Controversial Dyson Drive open space plan refused by city councillors

The proposal by the city council was to build eight two-storey dwellings on the land in Abbotts Barton.

But its own city councillors delivered a blow to the plan by rejecting it at committee today, Wednesday October 18.

The application was refused due to not being in line with policies to provide appropriate mitigation for the loss of open space. The vote was by six to three.

The future of the scheme is unclear, whether the council might appeal the decision at the Planning Inspectorate.

Adfdressing the committee, Jack Hardy and Dr Emma Street, both of Francis Gardens, objected to the application due to concerns that the application would remove an area of green space that is often used by residents to meet and by children to play.

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Dr Street said: “This is a heavily used space. It is our football field; it is where we hold events. During the pandemic, it is where we held my daughter's socially distanced fourth birthday party.

“If the application is approved the space will be lost.”

Ward councillor for St Bartholomew, Cllr John Tippett-Cooper, also spoke before the committee, where he acknowledged the difficulty of the decision, saying “We have to provide housing for those who need homes, but we also have to save our protected green spaces.”

Cllr John Tippett-Cooper speaking before the planning committee (Image: Chris Atkinson)Cllr Brian Laming voted against the application, saying: “This is a well-designed development; I think the housing standards are good and I like the layout. The stumbling block for me is the loss of open space, and we need to protect our open space. I think the idea the idea of children being able to walk down to North Walls (Recreation Ground) is a fallacy, I wouldn’t want my children to walk down there on their own, and I think this will change the character of the whole estate.”

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Cllr Michael Read also opposed the plan, saying: “Open space is precious wherever you are. It worries me a little because my particular patch has 17-and-a-half metres of lost open space. Even with all the development we have had in Denmead, no additional space has come with it to compensate for the lack of space that is required.

“I am having difficulty with this application. It is true that the homeless would like a home, but I think to sacrifice other people’s amenity areas to cover that is not the right way around it.”

Cllr Jane Rutter agreed with the scheme: “We do need affordable homes, we do need open space and we have a very difficult decision to make here. But I can’t help thinking that the children who currently occasionally play in this space will look back in the future and be grateful to those councillors who made the difficult decision to allow homes to be built on this site so they could have access to affordable, safe, warm homes.”

Vehicle access from Francis Gardens, as well as associated car parking and landscaping, was also part of the application.

A city council spokesperson told the Chronicle: “The city council’s new homes team will need to take time to reflect on the committee’s decision and in light of this, consider what their approach may be going forward.”