𝑺𝑯𝑶𝑹𝑻 𝑹𝑬𝑨𝑫

1. 𝑺𝑲𝑯𝑮𝑩 𝑳𝒂𝒏𝒅𝒔𝒄𝒂𝒑𝒆 𝑹𝒆𝒗𝒊𝒆𝒘

The independent review commissioned by SKHGB finds that the applicant has understated some effects on the landscape and views, particularly for Horsley Road residents. It highlights AVBC’s finding that much of the site is highly sensitive and that development could make Kilburn and Horsley appear to merge. SKHGB has asked AVBC to address the review’s concerns, including the need for better visibility mapping and winter photographs, before deciding the application.

2. 𝑳𝒐𝒄𝒂𝒍 𝑮𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒏𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝑹𝒆𝒐𝒓𝒈𝒂𝒏𝒊𝒔𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏

Amber Valley MP Linsey Farnsworth has told SKHGB that she opposes splitting the borough and wants it kept together in the proposed northern authority. She has challenged the Government’s choice of the split option despite strong consultation support for keeping Amber Valley intact. The Government has paused reorganisation for a full review, and SKHGB will continue to monitor what this means for our communities.

3. 𝑨𝑽𝑩𝑪 𝑨𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒗𝒆-𝑻𝒓𝒂𝒗𝒆𝒍 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒎𝒊𝒕𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒔

AVBC’s Climate Change Action Plan commits the council to improving walking, cycling and public transport, and says it commissioned a study of what is needed. As Derbyshire County Council has warned that this development could depend heavily on cars, SKHGB has asked whether the study covers our area and will inform the decision on AVA/2025/0587.

4. 𝑬𝒄𝒐𝒍𝒐𝒈𝒚 𝒖𝒑𝒅𝒂𝒕𝒆

Derbyshire Wildlife Trust accepts the applicant’s latest surveys and has not objected, provided strong safeguards are secured. It confirms that the development would remove 6.13 hectares of grassland and about 300 metres of hedgerow, and warns that the proposed replacement habitats could be difficult to establish. The Trust wants the promised biodiversity improvements secured by legal agreement and managed and monitored for 30 years if permission is granted.

5. 𝑵𝒆𝒘 𝑨𝑽𝑩𝑪 𝑷𝒍𝒂𝒏𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝑪𝒐𝒎𝒎𝒊𝒕𝒕𝒆𝒆 𝒓𝒖𝒍𝒆𝒔

AVBC has published arrangements for new rules due to take effect on 31 October; we understand councillors approved them on 23 September, although the formal minutes are not yet available. A ward councillor’s written request could prompt consideration of a committee hearing, but it would no longer guarantee one: the Head of Planning and committee Chair would need to agree that the application raises significant issues. SKHGB believes AVA/2025/0587 meets that test, has asked a ward councillor to make a representation, and is seeking clarity on how the rules will apply to this existing application.

6. 𝑩𝒓𝒐𝒘𝒏𝒇𝒊𝒆𝒍𝒅 𝒇𝒊𝒓𝒔𝒕

New CPRE research identifies capacity for at least 1.54 million homes on brownfield land across England. It lists 38 sites in Amber Valley with potential for 1,988 homes, including 1,191 on sites that already have planning permission. This supports SKHGB’s case for directing housing to suitable brownfield sites and planned locations before developing valued Green Belt countryside.

7. 𝑾𝒐𝒐𝒅𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒔𝒆 𝑹𝒐𝒂𝒅 𝒔𝒑𝒆𝒆𝒅 𝒅𝒂𝒕𝒂

We are waiting for the raw speed data from Kilburn Parish Council. When it arrives, we will check whether it adds to the evidence about road safety on the applicant’s proposed walking and cycling route via Footpath 6 and Woodhouse Road.

8. 𝑮𝒓𝒆𝒚-𝒃𝒆𝒍𝒕 𝒖𝒏𝒎𝒆𝒕-𝒏𝒆𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒆𝒔𝒕 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒇𝒊𝒓𝒎𝒆𝒅

Housing Minister Matthew Pennycook has confirmed that calling land grey belt does not, by itself, justify development: a proposal must address a demonstrable unmet need and meet other planning requirements. For housing, the NPPF’s unmet-need test refers to a lack of five years’ housing land supply or delivery below 75%; AVBC reports 5.80 years’ supply and 173% delivery. SKHGB has asked AVBC to identify what unmet need this application would meet and the evidence for it.

