𝑺𝑯𝑶𝑹𝑻 𝑹𝑬𝑨𝑫

𝟏. 𝑯𝒂𝒑𝒑𝒚 𝒃𝒊𝒓𝒕𝒉𝒅𝒂𝒚 𝒕𝒐 𝑺𝑲𝑯𝑮𝑩

One year after our first committee meeting, your support has helped us organise public meetings, support more than 1,300 objections and raise nearly £10,000 for independent expert advice. Thousands of volunteer hours have gone into examining the plans, keeping residents informed and making our case to AVBC. Thank you for everything you have contributed - we are proud of what we have achieved together, and with no decision yet, our work continues.

𝟐. 𝑵𝒆𝒘 𝑨𝑽𝑩𝑪 𝑷𝒍𝒂𝒏𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝑪𝒐𝒎𝒎𝒊𝒕𝒕𝒆𝒆 𝒓𝒖𝒍𝒆𝒔

AVBC considered new committee referral rules on 23 September, but we are waiting for the formal minutes to confirm the outcome. Under the proposed arrangements, a councillor’s request would ensure referral is considered, but a committee hearing would depend on agreement between the Head of Planning and committee Chair. At our request, a local councillor has asked for a hearing, and we have asked AVBC how the rules will apply to this application and whether it will publish its reasons.

𝟑. 𝑯𝒐𝒖𝒔𝒊𝒏𝒈, 𝒂𝒇𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒅𝒂𝒃𝒍𝒆 𝒉𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑮𝒓𝒆𝒆𝒏 𝑩𝒆𝒍𝒕

The Government continues to push for more homes, while promoting brownfield development, council housing and bringing empty homes back into use. We recognise that Wheeldon’s proposed 73 affordable homes would be a benefit, but this must be weighed against the harm to the Green Belt, landscape, roads, wildlife and our villages. Calling land “grey belt” does not automatically make it suitable for building - housing need and a suitable location still matter.

𝟒. 𝑾𝒐𝒐𝒅𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒔𝒆 𝑹𝒐𝒂𝒅 𝒔𝒑𝒆𝒆𝒅 𝒅𝒂𝒕𝒂

We are still waiting for the raw vehicle speed data from Kilburn Parish Council. Once it arrives, we will check whether it strengthens our concerns about the safety of Wheeldon’s proposed walking and cycling route via Footpath 6 and Woodhouse Road.

𝟓. 𝑾𝒂𝒍𝒌𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒕𝒆𝒔 𝒎𝒖𝒔𝒕 𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒌 𝒊𝒏 𝒑𝒓𝒂𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒄𝒆

A survey of more than 3,000 Living Streets supporters highlighted narrow or damaged pavements and unsafe crossings as common barriers to walking. This supports our call for careful checks of the proposed routes, particularly around Footpath 6 and Woodhouse Road. AVBC and Derbyshire County Council must assess whether people of different ages and abilities could use them safely and comfortably.

𝟔. 𝑷𝒍𝒆𝒂𝒔𝒆 𝑺𝒉𝒂𝒓𝒆

Please share this post and invite friends, neighbours and family to follow our page. Every share helps more people understand the proposals and stay involved. Let us know what you would like us to cover in future updates.

𝑳𝑶𝑵𝑮 𝑹𝑬𝑨𝑫

𝟏. 𝑯𝒂𝒑𝒑𝒚 𝒃𝒊𝒓𝒕𝒉𝒅𝒂𝒚 𝒕𝒐 𝑺𝑲𝑯𝑮𝑩

This week marks one year since SKHGB’s first committee meeting. We came together after Wheeldon’s application appeared in August 2025, determined to respond quickly and make sure the concerns of Kilburn and Horsley were heard.

None of us knew quite how much work lay ahead. Over the past year, with your support, we have:

· Volunteered thousands of hours to examine and challenge the proposals and respond to new information

· Delivered thousands of letters and made posters, banners and placards available across our villages

· Organised public meetings attended by hundreds of residents

· Helped residents make their views known, with more than 1,300 objections submitted to AVBC

· Raised nearly £10,000 to commission independent experts to examine key parts of the application

· Produced a detailed Case for Refusal and a further representation when national planning policy changed in August

· Continued to question AVBC and press for the application to receive full public scrutiny

We are proud of what we have achieved together so far; the application has yet to be decided, and there is much more work to do.

We are grateful for every donation, objection, conversation and other help. Your support has kept this campaign going. We are still here, still acting on behalf of our villages, and every bit as determined as we were a year ago.

𝟐. 𝑵𝒆𝒘 𝑨𝑽𝑩𝑪 𝑷𝒍𝒂𝒏𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝑪𝒐𝒎𝒎𝒊𝒕𝒕𝒆𝒆 𝒓𝒖𝒍𝒆𝒔

New government rules are changing how councils decide which planning applications go before a planning committee. We reported last week on Amber Valley Borough Council’s proposed arrangements. Full Council considered them on 23 September, but we are still waiting for the formal minutes to confirm the outcome.

