Homes plan for contaminated Derbyshire industrial site

The plans, from Wade Properties Investments Limited, would see 53 homes built on land either side of Gas Street, in Sandiacre.

All of the industrial buildings which are currently in place on the site would be demolished to make way for the proposed development.

Erewash Borough Council planning officers have recommended that the plans are approved at a meeting on Wednesday, October 13.

If approved, homes would be built north of Gas Street on a triangular section of land home to industrial units, directly bordering the River Erewash to the east and the Erewash Canal to the west.

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A Grade-II listed canal bridge sits close to the northern tip of the site.

Further housing would also be built on the south side of Gas Street on land facing Bridge Street and Cross Street, along with the River Erewash.

These homes would also face the Grade-II listed Springfield Mill, which has been converted into flats.

The council says the developers had initially proposed building 80 homes on the site but have reduced this after concerns were raised by the council and other bodies.

The 53 homes would range from two storeys tall to two-and-a-half stories tall. Of the homes, 31 would be three-bed houses; 19 would be two-bed; and three would be four-bed.

Homes facing onto Bridge Street and Gas Street would mimic the design of the mill complex and existing Edwardian industrial buildings.

Council papers say part of the northern site is contaminated as a result of its industrial history as a gasworks and that it is the only site in Erewash which is on the Contaminated Land Register.

They detail that investigation of the site found “significant ground contamination” and there was an “on-going risk to controlled waters”.

The investigation also found: “Gross contamination of made ground on the north site has been identified within the area of the former gasworks buildings and remediation is required to mitigate risks to future residents and controlled waters.”

Remediation of the site cannot take place until the industrial buildings are demolished, the investigation says.

The council says remediating the site in order to bring it back into use would be encouraged in order to make effective use of land in the borough and to “enhance” the local environment.

Meanwhile, the development application says there are still 30 people employed on the proposed site.

The council says the site is classed as an “average” quality employment location and that it is a priority to retain “good” quality sites.

It says: “With its ‘average’ rating, it is considered that the employment land does not contribute to the best and most versatile stock within Erewash.”

Edwardian industrial buildings on the site would be demolished, to the dismay of the council’s conservation consultant.

However, a report provided by the developer’s building consultancy firm says the buildings would be too expensive to repair and convert.

The buildings also stand in the way of a full contamination investigation on the site, the council says, and agrees it is justified that the buildings would be demolished due to these issues.