Housebuilder gives assurances over flood concerns at two Derbyshire housing developments

Homes by Honey’s planning application for 75 houses off Chesterfield Road and Quarry Lane, in Matlock, was given outline approval by Derbyshire Dales District Council in 2022 and councillors have now approved the application’s final details.

The developer’s announcement that work is due to start in spring at the Matlock Hazel site followed a previous recent announcement that Honey is also going ahead with a £78m scheme for 275 homes in Duckmanton – which also attracted concerns about flooding, sewerage and drainage when it was considered by Chesterfield Borough Council.

A Honey spokesperson said: “We appreciate residents’ concerns regarding flooding which is why we have undertaken detailed investigations and full engineering feasibility designs to support our Matlock development.

“Part of that process involved liaising closely with Severn Trent Water. They have confirmed to us there is capacity within the existing sewage and drainage network and that our development will have no adverse impact upon it. We are aware of wider flooding issues within Matlock, which are predominantly closer to the town centre. These are caused by a different sewer branch to the one which our development will utilise.

“As a further check and balance to what we are proposing to do, our sewer and drainage designs are subject to the satisfaction of the local water authority.”

Derbyshire Dales District councillors stated that they felt flooding, drainage and sewerage issues had not been resolved in this particular area of Matlock which they claimed is frequently affected by flood waters.

However, the council’s development manager Chris Whitmore explained these matters now sit outside the scope of the most recent allowed considerations of the reserved planning matters and that they will have been issues that will have already been agreed upon as part of conditions on the original, approved outline planning application.

Council officers and Freeths, representing the developers, outlined that drainage, sewerage and flooding could therefore not be considered as part of the decision upon the latest reserved matters application which was subsequently approved.

Despite the approval, Cllr Steve Wain told the meeting he was ‘genuinely concerned’ about the surface water flow from developments in the Chesterfield Road area and he felt plans for swales and trenches would not be sufficient.

Agent Sarah Wills, representing the developers, said Severn Trent had confirmed the development would have ‘no adverse effect’ on the surrounding system and it could be accommodated.

Cllr Robert Archer said he felt the council’s hands were tied while Cllr Roger Shelley said decisions have been made that were perhaps not scrutinised as much as they should have been, and Cllr Martin Burfoot was concerned that there are too many people in Matlock affected by flooding.

The Hazel development will be located opposite Matlock Golf Club, on Chesterfield Road, and it will include maisonettes, terraces, semi-detached and detached properties and prices will start from £209,995 for a one-bedroom maisonette.

Honey chief executive officer, Mark Mitchell, said: “Hazel generated a great deal of interest from prospective buyers from the moment we announced plans had been submitted. Our development will provide much needed new homes for people living in and around Matlock whether they are first-time buyers, second steppers, families or downsizers.”

Sheffield-based Homes by Honey is also making a £670,000 contribution to initiatives that will benefit the local community. It also has a £14m, 50-new home development called Amber in South Normanton, near Alfreton.

Mr Mitchell, added: “We are currently building a four-bedroom showhome at our Amber development in South Normanton which will open in February. This will allow people able to fully experience how we combine style, substance and sustainability to deliver high specification, design-led homes which are unmatched at their price point.

“At the moment, we are contacting everyone who has expressed an interest in buying at Hazel ahead of the launch in March of our first homes for sale at the development. We will use our sales lounge and showhome at Amber as a place to meet prospective buyers and talk through the house types and specification options.

“Anyone who is thinking about purchasing at Hazel should contact us now so we can start discussing how we can provide them with their ideal home.”

Housebuilder Honey also aims to deliver 275 new homes with a gross development value of £78m at the Duckmanton site, in north Derbyshire, subject to further planning approval, as well as a new £50m, 174 development at Upperthorpe Road, in Killamarsh, which will be part of a joint scheme with Harron Homes North Midlands for an overall 322 new homes in Killamarsh.

Chesterfield Borough Council’s planning committee approved the planning application for the Pearl housing scheme, near Tom Lane, between Duckmanton and Long Duckmanton, including a commercial zone and a community area last summer despite a large number of residents’ objections.

Conditional approval, subject to other matters, was given to the Duckmanton Pearl scheme, near Tom Lane, between Duckmanton and Long Duckmanton, following the signing of an agreement between Chesterfield Borough Council and the landowners who were also the applicants.

The next stage in the planning process for the Duckmanton scheme will be an application for approval of all reserved matters and should the reserved matters application be granted, the developer, Homes by Honey, must start work within two years of final consent.

Honey has also offered assurances to Duckmanton residents that it has considered concerns among its plans after residents raised worries about flooding on Tom Lane and Rectory Road and sewerage capacity, traffic safety and congestion along Tom Lane, over-development, the loss of greenfield land, potential harm to wildlife and the potential strain on facilities.