Here are some pictures of the beautiful land. It is currently protected as Green Belt land. The pictures show the natural landscape that we will lose if the distribution units are built.
Building on this land would adjoin the neighbourhoods of Awsworth, Giltbrook and Cotmanhay creating massive industrial sprawl. The development would destroy the rural character of the area and will set a dangerous precedent for further Green Belt erosion.
It’s not just Green Belt. This open greenspace is situated near two canals and the River Erewash. This site is richly biodiverse. Coupled with there being 31 sites of local nature conservation interest within a 2km and 5 SSSI (sites of special scientific interest) locally. All of this together makes a connected habitat on a landscape scale that we must protect.
Unfortunately, this site is intended to be part of a national trend. Huge tracts of our national landscapes are being taken for development. The UK rates the fifth-worst country in Europe for loss of green space to development according to a study conducted by Arena+, the Norsk institutt for naturforskning (Nina), the Norwegian broadcaster NRK and ten news outlets in 11 countries across Europe. The investigation revealed the significant scale of building on beauty spots designated as areas of outstanding natural beauty.
The National Planning Policy Framework states that “the government attaches great importance to Green Belts. The fundamental aim of Green Belt policy is to prevent urban sprawl by keeping land permanently open; the essential characteristics of Green Belts are their openness and their permanence.
Green Belt serves to:
– keep unrestricted sprawl of large built-up areas in check;
– prevent neighbouring towns merging into one another;
– preserve the setting and special character of historic towns.
Green Belt boundaries should only be changed in exceptional circumstances. The reasons must be fully evidenced and justified. Before deciding that there are exceptional circumstances to justify changes to Green Belt boundaries, the local authority should be able to demonstrate that it has examined fully all other reasonable options for meeting its identified need for development.
Broxtowe Borough Council have not provided sufficient justification.
Once the land has been built on. We will never get it back.
Please email awsworthandresidents@gmail.com to find out how you can oppose this development.
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