Residents ready to say goodbye to 'last green space' in South Derbyshire village
Residents are already mourning the "inevitable" loss of the last green space in a village a few miles from Ashby - with plans for scores of homes on the table.
Castle Gresley has seen widespread housebuilding in the past couple of decades and now a new scheme is on the horizon.
David Wilson Homes East Midlands has applied to South Derbyshire District Council to build 194 homes off Swadlincote Lane in Castle Gresley.
Begrudging acceptance and a resigned, reluctant fate are the overriding feelings among residents in Swadlincote Lane.
They have seen homes built to the north of Swadlincote Lane to the south and east of the new Aldi supermarket, covering off two sides of the "last green space" and further homes to the east off Bexley Drive cover off the remaining two sides – encircling a large green space covering more than 17 acres.
Sue Anderson and Roy Dunning have lived in Swadlincote Lane for 14 years but have lived in the area all their lives and say the fields were a beloved area for them when they were raising their children.
"Soon there won't be any green left here at all," they said. "We hate to think what it is going to be like in 50 years."
They said the lane had been stopped up (blocked) to end the use of the road as a "rat run" from the Cadley Hill Road/Hearthcote Road roundabout through to the A444.
Many HGVs still try to use the former and have to reverse all the way back out, they say.
Sue and Roy say the new plans would "spoil the image of the lane" which is narrow and one car wide past the site with a well-established hedgerow.
They fear the impact on wildlife if the field is developed, saying surrounding housing development has already seen the loss of foxes, buzzards and cuckoos.
Access for the proposed housing site would stem off a new roundabout arm on the estate to the east, built within the past 10 years, at the Bexley Drive, Luton Road, Brunel Way and Swadlincote Lane junction.
Residents say that their key concern is the existing traffic problems in the area, around Cadley Hill and around the Sainsbury's roundabout in Swadlincote, and say this would become even more problematic if nearly 200 further homes are built.
They also raise all-too-familiar concerns about the impact of new homes on education and health facilities, saying improvements and expansions will need to be rolled out to accommodate the extra strain.
Housing applications of this scale are expected to include financial contributions to cater for the impact on schools, the NHS and sometimes the road network.
Paul Sneath, who has lived in Swadlincote Lane for 15 years, said congestion issues have worsened significantly since The Pallet Network warehouse opened, with the school run to Pingle now taking an excessive amount of time.
He said his kids also grew up with "nothing" in the area around them apart from fields and now mourn the potential loss of the space.
Mr Sneath said: "Nothing will stop it. It is a done deal. Do we really need all these new houses?"
A resident who moved to the lane four years ago said: "I kind of knew it was going to happen and it is probably too many houses for the space.
"My concern is about whether they are going to keep the hedges.
"Developers go for schemes without thinking about the ecological or environmental impact."
He said consultation with residents has not led to raised issues resulting in any changes.
The resident said plans for the development did not allow for the inevitable pavement-parking which would occur, with insufficient parking space and road widths.
He said a bus connection would need to be extended to help residents access services.
Miss Morris, who did not wish to provide her first name, has lived in Bexley Drive for seven years, and said there are already issues with a "blind bend" on the relatively new estate and feared this would worsen if more homes are approved.
"It is a death trap," she said, with this "blind bend" sitting close to the proposed site access for 194 homes.
She said it would almost be better to build fewer, larger homes to bring in richer people who may invest in the area, with less of an impact on roads and services.
A spokesperson for David Wilson Homes East Midlands said: "Having taken local feedback on board following a public consultation earlier this year, we have submitted a planning application to build 194 new homes in Castle Gresley to help meet demand in the area.
"The proposed site is not located within the green belt and is surrounded on all sides by existing development, with the access being via one of our former developments.
"The local planning authority has confirmed the suitability of the location for future development, subject to obtaining the appropriate planning permissions.
"Our proposals include a mix of house sizes, styles and tenures, alongside the retention of the mature hedgerows and the creation of extensive public open space that will include play equipment, cycleways, national forest planting and opportunities for biodiversity, all of which would be publicly accessible should our proposals be approved."
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