Major decision made over new Nottinghamshire 760-home village with school and possible tram stop

A new school and local centre will also be built as part of the vast project

A major decision has been made on whether more than 750 new homes can be built to form a "new village" in Nottinghamshire. A total of 763 new homes, a school and local centre, as well as public open space, are set to be built at Top Wighay, off the A611 near Linby and Hucknall, after Gedling Borough Council approved the plans.

Housebuilder Vistry Group submitted detailed proposals that outlined the layout, scale, landscaping and appearance of the project in December last year, which were granted planning permission by councillors on Thursday, September 26. The estate will be split into distinct neighbourhoods, with smaller homes in the north, stone material homes around the centre and larger detached “semi-rural” houses in the south to reflect the neighbouring village of Linby.

Vistry Group, which has said the scheme will be worth £191 million and provide around £6 million of local infrastructure benefits, expects to start construction on the site in spring 2025. There will be a “clear hierarchy of roads” around the site, according to planning documents, with a main road from the southern access at Wighay Road and connections through the site to Annesley Road to the west.

Land has also been reserved for a potential future NET tram extension. The main play and park area will be located at the centre of the site, including a multi-use games area, skate park, 9v9 sports pitches and table tennis tables.

Councillor Sam Smith (Con) praised the skate park feature at the planning committee meeting, saying: “There’s teenagers across the borough crying out for skate parks, I am absolutely delighted this planning application comes with one.”

Councillor Martin Smith (Con) expressed concern about the 9v9 football pitches included in the development. He said: “9v9 football pitches are primarily used by children in the under 9 and under 10 category, I don’t understand why we have been so restrictive on the young people who will be allowed to use these pitches for competitive games.

“Please go away and try squeeze in an 11v11 pitch, they can be marked with a 9v9 pitch in the centre of them. Under-9s and under-10s inevitably will grow, they’ll get older, those children will then be looking for another pitch to play on in the same location.”

Mark Avery, director of place at Gedling Borough Council, said there had been previous difficulties in accommodating the original pitches, and that they were previously agreed by the committee, but noted Mr Smith’s comments. Sport England objected over a lack of changing rooms for the football pitches, but space south of the pitches has been identified as a potential workaround.

Councillor Martin Smith (Con) expressed his “sympathy” for Linby and Papplewick residents with inevitable increased traffic flow for the villages. He said: “Peak times in both of those villages is horrendous and there is nothing I see in this scheme that mitigates against that, all I can see is the situation gets worse.”

The development includes two play areas, along with pedestrian and cycle routes being provided by a green ‘spine’ through the middle of the site. In terms of affordable rent homes, there will be four one-beds, 38 two-beds, 29 three-beds, eight four-beds and two five-beds.

There will be various wheelchair-adapted bungalows. The new-builds will be constructed in four stages by three Vistry Group housebuilders, while the new school would be delivered by Nottinghamshire County Council using funds from the housebuilder's infrastructure contribution

The Linden Homes phase comprises 288 homes, accessible from the road leading beyond the county council’s new office development. The next phase, constructed by Bovis Homes, would contain the entrance landscaping, local wildlife site and 158 homes.

The final two phases would include Countryside Partnerships' 317 properties and the new primary school, playing pitches, allotments, and a community hub. While the committee voted in favour of passing the development, further applications will be needed at a later stage to decide the details of its multiple phases.

Former landowner Nottinghamshire County Council, which applied for the earlier outline plan and is building its new £18m office on site, officially signed over the land to developer Vistry in September 2023. The council had owned the land since the 1950s, but said its sale and development would give a £870 million boost to the local economy over 10 years.