Developers plan to demolish Chesterfield business park and build 145 properties on site

Woodall Homes, based in Barlborough, have applied to demolish the Tapton Business Park off Brimington Road – which is currently home to a number of industrial and commercial premises.

Every building on the 2.59 hectare site will be torn down and replaced with 84 houses and 61 flats and maisonettes.

The plans include a single one-bedroom home, 14 three-bedroom properties and 62 houses with four or more bedrooms. If approved, 32 one-bed flats and 29 two-bedroom apartments will be built.

The developer has confirmed in the proposals that seven ‘affordable homes’ will be included on the site. Two ground-floor commercial units will also be incorporated into the main apartment building, and 289 parking spaces will be created.

The plans, if approved, would continue the transformation of the area, led by the £340m Chesterfield Waterside scheme. The major project has seen hundreds of homes built on the outskirts of the town centre, with One Waterside Place – a state-of-the-art office building – nearing completion.

Brimington Road, the railway line and Tapton Golf Course will be situated directly to the east of the proposed development. To the west of the site is the River Rother. To the north is an existing Avant housing development and a small affordable scheme accessed off Brimington Road. To the south there are a few commercial properties, including a car valeting centre and bridal boutique.

The application states that new or altered access to the site will be established from Brimington Road. The northernmost access would serve the residential element of the development, whilst the southernmost access would serve the ground floor retail units. All existing access points would be closed and reinstated with a continuous footway and full height kerbs.

The proposals also involve a pedestrian and cycle connection to the Trans Pennine Trail at the northwest corner of the site. The location of the connection would be opposite the Avant Homes development and adjacent to an existing footbridge that extends over the A61 towards Chesterfield College and the residential areas to the north of the town centre.

The developers also hope to achieve a net gain in biodiversity across the site, by employing ecological enhancement measures. The site will incorporate a habitat corridor including native trees and scrub planting, with areas of more species-rich grassland alongside this – improving the overall habitat and species diversity at the site.

Chesterfield Borough Council’s planning officers will now consider the application before recommending whether councillors should approve or reject the plans.