Crunch meeting looms in campaign to save Hucknall green belt from thousands of new houses, including Whyburn Farm

The battle to save Hucknall's precious green belt land from the threat of thousands of new houses will reach a vital stage next week when the local plan takes centre stage at a council meeting.
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On a crunch day for opposition to plans to build 3,000 new homes on green belt land at Whyburn Farm – and other sites in the town - Ashfield District Council’s cabinet will debate a 7,000-name petition submitted by the Hucknall Against Whyburn Farm Development (HAWFD) group.

A motion moved by Hucknall councillors Lauren Mitchell (Lab) and Kevin Rostance (Con), calling for the draft local plan to be amended or replaced, is also on the agenda.

The local plan earmarks sites for 8,000-plus new homes for Ashfield in coming decades.

Whyburn Farm campaigners hope the motion against the current plan will be supportedWhyburn Farm campaigners hope the motion against the current plan will be supported
Whyburn Farm campaigners hope the motion against the current plan will be supported

Almost 5,000 of those are in Hucknall, with the majority on green belt.

The motion will be discussed on Tuesday – a month after first being aired alongside the petition at a full meeting when there was huge controversy as the subject was only given 15 minutes of council time with claims democracy had been stifled.

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The motion implores the cabinet, in conjunction with the local plan steering group, to “address the opposition to the draft local plan by the people of Hucknall”.

It says: “By urgently reviewing, with a view to considering whether to amend at the earliest possible opportunity, this version of the draft local plan which objectors consider allocates a disproportionate number of new dwellings to Hucknall and destroys a significant portion of green belt land.

“Considering whether to replace it, at the earliest possible opportunity, with an amended draft local plan that places greater weight upon the scale of development that has already occurred and been allocated in Hucknall.”

Coun Mitchell said: “This is a chance for the cabinet to show that they are listening to the people of Hucknall.

"The draft local plan is not fit for purpose, and ultimately, we want to see the council start over and put residents' views at the heart of each stage of the process.

"I hope the cabinet pay close attention to the detail in the motion and support it in its entirety.”