9. 𝑷𝒍𝒆𝒂𝒔𝒆 𝑺𝒉𝒂𝒓𝒆

Please share this post to help more people in Kilburn and Horsley understand the application and follow its progress. Invite friends, neighbours and family to follow the page, and let us know what you would like us to cover in a future update.

𝑳𝑶𝑵𝑮 𝑹𝑬𝑨𝑫

1. 𝑺𝑲𝑯𝑮𝑩 𝑳𝒂𝒏𝒅𝒔𝒄𝒂𝒑𝒆 𝑹𝒆𝒗𝒊𝒆𝒘

SKHGB has received the independent Landscape and Visual Review we commissioned from Brindle & Green Environmental Consultants.

The review raises significant concerns about the applicant’s Landscape and Visual Appraisal. It finds that some effects have been underestimated, including the scale of change across the site and the impact on residents along Horsley Road.

It also draws attention to AVBC’s own Landscape Sensitivity Study, which identifies much of the site as highly sensitive and specifically warns that development could make Horsley and Kilburn appear to merge.

Brindle & Green questions the applicant’s assessment of where the development would be visible. It recommends a more accurate computer-generated map that takes account of buildings and trees, a reassessment of some viewpoints, and proper recognition of the impact on nearby residents. It also calls for winter photographs, when trees and hedges are less likely to block views.

The review concludes that some effects on landscape character and views have been understated. For some viewpoints, it finds that major adverse effects would remain in the first year, when the development would be in place but the proposed landscaping would still be immature.

SKHGB has asked AVBC that the issues raised by the independent specialists are properly addressed before the application is determined.

2. 𝑳𝒐𝒄𝒂𝒍 𝑮𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒏𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝑹𝒆𝒐𝒓𝒈𝒂𝒏𝒊𝒔𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏

SKHGB has now received a detailed response from Amber Valley MP Linsey Farnsworth regarding the Government’s decision to divide the borough between two proposed unitary authorities.

The MP confirmed that, although she supports local government reorganisation and a two-unitary model for Derbyshire, she opposes splitting Amber Valley. She believes the borough should remain intact and join the proposed northern authority.

She said that she and Amber Valley Borough Council leader Chris Emmas-Williams have written to ministers setting out their concerns. These include the public consultation results, which showed overwhelming support for Option A (keeping Amber Valley together within the northern authority), while Option B1 (splitting Amber Valley between the northern and southern authorities) attracted substantially more opposition than support.

The MP has asked the Government to publish the evidence and assessments used to justify choosing Option B1 despite those consultation results. She has also raised concerns directly with the Secretary of State and other ministers.

The Government has now paused local government reorganisation in Derbyshire and 13 other areas while it conducts a full review. The MP welcomed this decision and raised Amber Valley’s position in Parliament on 7 September, requesting a meeting with ministers and local leaders. She says she will continue making representations while the decision remains open to reconsideration.

SKHGB welcomes this clear support for keeping Amber Valley intact. We will continue to monitor the review and ensure that the potential consequences for Kilburn, Horsley and the surrounding communities remain firmly on the agenda.

3. 𝑨𝑽𝑩𝑪 𝑨𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒗𝒆-𝑻𝒓𝒂𝒗𝒆𝒍 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒎𝒊𝒕𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒔

AVBC’s recently published Climate Change Action Plan commits the council to increasing walking, cycling and public transport use and records that an Active Travel Study was commissioned to identify the infrastructure needed across the borough.

This is relevant to AVA/2025/0587 because Derbyshire County Council has warned that the development risks being car-dependent and has identified the need for a safe, LTN 1/20-compliant route towards the B6179. SKHGB has asked AVBC whether the commissioned study assessed Kilburn, Horsley or the proposed development site and whether its findings will inform the application.

4. 𝑬𝒄𝒐𝒍𝒐𝒈𝒚 𝒖𝒑𝒅𝒂𝒕𝒆

Derbyshire Wildlife Trust has reviewed the applicant’s latest ecological information. It considers the surveys acceptable and has not raised an objection, subject to robust safeguards being secured.

