet meeting, where councillors will be asked to approve a consultation that will invite residents, businesses and community groups to comment on the number and location of the new homes planned.
Subject to cabinet approval on 10 July, the consultation runs from Monday, 21 July, to Sunday, 1 September.
