𝙎𝙃𝙊𝙍𝙏 𝙍𝙀𝘼𝘿

𝟭. 𝙇𝙤𝙘𝙖𝙡 𝙜𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙣𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙧𝙚𝙤𝙧𝙜𝙖𝙣𝙞𝙨𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙥𝙖𝙪𝙨𝙚𝙙 - 𝙬𝙚𝙡𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙚 𝙣𝙚𝙬𝙨

The government has paused and ordered a full review of its decision to split Amber Valley and place our villages in a new southern authority with Derby, Erewash and South Derbyshire. SKHGB strongly welcomes this after raising concerns with MP Linsey Farnsworth about local identity, democratic accountability and the possible long-term effects on planning and the Green Belt. The decision has not been overturned and does not affect AVA/2025/0587, but it provides a welcome opportunity for the split to be properly reconsidered.

𝟮. 𝙉𝙚𝙬 𝙥𝙡𝙖𝙣𝙣𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙢𝙞𝙩𝙩𝙚𝙚 𝙧𝙪𝙡𝙚𝙨 - 𝙨𝙚𝙧𝙞𝙤𝙪𝙨 𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙘𝙚𝙧𝙣

New government rules due to take effect on 31 October could mean AVA/2025/0587 is decided by council officers rather than the Planning Committee, although we are seeking confirmation from Amber Valley Borough Council. The size of the development, the number of objections and a ward councillor’s request will no longer guarantee a public committee hearing - referral will instead need the agreement of a senior planning officer and a nominated committee member. We believe an application for up to 200 houses on unallocated Green Belt, affecting two villages and attracting more than 1,200 objections, clearly deserves full public and democratic scrutiny.

𝟯. 𝙉𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙖𝙡 𝙃𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙬𝙖𝙮𝙨 𝙞𝙨𝙨𝙪𝙚𝙨 𝙝𝙤𝙡𝙙𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙧𝙚𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙙𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣

National Highways has recommended that permission should not be granted for three months while the applicant provides more information about traffic and the impact on the A38. This is not an objection, but it confirms that important transport questions remain unanswered and the holding period may extend beyond AVBC’s current decision date of 30 November. We have asked AVBC not to decide the application until National Highways has responded fully, the new evidence has been published for public comment and the application has received full Planning Committee scrutiny.

𝟰. 𝙂𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙣𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙛𝙛𝙞𝙧𝙢𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙞𝙢𝙥𝙤𝙧𝙩𝙖𝙣𝙘𝙚 𝙤𝙛 𝙇𝙤𝙘𝙖𝙡 𝙋𝙡𝙖𝙣𝙨

Housing Minister Matthew Pennycook has said that Local Plans must remain at the heart of the planning system and warned that areas without an up-to-date plan are vulnerable to speculative development. Amber Valley adopted its Local Plan in March 2026, has a 5.80-year housing land supply and achieved a Housing Delivery Test result of 173%. This does not guarantee refusal, but it strongly supports our case that housing should follow the borough’s approved plan rather than be built through an unallocated development on this Green Belt site.

𝟱. 𝙒𝙤𝙤𝙙𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙨𝙚 𝙍𝙤𝙖𝙙 𝙨𝙥𝙚𝙚𝙙 𝙙𝙖𝙩𝙖

We expect to receive raw speed data from Kilburn Parish Council’s Speed Indicator Device on Woodhouse Road this week and will analyse what it shows about current vehicle speeds. This matters because Derbyshire County Council has called for a safe, direct and attractive walking and cycling link to the B6179 that meets LTN 1/20 - government standards designed to make cycle routes coherent, direct, safe, comfortable and attractive. The proposed route via FP6 and Woodhouse Road must therefore be judged against the real conditions faced by pedestrians and cyclists, including traffic speeds, narrow footways, the pinch point and HGV movements.

𝟲. 𝙉𝙤 𝙬𝙚𝙚𝙠𝙡𝙮 𝙪𝙥𝙙𝙖𝙩𝙚 𝙣𝙚𝙭𝙩 𝙬𝙚𝙚𝙠

There will be no SKHGB weekly Facebook update next week due to holidays. Be assured that we are still watching, working and challenging. Normal service will resume the following week.