Under AVBC’s planned arrangements, AVA/2025/0587 could still be referred to the Planning Committee. The Head of Planning and the committee Chair would need to agree that it raises significant economic, social, environmental or planning issues. A councillor’s written request, made within the required time, would ensure referral is considered, but would no longer guarantee a committee hearing. At our request, a local ward councillor has written to AVBC to ask that the application be referred to the Planning Committee.

We believe the application raises significant issues for Kilburn and Horsley. These include the Green Belt gap between the villages, safe walking and cycling routes, local roads, landscape, heritage, ecology and the services needed for up to 200 new homes.

More than 1,300 objections have been submitted, and both Kilburn and Horsley Parish Councils have objected. However, the changes mean that the number of objections alone will not secure a hearing under the new rules. We believe the planning issues raised deserve to be examined openly by the committee.

We have also asked AVBC to clarify how the new rules will apply to this existing application and whether it will publish the reasons for its referral decision. We will update you when we have the formal minutes and a response.

𝟑. 𝑯𝒐𝒖𝒔𝒊𝒏𝒈, 𝒂𝒇𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒅𝒂𝒃𝒍𝒆 𝒉𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑮𝒓𝒆𝒆𝒏 𝑩𝒆𝒍𝒕

We’ve been watching the Labour Party conference closely this week for announcements that could affect the wider debate about housing and, potentially, the application between Kilburn and Horsley.

The message from Government remains clear: it is determined to build more homes, and that pressure is unlikely to ease. Indeed, the announcement of the new “Your First Home” buyer-support scheme prompted sharp rises in major housebuilders’ share prices, reflecting expectations of stronger sales.

But there has also been a strong emphasis on how and where those homes should be provided. The Government is continuing to promote a “brownfield first” approach, alongside a major expansion of council and social housebuilding. Prime Minister Andy Burnham has now committed the Government to its biggest council-housebuilding programme for decades, with unused public land identified as an important part of that programme.

The Government is also proposing stronger powers to bring long-term empty homes back into use. One proposal would reduce the period a property must have been empty before a council can seek to take over the property from two years to six months.

SKHGB welcomes efforts to make better use of homes and land that are already available. Empty homes and brownfield land cannot provide the entire answer to housing need, but they are an important part of the picture. CPRE’s latest research identified 38 brownfield sites across Amber Valley with estimated capacity for around 1,988 homes, including 1,191 homes on sites already with planning permission. This is particularly relevant to the debate about affordable housing.

Wheeldon places considerable weight on the 73 affordable homes proposed as part of its 200-home development. We recognise that affordable homes are needed and that those 73 homes would be a benefit of the proposal.

But affordable-housing need does not, by itself, demonstrate that this particular Green Belt site needs to be developed. The Government itself is increasingly looking to council housebuilding, public land, brownfield development and existing housing stock as part of the solution.

Those benefits must still be weighed against the consequences of developing this particular site - including Green Belt, landscape, highways, active travel, infrastructure, ecology and the relationship between Kilburn and Horsley.

There has also been a useful indication about the stability of national planning policy. Housing and Planning Minister Matthew Pennycook told a conference event that the government is not going to revise the national planning rules (NPPF) again. This suggests that another immediate rewrite is not intended, providing some reassurance that the August framework underpinning SKHGB’s recent representations is expected to remain in place.

The Minister also confirmed that a developer calling land “grey belt” does not automatically make it suitable for development. The need for the proposed homes and whether the location is sustainable remain important questions. Those are among the issues we have raised with AVBC.

These announcements reinforce a simple point at the heart of SKHGB’s case: we accept that more homes are needed, including genuinely affordable homes. But that does not mean every proposed site is the right place to build them. The application between Kilburn and Horsley must still satisfy the relevant planning tests.

𝟒. 𝑾𝒐𝒐𝒅𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒔𝒆 𝑹𝒐𝒂𝒅 𝒔𝒑𝒆𝒆𝒅 𝒅𝒂𝒕𝒂

We are still waiting for the raw vehicle speed data from Kilburn Parish Council. When it arrives, we will check whether it adds to the evidence about the safety of the Wheeldon’s proposed walking and cycling route along Footpath 6, which connects the site to Woodhouse Road.

𝟓. 𝑾𝒂𝒍𝒌𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒕𝒆𝒔 𝒎𝒖𝒔𝒕 𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒌 𝒊𝒏 𝒑𝒓𝒂𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒄𝒆

A new survey of more than 3,000 Living Streets supporters found that narrow or damaged pavements and unsafe crossings are among the barriers people most often face when walking.

That is why we continue to press for a careful assessment of routes from the proposed development, particularly around Footpath 6 and Woodhouse Road. Showing a connection on a plan is one thing. AVBC and Derbyshire County Council need to consider whether people of different ages and abilities could use it safely and comfortably in everyday conditions.

𝟔. 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.