However, the Trust confirms that the development would result in the loss of 6.13 hectares of grassland and approximately 300 metres of hedgerow. It also warns that creating the proposed neutral grassland, traditional orchard and improved ditch habitat could be challenging and would require expert management, monitoring and remedial action.

The Trust recommends that the promised biodiversity improvements are secured through a legal agreement and managed and monitored for 30 years if permission is granted.

SKHGB will ensure that these requirements are properly considered alongside the development’s wider Green Belt, landscape, highways, infrastructure and heritage impacts.

5. 𝑵𝒆𝒘 𝑨𝑽𝑩𝑪 𝑷𝒍𝒂𝒏𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝑪𝒐𝒎𝒎𝒊𝒕𝒕𝒆𝒆 𝒓𝒖𝒍𝒆𝒔

Amber Valley Borough Council has now published its proposed arrangements for the new national rules introduced by the Government, which Full Council considered on 23 September. At the time of writing, the formal minutes have not been published, but we understand that councillors voted to approve the arrangements. Local ward councillors will no longer be able to call in an application automatically, although their views will be considered. SKHGB has written to one of our local ward councillors asking them to make a representation about this application.

As a reminder, new planning rules due to take effect on 31 October 2026 could allow AVA/2025/0587 to be decided by council officers without the public scrutiny of a Planning Committee hearing.

Under AVBC’s proposed arrangements, AVA/2025/0587 would fall within the category of applications that could still be referred to the Planning Committee. Referral would require the Head of Planning and the Chair of the Planning Committee to agree that it raises significant economic, social, environmental or planning issues. A timely written request from a councillor would trigger consideration under this test, but would no longer guarantee a committee hearing.

SKHGB believes that a proposal for up to 200 houses on unallocated Green Belt, affecting two villages and attracting more than 1,200 objections, clearly meets that threshold. The published proposals therefore provide a possible route to committee scrutiny, but not a guarantee. We have sought confirmation that AVA/2025/0587 will be considered under the new test, how the 28-day councillor-request rule applies to this existing application and whether the reasons for the eventual referral decision will be made public.

6. 𝑩𝒓𝒐𝒘𝒏𝒇𝒊𝒆𝒍𝒅 𝒇𝒊𝒓𝒔𝒕

New research from the Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE) identifies capacity for at least 1.54 million homes on brownfield land across England.

For Amber Valley specifically, the report records 38 brownfield sites with potential capacity for 1,988 homes. It says 1,191 of those homes are on sites already benefiting from planning permission.

This supports SKHGB’s case that housing growth should be directed towards suitable brownfield land and planned locations before speculative development is permitted on valued Green Belt countryside.

7. 𝑾𝒐𝒐𝒅𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒔𝒆 𝑹𝒐𝒂𝒅 𝒔𝒑𝒆𝒆𝒅 𝒅𝒂𝒕𝒂

We still await the raw Speed Indicator Device data from Kilburn Parish Council. Once received, we will analyse whether it provides further evidence about vehicle speeds and the safety of the applicant’s proposed walking and cycling route via Footpath 6, the public footpath connecting the proposed development with Woodhouse Road.

8. 𝑮𝒓𝒆𝒚-𝒃𝒆𝒍𝒕 𝒖𝒏𝒎𝒆𝒕-𝒏𝒆𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒆𝒔𝒕 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒇𝒊𝒓𝒎𝒆𝒅

Housing Minister Matthew Pennycook has confirmed that classifying land as grey belt is not enough to justify development.

Speaking in Parliament on 15 September, he said that a proposal must respond to a “demonstrable unmet need” for the development proposed, adding: “If that does not exist, that is grounds for the local authority to refuse.” He also confirmed that development must be sustainably located, comply with the Golden Rules and satisfy the NPPF’s other landscape, biodiversity and environmental policies.

For housing proposals, the NPPF defines unmet need by reference to the absence of a five-year housing-land supply or Housing Delivery Test performance below 75%. AVBC’s published position is a 5.80-year supply and 173% delivery. The proposed provision of 73 affordable homes may be advanced as a benefit, but it does not itself establish the unmet housing need required by the NPPF.

This ministerial statement therefore reinforces the point already made in SKHGB’s supplementary representation: AVBC must identify what demonstrable unmet need AVA/2025/0587 is supposedly addressing and the objective evidence supporting it.

9. 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.