BSP Consulting was part of the team that secured outline planning permission for housing at Rufford Colliery Lane, Rainworth in Nottinghamshire.
The 7ha site was originally allocated for employment development, but Aspbury Planning demonstrated that this was not relevant to the current commercial market.
Acting as agent for landowner Romo (Holdings) Ltd, Aspbury Planning received a resolution to grant outline planning permission for up to 95 houses from Newark and Sherwood District Council.
BSP Consulting was involved in pre-planning, transport engineering and flood risk and drainage strategy for the scheme, earmarked for land to the south of the A617.
BSP director Tony Goddard said: “This was a challenging project working around the site constraints of the existing watercourse, Rainworth Water, passing through the site and the development levels. We are very pleased that outline planning for housing has now been secured.”
Sustainable drainage
The plans for the site include the retention of 3.4ha of green infrastructure, including sustainable drainage systems (SuDS).
“Originally the site was due to be accessed via the A617 but following lengthy discussions regarding potentially accessing the site via Rufford Colliery Lane, this opened up the potential for the site to be accessed to the south, which was a key factor in outline planning permission being granted,” added BSP associate director, transportation, Jason Davenport.
In a report prepared by the council for the planning committee, it was stated that: “Overall, it has been demonstrated that there is no reasonable prospect of the site being developed for employment purposes. The proposed development of the site for residential purposes is therefore considered an acceptable alternative form of built development on this site given its location within the Urban Boundary of Rainworth.”
Director at Aspbury Planning, Tony Aspbury, said: “The application site was allocated for employment development, but the applicant was able to demonstrate that it was not relevant to the commercial market. The proposal also raised complex issues relating to vehicular access, ecology, noise and residential amenity, all of which had been overcome by the professional team led by APL, and which included BSP Consulting, allowing outline planning permission to be safely granted.
“BSP always provides a consistently high quality, proactive and creative service delivering appropriate and cost-effective solutions for our clients. In the case of the Rainworth site, the practice resolved challenging land drainage and vehicular access obstacles.”
Read the report to Newark and Sherwood District Council Planning Committee here.
