Plans for 4,000 home garden village near Worksop is scrapped after landowner pulls out

The Bassetlaw Garden Village was going to be a self-sustainable contained community featuring 4,000 new homes and employment space creating more than 2,000 jobs situated between Worksop and Retford next to the A1/A57 junction.

It formed part of Bassetlaw District Council’s Local Plan, but officials have said one of the two landowners has “unexpectedly” withdrawn their site from the proposed development just days before the plan was due to be submitted to the independent planning inspectorate.

The local authority said without the landowner on board, the garden village cannot move forward and a Local Plan that completely omits the garden village will now be submitted to the independent planning inspectorate in June after a final round of consultation.

Subject to cabinet approval, the new six-week consultation period will begin towards the end of April.

Officials stressed that there will be no increase in housing numbers for any other part of the district because the garden village was to be self-sustainable and balanced its housing numbers with its employment land.

Cabinet member for regeneration at Bassetlaw District Council, councillor Jo White, said: “It is extremely disappointing that one of the landowners has pulled their site from the garden village at this late stage.

"Having a landowner of a key site pull out at this stage of a Local Plan is so unusual we can’t find an example of it happening elsewhere.

“We are required by Government to complete this Local Plan by 2023 and work will continue to take the draft local plan forward as it will deliver significant infrastructure improvements across Bassetlaw.

"Residents have told us that they want to see investment in new schools, improved GP surgeries, new roads and cycle paths, new bus routes, new play areas and sports pitches.

"A Local Plan will deliver on these priorities.”

A Local Plan is a document which sets out planning policies, proposals and sites for development over a set time period. Bassetlaw’s Local Plan is set to run until 2038.

In Worksop, the Local Plan is expected to deliver 412 affordable homes, 1,335 “accessible homes”, a new distributor road and cycle track between Carlton Road and Blyth Road, a new bus service from north Worksop to the town centre and improvements to Blyth Road/Farmers Branch and Blyth Road/Kilton Hill and to the junctions along the A57.

New playgrounds are planned, along with new allotments, 6,675 new trees, new sports pitches and improvements to GP surgeries.

Funding to increase secondary school places, by creating a satellite school, is also included, as well as money to help improve flood defences in Worksop.

Residents in Thievesdale in Worksop are unhappy that the area has been earmarked for more than 1,000 new homes.

They are angry at the level of proposed housing which they feel will have a ‘significant impact’ because roads, schools and health services will be put under ‘uncontrollable pressure’ and any developments would ‘tear down’ and ‘destroy’ the wildlife that live in the surrounding woodlands.

Concerns have also been raised about the level of proposed housing in Ordsall.

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