Meeting the need
The Draft East Midlands Regional Plan (EMRP) proposed that Rushcliffe should accommodate a major urban extension to meet the Borough’s housing needs that cannot be accommodated on brownfield sites within the urban area.
The EMRP is the emerging strategic planning policy document that will replace the current Regional Spatial Strategy and the Nottinghamshire and Nottingham Joint Structure Plan. When adopted, the EMRP will set out the housing requirement for all the local authorities across the East Midlands.
Whilst the Plan has yet to be formally approved by the Secretary of State, the recent Panel Report following the Public Examination of the Plan, recommends the following:
- That 70,425 dwellings are provided within the Nottingham Housing Market Area between 2001-2026, to cater for the projected housing requirements arising from the latest 2004 Household Projections.
- Nottingham has also been designated a Growth Point status, a successful bid for extra housing and infrastructure sought and supported by the relevant authorities including the Borough of Rushcliffe.
- Rushcliffe is a location for substantial new housing development and recommends that 555 new homes be built in the Borough every year through to 2026, of which 445 dwellings should be constructed within or adjoining the Nottingham Principal Urban Area.
- Due to the limited availability of sites within the existing built up area of the Borough final adoption of this scale of housing will inevitably require the release of some sites currently within the Green Belt.