𝗦𝗞𝗛𝗚𝗕 𝗨𝗣𝗗𝗔𝗧𝗘

𝟭. 𝗟𝗼𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗴𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗻𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁, 𝗵𝗼𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗴𝗿𝗲𝗲𝗻 𝗯𝗲𝗹𝘁 - 𝘄𝗵𝘆 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗻𝗲𝘅𝘁 𝘁𝘄𝗼 𝘆𝗲𝗮𝗿𝘀 𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝗺𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿
As we highlighted last week, Derbyshire’s existing councils will be replaced by two new unitary authorities. Under the new arrangements, Kilburn and Horsley will become part of the new southern Derbyshire authority from April 2028.

There has now been an important development which makes the potential longer-term implications for our area clearer. The government has explained why it chose this particular north-south split - and housing growth around Derby was explicitly part of its reasoning.

In explaining the decision, the government said the southern authority would be better placed to support housing growth around Derby and provide greater scope for the city’s expansion to the north. This is significant.

It means that accommodating future housing growth around Derby was not simply an incidental consequence of local government reorganisation - it was one of the factors considered when deciding where the new boundary should be drawn.

Angela Rayner has also returned to government as Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government - the role she previously held from 2024 to 2025. This means that the same government department responsible for national housing and planning policy will also oversee the transition to the new system of local government. The timing is particularly interesting for our campaign.

Consider one possible scenario: AVBC refuses the application for 200 homes between Kilburn and Horsley. Because the development exceeds 150 homes, AVBC would first have to refer its proposed refusal to the Secretary of State, giving the government the opportunity to consider whether to call the application in for its own determination.

If it is not called in, Wheeldon would then have up to six months from refusal to lodge an appeal.
Based on the timescales we have modelled, that scenario could potentially put a final appeal decision around March 2028 - just weeks before the new southern Derbyshire authority formally takes over on 1 April 2028.

A shadow authority is also due to be elected in May 2027, meaning the transition to the new council could already be well underway while any planning appeal is being considered.

WHAT COULD THIS MEAN?
There are both opportunities and risks.

One potential benefit of the new authority is more joined-up decision-making. At present, important responsibilities are divided. AVBC determines planning applications, while Derbyshire County Council deals with highways, education and much of the strategic infrastructure needed to support development.

A unitary authority should eventually bring many of these responsibilities within one council. That creates the potential for:
• better integration between planning, highways and infrastructure
• clearer monitoring of Section 106 obligations
• greater transparency over where developer contributions are spent
• more coordinated planning and environmental enforcement
• greater accountability when promised infrastructure is not delivered

These issues are particularly important because the new authority will inherit existing planning obligations, infrastructure commitments and enforcement responsibilities.

BUT THE LONGER-TERM RISK IS NOW CLEARER
The Government’s explanation of why it chose this boundary deserves particular attention. The new southern authority has been designed, in part, to support housing growth around Derby and provide greater scope for the city’s expansion northwards. Kilburn and Horsley will sit within that same authority.

This does not mean that Derby’s housing needs will automatically be transferred to our villages, nor does it mean that Green Belt development here is inevitable. But it does create a genuine longer-term strategic risk.

Future housing and infrastructure needs will eventually be considered across a much larger authority bringing together Derby, Erewash, South Derbyshire and southern parts of the current Amber Valley.

Over time, pressure to accommodate housing growth around Derby could therefore extend into surrounding areas where land is available - potentially including Green Belt locations.

It will be important to watch how housing requirements are distributed across the new authority and, crucially, what development strategy eventually emerges through its future Local Plan.

WHAT IT DOES NOT MEAN
Local government reorganisation does not itself make this development acceptable or unacceptable. It is not, by itself, a planning reason to refuse permission, a reason to suspend the application until 2028 or evidence that existing housing requirements have suddenly changed.

The current application must still be determined on the planning policies, evidence and material considerations that apply to it. But the bigger picture is changing.

SKHGB will continue to monitor these developments closely and assess any risks or opportunities for protecting the Green Belt between Kilburn and Horsley.

𝟮. 𝗛𝗼𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗽𝗼𝗹𝗶𝗰𝘆 - 𝗮 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗵 𝘄𝗮𝘁𝗰𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴
The appointment of Andy Burnham as Prime Minister, together with the return of Angela Rayner means the future direction of national housing and planning policy will be particularly important for SKHGB.

A recent BBC analysis of Burnham’s approach to housing highlighted an emphasis on increasing council and social housing, making greater use of public land, improving affordability and tackling the wider barriers that prevent approved homes from actually being built.

There could be opportunities if greater emphasis is placed on genuinely affordable housing and the use of brownfield, urban and publicly owned land, rather than relying predominantly on large, speculative private developments extending into undeveloped land.

There are also risks. Any renewed drive to increase housebuilding could place additional pressure on councils to approve more development, including on Green Belt land.

It is too early to know whether existing policies will continue unchanged or whether the new government will take a different approach. SKHGB will therefore be watching developments closely.

This application must still be assessed properly on its own merits - including Green Belt harm, sustainability, highways, infrastructure, flooding, ecology and whether the benefits being claimed would genuinely be delivered.

𝟯. 𝗔𝗻𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗪𝗵𝗲𝗲𝗹𝗱𝗼𝗻 𝗚𝗿𝗲𝗲𝗻 𝗕𝗲𝗹𝘁 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗽𝗼𝘀𝗮𝗹
Wheeldon has submitted plans for up to 160 homes on Green Belt land at Breadsall Hilltop, including 72 affordable homes. Although the site directly adjoins Derby, it lies within Erewash Borough.

Wheeldon argues that the land should be classed as “grey belt” because it does not strongly contribute to Green Belt purposes. A familiar claim.

The comparison with Kilburn and Horsley is important. Breadsall directly adjoins the Derby urban area, proposes links to the Great Northern Greenway and is in Erewash, where Wheeldon points to a weaker housing delivery position. By contrast, Amber Valley has a newly adopted Local Plan, a 5.80-year housing supply and did not allocate the Kilburn and Horsley site for development.

It is also notable that Breadsall proposes almost exactly the same number of affordable homes as Kilburn and Horsley - 72 compared with 73.

Affordable housing matters, but it does not automatically make every Green Belt site suitable. SKHGB will be watching the Breadsall application closely, particularly how Erewash assesses Wheeldon’s “grey belt” case and its arguments on transport, infrastructure and affordable housing.

𝟰. 𝗕𝗥𝗢𝗪𝗡𝗙𝗜𝗘𝗟𝗗 𝗛𝗢𝗨𝗦𝗜𝗡𝗚 - 𝗔𝗡 𝗨𝗣𝗗𝗔𝗧𝗘
We have previously highlighted plans to increase housebuilding on brownfield land across the East Midlands.

There has now been a further update. The East Midlands Combined County Authority says its Brownfield Housing Fund is supporting 1,765 homes over the next four years, including 715 affordable homes.

This reinforces an important point for our campaign: new and affordable housing can be delivered by regenerating previously developed land, helping meet housing need without automatically turning to undeveloped Green Belt.

Our issue has never been whether homes should be built, but whether they are built in the most appropriate and sustainable places.

𝟰. 𝗣𝗹𝗲𝗮𝘀𝗲 𝗦𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗲
Every share helps more local people stay informed and engaged.

SKHGB is already reaching a significant number of households across Kilburn and Horsley, but there are still many residents who may not yet be aware of the scale or implications of this application.

If you value clear, factual updates on what is happening and what it could mean for our area, please help widen the reach by sharing this post and inviting friends, neighbours and family to follow the page.

Please do let us know if there’s anything in particular you’d like us to cover in future updates.