130 RESIDENTS GIVE VIEWS ON FUTURE OF DRAKELOW PARK
Roger Bullivant Ltd (RBL) and E.ON UK plc (E.ON) both own land within the proposed Drakelow Park site. RBL currently uses some of the site for its UK headquarters and a variety of light industrial activities. E.ON also owns adjacent land, to the west, which has Government approval for a new gas-fired power station. The two companies are working on proposals to develop the underutilised areas of the two predominantly brownfield sites to deliver sustainable regeneration to meet local housing and employment needs. The scheme includes new employment space, a mixture of new houses including affordable homes, community facilities such as a primary school, crèche, community centre, healthcare, sports facilities and local shop, transport improvements including road widening, traffic calming and significant investment into a new bus service as well as new walkways and cyclepaths. The community consultation exhibition provided local residents with the opportunity to view the masterplan for the development of this 112 hectare predominantly brownfield site, as well as the Transport and Sustainability Strategies which are being prepared for a planning submission. This is the second Drakelow Park exhibition and it highlighted the issues raised at the first event, which was held in May 2008, and showed how these had been taken into account as the masterplan was developed. Residents were asked to complete a questionnaire to provide their ideas and raise any issues with the redevelopment of this site. Over 50 questionnaires were completed and these comments will now be fed into the masterplanning process. Chris Chatfield from RBL says: “It was great to discuss the proposals with local people. There was a lot of enthusiasm about the quality of the development which is proposed. “The project team will now take on board the comments submitted at the event, and via our website as we work on the planning application, which is due to be submitted later this year.” Residents confirmed they were happy to see:
- Walking links and cycleways to connect to surrounding areas and making use of the old railway lines and riverside paths
- A woodland nature trail proposed alongside Darklands Brook
- Environmental element incorporated into the design – including green transport initiatives, recycling facilities and ecofriendly buildings
- The provision of a primary school and crèche
- The inclusion of sports and neighbourhood facilities, including a local shop, retirement village, community centre and healthcare provision
- Use of a brownfield site rather than Greenfield areas
- Transport initiatives and investment into new buses
- Details about secondary schools
- Plans for the renovation and reuse of the listed buildings on site, including the stables, which are proposed for community use.
Published: 12th November 2008
