Plans for multi million pound Kirkby housing development
Dozens of new affordable homes will be built on disused land in Kirkby-in-Ashfield under plans announced by Ashfield District Council.
The authority wants to purchase a 19-acre site off Southwell Lane, between the railway line and Low Moor Road.
The purchase is dependent upon planning permission being granted for a new housing development, which would see around 70 new affordable homes built. The land will be paid for using money from housing developers.
Ashfield District Council hopes to secure millions of pounds in funding from Homes England to help pay for the estimated £16 million development. The Council says the costs will then be paid back over 40 years from rents received.
The disused site was originally railway sidings and contained a small warehouse in the early 2000s. All the buildings have since been demolished and the land is classed as a brownfield site – making it ripe for redevelopment.
Cllr Tom Hollis, Executive Lead Member for Strategic Housing and Climate Change, said:
“These are exciting plans which again illustrate our ongoing commitment to continue building more affordable homes for people across Ashfield.
“Our Corporate Plan includes an objective to ensure every resident has access to a suitable and appropriate home. This new development will be our largest to date and see disused land brought back into use for housing, in the heart of Kirkby.”
The Council says the new homes will be thermally efficient, with a range of measures to minimise carbon use. Each will be triple glazed with added insulation to make them energy efficient. Bat and swift boxes will be installed, along with bee bricks and hedgehog highways for the gardens, as part of environmentally friendly plans.
The purchase of the land will also include a woodland and butterfly meadow, which borders the south of the proposed housing development. These will be kept and maintained by Ashfield District Council.
The Council’s Cabinet approved the plan at a meeting on Monday 9 June.