𝟳. 𝙋𝙡𝙚𝙖𝙨𝙚 𝙎𝙝𝙖𝙧𝙚

Every share helps more local people understand the scale of this application and what it could mean for Kilburn and Horsley. If you value clear, factual updates, please share this post and invite friends, neighbours and family to follow our page. Please also tell us if there is anything you would particularly like us to cover in a future update.

𝙇𝙊𝙉𝙂 𝙍𝙀𝘼𝘿

𝟭. 𝙇𝙤𝙘𝙖𝙡 𝙜𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙣𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙧𝙚𝙤𝙧𝙜𝙖𝙣𝙞𝙨𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙥𝙖𝙪𝙨𝙚𝙙 - 𝙬𝙚𝙡𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙚 𝙣𝙚𝙬𝙨

The government has paused and ordered a full review of its July decision to reorganise local government in Derbyshire. That decision would abolish the existing county and district councils, split Amber Valley in two and place Kilburn, Horsley, Horsley Woodhouse, Denby and Holbrook in a new southern authority alongside Derby, Erewash and South Derbyshire.

SKHGB strongly welcomes this review. We have consistently questioned whether dividing an established borough and moving our communities into a much larger authority closely linked to Derby and its housing-growth ambitions would protect local identity, democratic accountability and the interests of our villages.

We raised these concerns directly with Amber Valley MP Linsey Farnsworth and pressed her to challenge the decision and seek a proper explanation from the government. We are therefore pleased that the concerns surrounding the process will now be reconsidered.

The future authority would inherit important planning responsibilities, so its boundaries and priorities could have significant long-term consequences for our countryside and Green Belt. We hope the review will give proper weight to local identity, financial sustainability, planning implications and residents’ views.

It is important to be clear that the Derbyshire decision has not been overturned. Reorganisation activity has been paused while a rapid review examines the process and whether the proposals meet the new government’s priorities. However, this provides a valuable opportunity for the decision to split Amber Valley to be reconsidered properly.

The announcement does not change the current position on AVA/2025/0587, which remains for Amber Valley Borough Council to determine. We will continue to follow developments closely.

𝟮. 𝙉𝙚𝙬 𝙥𝙡𝙖𝙣𝙣𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙢𝙞𝙩𝙩𝙚𝙚 𝙧𝙪𝙡𝙚𝙨 - 𝙨𝙚𝙧𝙞𝙤𝙪𝙨 𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙘𝙚𝙧𝙣

We are very concerned about new central government rules concerning which planning applications are decided by local councillors and which are delegated to council planning officers. The changes are due to take effect on 31 October this year, while the current anticipated decision date for AVA/2025/0587 is 30 November at the earliest. We therefore believe the new system is likely to apply, although we are seeking confirmation from Amber Valley Borough Council.

Under the new rules, the scale of a development and the number of public objections will no longer automatically secure consideration by the Planning Committee. Instead, referral will require agreement between a nominated senior council planning officer and a nominated planning committee member. Traditional ward-councillor call-in rights will also no longer be permitted (ward-councillor call-in happened in our case).

This means that in our case an application for up to 200 houses on unallocated Green Belt, attracting more than 1,200 objections and affecting two villages, could potentially be decided entirely by council officers behind closed doors without a public committee meeting, councillor debate or an opportunity for residents to speak. If outline permission were granted, future decisions about matters such as layout, appearance and landscaping would also normally be delegated to officers because the development is below the 500-home threshold.

The changes do not weaken our substantive planning case, but they create a significant procedural risk by changing who may decide whether the relevant planning tests have been met. SKHGB considers that AVA/2025/0587 clearly raises both locally significant economic, social and environmental issues and significant planning matters. We cannot imagine a more relevant example of an application that does warrant full democratic scrutiny and should be referred to the Planning Committee.

