"Published on Wednesday 18 October 2006 14:23 PLANNERS this week gave the go-ahead for a state-of-the-art development on the former site of St Elphin's School in Darley Dale. The green-light for a retirement village complex, given at a packed-to-capacity meeting on Tuesday, brings to an end a long tussle over the scale of the development and its encroachment on protected land. Derbyshire Dales District Council's planning committee passed the scheme on a 13 to one majority, after hearing a controversial car park had been deleted from the plans. But residents living close to the site spoke up at the meeting, maintaining their concerns about the scale and visual impact of the development. Council planning officer John Bradbury told the meeting: "The only incursion on open space is utilising the existing parking to the south of the site. "Yes, the development is dense, but that doesn't make it wrong in planning terms and it has been marked against the merits of the application." Some councillors called for conditions to protect surrounding open space should developer Raven Audley Court later seek to expand the site. But Mr Bradbury added: "It is not policy to sterilise the land around the development. "Any new application would be judged on the harm or not that it will do to the site." Cllr for Darley Dale David Fearn said: "Here we have a use for the site which I think we must agree is a great use for it." Ben Krauze from developer Raven Audley Court said the development would inject millions of pounds into the local economy and its facilities would be open to the public. John Mordue, a member of the POLISE (Protecting our Landscape in St Elphins) group which worked to safeguard the site, said after the meeting: "We're pleased that important spaces have been protected, but disappointed more concern hasn't been expressed by members about the scale and density in semi-rural surroundings. "We welcome Raven Audley Court's offers to work with local people in relation to landscaping and lighting and we continue to recognise they are committed to a quality development. "Local people need to remain vigilant – we could have lost chunks of important local space if people hadn't spoken up." Chief executive of Raven Audley Court, Nick Sanderson, added: "We were very pleased with the balance of debate. "We have all shaken hands and have worked very much in the spirit of co-operation. "Work will probably begin in January and continue over the next couple of years." A condition was added that carbon neutral energy sources be employed in the development where possible. Story by Richard Woolley."
Reprinted by kind permission of Matlock Mercury |
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