24 1 household could ultimately lead to population decline Introduction across the Borough. What’s this profile all about? Future declines in Rushcliffe’s population, particularly declines in those of working age, could also adversely Rushcliffe Borough is well known for its attractive affect the wider economy of Nottingham given the towns and villages, rich farmland and rolling extent to which West Bridgford, and Rushcliffe more countryside. It is perceived to be an affluent area and widely, act as a residential area for people working in one in which people want to live and work. Despite the Nottingham. economic downturn, these pressures for growth in Rushcliffe will continue both in the short and longer term. Looking at the towns and villages which make up This leaflet is also to download from our website Rushcliffe in greater detail, however, it is clear that at www.rushcliffe.gov.uk/planningpolicy each is very different, with diverse communities, different pressures, needs and ambitions for their local area. Individual parish profiles have been prepared for several of our larger settlements. These profiles describe recent demographic trends and take a specific look at housing issues. The production of the Borough Profile is designed to provide a picture of what has happened to the Borough over recent years and what may happen in the future if current trends continue. The profiles have been put together in order to provide support for the Borough Council’s Fresh Approach campaign. It is hoped that the profiles will bring out some of the key issues affecting the Borough, and will provide a starting point to have discussions on future development. 2 23 The leaflet also provides a brief summary of what Summary of main issues people have told us about various issues in response to previous consultations carried out by the Council Overall, the population of the Borough has grown at a regarding potential development in the Borough. This slower rate than the number of new houses being built information is grouped into topics including age, the reflecting the trend towards smaller average environment, employment, education and the local household size. In some parts of the Borough, a lack economy. Obviously, what some people have said of housing development has actually contributed to a may not necessarily be supported by everyone. fall in population over recent years. Localism. What does this mean for future In West Bridgford and Gamston the rate of housing planning within the Borough? and population growth has been very similar over the past decade. Whether the population will continue to The Borough Council is required to develop long-term grow, rather than stagnating or going into decline, plans for the future development of Rushcliffe. These without further housing growth is doubtful given the plans still have to be supported by sound factual underlying local and national trend towards smaller evidence; however we now have more scope to average household size. develop plans that are truly local to the needs of Rushcliffe. In terms of the profile of the local population, the Borough’s population is aging at a faster rate than the Local communities will also have a chance to develop national average, with the levels of residents in older their own community-led plan should they wish to do age groups higher than the national picture. so once Rushcliffe’s development plan is in place. It is, therefore important that Rushcliffe’s plans for the Opportunities for brownfield development within towns development of the Borough broadly reflect each and villages in Rushcliffe have significantly reduced community’s needs and wishes. over recent years. There is some scope for housing development in the short term across the Borough, but little scope in the medium to long term without looking at providing some development outside towns and villages. Without some housing development taking place outside existing settlements then expected further declines in the average number of people in each 22 3 Rushcliffe as a place Proposed area for Clifton SUE is an important landscape and should be protected. General Rushcliffe’s main centre of population is West If the Clifton SUE went ahead there would be traffic Bridgford, a large suburb of Greater Nottingham where implications on existing villages e.g. Gotham. around 41,000 of the Borough’s 109,800 population live. The remainder of the Borough is largely rural, with the population divided between the six larger The A453 would not be able to cope with any settlements (Bingham, Radcliffe on Trent, Cotgrave, additional development without being dualled. Keyworth, Ruddington and East Leake, which range in Proposed tram extension has not been confirmed. population from 6,200 to 9,400 people) and the smaller rural villages. A large part of the Borough New football stadium and large scale housing (42%) falls within the defined Nottingham-Derby development completely inappropriate for Gamston. Green Belt that encircles Nottingham and its suburbs. It is Green Belt land and is unsustainable from an accessibility perspective. Existing roads cannot cope Facilities and Economy with such a large development. West Bridgford is the largest settlement in Rushcliffe. It acts as a key service centre for a number of the surrounding smaller settlements. It has a vibrant shopping area with a number of popular cafes and restaurants. Outside of West Bridgford, the six towns and larger villages provide a range of facilities and services. Several of the medium sized villages such as East Bridgford, Gotham, Tollerton, Aslockton, Sutton Bonington and Cropwell Bishop have some local facilities to serve their population. Villages of a smaller size often only have very limited facilities and services. 4 21 There are a lot more workers in the Borough than there are jobs. The wealth of the working population We must avoid at all costs the problem of building so within Rushcliffe is therefore dependant on the ability many homes in a settlement which causes the area to access jobs outside of the Borough. Given which, it to merge with the neighbouring settlements. This will is important that these areas continue to thrive in order result in losing the identities of these settlements. to support the Borough’s existing population. To a large extent Rushcliffe acts as a residential area Green Belt needs to be protected. for people working in Nottingham, and to a lesser extent to other towns and cities outside the Borough Large Sustainable Urban Extensions (SUEs) are (Loughborough, Newark and Leicester). A third of inappropriate for the Borough (both South of Clifton West Bridgford residents work in the city. Significant and East of Gamston). local employers in the Borough include Nottinghamshire County Council, British Gypsum, E- Green Belt needs to be protected from large scale on, Experian and the British Geological Survey. incursions. Developing housing on or around the airport would What You Told Us be devastating for the local community and infrastructure Cotgrave is an underperforming town centre and in Tollerton would lose its character as a village if the need of enhancement. Gamston SUE went ahead. Infrastrucutre would not be able to cope. Local community facilities need to be upgraded alongside any new development. A52 would have to have substantial improvements if the Gamston SUE went ahead. West Bridgford is a thriving, dynamic and popular centre. Tollerton Airfield should revert to its former agricultural state if the airport was to relocate. 20 5 As Rushcliffe is a desirable place to live it is almost More employment should be provided in the Borough inevitable that there will be continued pressure to have to reduce commuter traffic and pollution and make some development around some of our smaller the Borough more sustainable. villages. There may be instances where development is needed to support certain facilities (e.g. local primary schools) or where a particular type of housing Transportation need has been identified (e.g. housing for elderly people or rural exception development). Road connections Developers and landowners have put forward sites for A number of important trunk roads pass through the consideration for residential development through the Borough. The A46 links Rushcliffe to Newark in the Borough Council’s Strategic Housing Land Availability north and Leicester in the south and the A52 links to Assessment (SHLAA). This is available on the Grantham to the east. The A453 is a major route Borough Council’s website. The SHLAA assesses linking Nottingham and Rushcliffe to East Midlands these sites potential suitability for residential Airport and the M1. The A46 is currently being development. widened with work scheduled to be complete by 2012. There are capacity issues with both the A52 and A453, with the widening of the A453 in particular seen by many as vital for the future economic growth of the city and for Rushcliffe. The planned widening of the What You Told Us A453 has been deferred as part of the Government’s wider spending review, with potential construction to Empty properties should be considered before be identified in future spending review periods. building new housing. The NET tram extension to Clifton is proposed to pass through the Borough between Wilford and Compton A distribution strategy is supported that directs Acres, with the aim of improving accessibility to the growth appropriate to the capacity and character of City Centre. an individual settlement to accommodate it. The rural parts of the Borough suffer more acutely from accessibility issues due to poorer transport links Brownfield sites should be developed before in these more isolated areas. greenfield sites are considered. 6 19 Public Transport 200 homes. There is also outline planning permission that was granted on appeal on the edge of West West Bridgford and the six larger settlements are Bridgford for 1,200 new homes.