We have set out our case and asked AVBC for urgent clarification on whether the new scheme will apply to this application, how the referral process will operate, and how the decision and its reasons will be recorded and published. Read our statement here: https://skhgb.co.uk/save-kilburn-and-horsleys-green-belt.../

𝟯. 𝙉𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙖𝙡 𝙃𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙬𝙖𝙮𝙨 𝙞𝙨𝙨𝙪𝙚𝙨 𝙝𝙤𝙡𝙙𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙧𝙚𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙙𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣

National Highways has formally recommended that planning permission for AVA/2025/0587 should not be granted for three months while the applicant provides further evidence about traffic using the A38, committed developments, traffic growth, assessment dates and development phasing. This is not an objection, but neither is it a “no objection” response - it confirms that important transport effects remain unresolved, with the holding period appearing to extend beyond AVBC’s current anticipated decision date of 30 November.

We have written to AVBC asking it not to determine the application until National Highways has considered the additional evidence and issued a final response. We have also asked for all revised transport information to be published for public comment and for the application to receive full scrutiny by the Planning Committee.

𝟰. 𝙂𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙣𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙛𝙛𝙞𝙧𝙢𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙞𝙢𝙥𝙤𝙧𝙩𝙖𝙣𝙘𝙚 𝙤𝙛 𝙇𝙤𝙘𝙖𝙡 𝙋𝙡𝙖𝙣𝙨

On 4 September, Housing Minister Matthew Pennycook intervened in the Local Plan processes at Southend-on-Sea and Tonbridge & Malling because both councils had failed to make sufficient progress towards adopting up-to-date plans.

Explaining the government’s decision, the Minister said that the “plan-led approach is, and must remain, the cornerstone of our planning system”. He also warned that places without an up-to-date Local Plan are vulnerable to “piecemeal and speculative development”.

This is very encouraging for SKHGB. Amber Valley is in a much stronger position: its Local Plan was adopted in March 2026, the borough has a 5.80-year housing land supply and its latest Housing Delivery Test result is 173%. This strong housing performance is a very significant benefit to our case.

It does not mean that every proposal outside the Local Plan must automatically be refused. However, it strongly supports our argument that housing should be delivered through the borough’s recently approved strategy, rather than through an unallocated speculative development of up to 200 houses on this Green Belt site. This adds further weight to our case alongside the national Green Belt tests and our concerns about sustainability, infrastructure and highway safety.

𝟱. 𝙒𝙤𝙤𝙙𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙨𝙚 𝙍𝙤𝙖𝙙 𝙨𝙥𝙚𝙚𝙙 𝙙𝙖𝙩𝙖

We expect to receive raw data this week from Kilburn Parish Council’s Speed Indicator Device on Woodhouse Road. Once received, we will analyse it to establish what it shows about existing vehicle speeds and whether it provides further objective evidence for our highway and pedestrian safety case.

This is particularly relevant because Derbyshire County Council’s Strategic Infrastructure response identified the risk that the development would be car-dependent and called for a safe, direct and attractive walking and cycling connection to the B6179 that meets LTN 1/20 standards. LTN 1/20 is government guidance for high-quality cycling infrastructure, requiring routes to be coherent, direct, safe, comfortable and attractive for users. The applicant’s proposed route via FP6 and Woodhouse Road must therefore be assessed against the actual conditions pedestrians and cyclists would face, including vehicle speeds, narrow footways, the restricted pinch point and HGV movements.

𝟲. 𝙉𝙤 𝙬𝙚𝙚𝙠𝙡𝙮 𝙪𝙥𝙙𝙖𝙩𝙚 𝙣𝙚𝙭𝙩 𝙬𝙚𝙚𝙠

There will be no SKHGB weekly Facebook update next week due to holidays.

Be assured we are still watching, working and challenging.

Normal service will resume the following week.

𝟳. 𝙋𝙡𝙚𝙖𝙨𝙚 𝙎𝙝𝙖𝙧𝙚

Every share helps more local people stay informed and involved.

SKHGB is already reaching a significant number of households across Kilburn and Horsley, but many residents may still be unaware of the scale of this application and what it could mean for our area.

If you value clear, factual updates, please share this post and invite friends, neighbours and family members to follow the page.

Please also let us know if there is anything you would particularly like us to cover in a future update.