Housing

THE Government has imposed housing allocations on local authorities across the UK.

Rushcliffe, where relatively few houses have been built in recent years, has a large allocation.

The borough council must ensure the provision of more than 10,000 homes in or next to the existing urban area by 2026.

As the council develops its long-term plan, called a core strategy, it is required to say where these houses may go.

The Government has proposed Notts councils, including Rushcliffe, could meet the housing targets by creating "sustainable urban extensions", which would adjoin the existing urban area.

That is what is proposed with 4,500 new homes east of Gamston.

Planning consultants retained by Nottingham Forest have been working with Rushcliffe Borough Council officers to ensure the proposals comply with the Government's planning guidance.

The Land

The development site proposed east of Gamston is in Nottingham's green belt.

This makes it particularly controversial.

The Government has made clear through the East Midlands development plan that green belt development may be needed to meet the area's housing requirement.

But any scheme, particularly on this scale, will be a cause of concern to many.

The land is owned by various parties including a developer, Nottingham Airport, the city council and the county council.

The Money

The £100m football stadium could be funded up front by Nottingham City Council using money generated through its land holdings.

The city council owns a share of the site, which would become significantly more valuable if planning permission were granted.

The council also previously sold land to Nottingham Airport with a clause to ensure the authority would receive at least 50% of the uplift in the value of the land – the sell-on price – if it were redeveloped for housing.

These monies, plus cash earned from the sale of the City Ground, where the council owns land, could fund the World Cup stadium.

Part of the cost could be offset with a contribution from the housing developer. The developer could contribute once it has started earning a profit from the sale of houses.

Ultimately, the city council would own the new stadium and Forest would pay rent.