CRESWELL GROWTH PLAN 

Consultation Draft Document

July 2024

Preface

1) Introduction 

 Background

1.1  Bolsover District Council resolved to commence the preparation of a Growth Plan for Creswell in February 2022.

1.2  Growth Plans are non-statutory planning documents that sit on top of the Local Plan for Bolsover District and direct where additional growth would be acceptable to the Council. The Council will adopt prepared Growth Plans as material considerations in the planning processes.


Purpose of this document 
 

1.3  The purpose of this document is to set out the potential Growth Plan Options so that the Council can hear the views of the community and other stakeholders before making its decision on the best approach to future growth in Creswell.


How has it been prepared? 
 
1.4  The Council is preparing the Creswell Growth Plan in accordance with its Local Development Scheme (2022) and it is consulted on in accordance with its Statement of Community Involvement.

1.5  The preparation of the Creswell Growth Plan started in April 2022 and has already undergone three stages of public engagement:

• Initial Consultation June 2022: Community Views on Creswell. This consultation asked people living and working in Creswell what they thought about the village as a place to live and work in, and what they thought about the village centre and local environment.
• Second Consultation January/February 2023: Community Views on Growth. This Masterplanning Consultation Exercise asked people what they thought growth in Creswell could look like and what land uses it should include.
• Consultation Feedback 27th July 2023: Community Event. This Virtual Reality Balloon Ride event took forward the responses from the Masterplan consultation to illustrate the relationship between growth and infrastructure in Creswell.

1.6  The representations submitted from the two consultations have informed the contents of this document.

2) Policy Framework for the Creswell Growth Plan

Vision Bolsover

2.1  Bolsover – The Future 2024-2028 is the Council’s corporate prospectus and sets out its Vision as a dynamic, self-sufficient, and flexible Council that delivers excellent services, whilst adapting to local aspirations and acting as the economic and environmental driver for Bolsover District.

2.2  In relation to the Economy the aim is driving growth, promoting the district and being business and visitor friendly. The Council’s priorities include:

• Actively working with partners to support enterprise, innovation, jobs and skills.
• Unlocking regeneration and development potential of long-term vacant land and buildings, and stalled sites and deliver income generating capital projects. Promoting the District and working with partners to increase and support the creative, cultural and tourism sector.
  
  

2.3  In relation to the Environment, the aim is to protect the quality of life for residents and businesses, meet environmental challenges and enhance biodiversity. The Council’s priorities include: 

• Ensuring all areas, neighbourhoods and streets in the district, irrespective of housing tenure or type, are places where people want to live, feels safe, and are proud to live. 
• Reducing our carbon footprint whilst supporting and encouraging residents and businesses to do the same.
• Enhancing biodiversity across the district.
• Working with stakeholders, strategic and local partnerships to deliver shared strategies and priorities that support the local environment. 

2.4  In relation to Housing, the aim is to deliver social and private sector housing growth. The Council’s priorities include:

• Enabling housing growth by increasing the supply, quality, and range of housing to meet the needs of the growing population.
• Building more good quality social housing and being a decent landlord.

Local Plan for Bolsover District

2.5  The Local Plan for Bolsover District was adopted by the Council in March 2020 and is an ambitious document which actively tackles the issues we face today in seeking to achieve sustainable growth.

2.6  It is underpinned by sound evidence and a spatial strategy that retains the district’s distinctive identity whilst providing the growth that is needed for the district to prosper and flourish. This means that it plans for the right amount and type of homes to meet our needs, in the right places with the right infrastructure in place to support all residents and businesses going forward.

2.7  The Local Plan for Bolsover District classifies Creswell as a Large Village in recognition of its place as one the district’s more sustainable settlements.

2.8  As such, the Local Plan for Bolsover District states that to achieve sustainable development it will direct development and service provision to such settlements. Based on this strategy, the Local Plan for Bolsover District commits approximately 289 new dwellings and 0.46 hectares of new employment land to Creswell through to 2033, to be accommodated at the Colliery Road site.

2.9  Any additional growth supported through this Growth Plan would be on top of that committed in the Local Plan for Bolsover District. If the Growth Plan is adopted by the Council, it will be a material consideration taken into account in the determination of future planning applications.

National Planning Policy Framework

2.10  The National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) was first published in March 2012 but has been updated several times since. The latest version was published in December 2023 and sets out the Government’s policies for England and how these should be applied. It provides a framework within which locally prepared plans can provide for sufficient housing and other development in a sustainable manner, so significantly boosting the supply of housing and helping to build a strong and competitive economy.

2.11  Crucially, the NPPF states that there are three overarching objectives to achieving sustainable development, namely:

• an economic objective - to help build a strong, responsive and competitive economy, by ensuring that sufficient land of the right types is available in the right places and at the right time to support growth, innovation and improved productivity; and by identifying and coordinating the provision of infrastructure;

• a social objective - to support strong, vibrant and healthy communities, by ensuring that a sufficient number and range of homes can be provided to meet the needs of present and future generations; and by fostering well-designed, beautiful and safe spaces, with accessible services that reflect current and future needs and support communities’ health, social and cultural wellbeing: and

• an environmental objective - to protect and enhance our natural, built and historic environment including; making effective use of land, improving biodiversity, using natural resources prudently, minimising waste and pollution, and mitigating and adapting to climate change, including moving to a low carbon economy.

National Planning Practice Guidance

2.12  The National Planning Practice Guidance (PPG) provides guidance on a range of planning practice categories and helps explain how national policy should be implemented.

3) Consultation Responses

Initial Consultation: Community Views on Creswell

3.1  The Initial Consultation Exercise on a Growth Plan for Creswell ran between 1st and 30th June 2022.

3.2  This consultation exercise followed a digital, mobile first, approach that sought to engage with people in Creswell to find out what they thought about living/working in Creswell, and their thoughts on the village centre and on the wider environment.

3.3  During this exercise, 97 responses were received, although not all respondents provided answers across all four subject areas. The results are summarised below.

Living in Creswell

3.4  Out of the 97 respondents that answered this section, the headlines from the ‘Living in Creswell’ section were as follows:

• On the whole people like living in Creswell with 80 respondents (82%) feeling ‘satisfied, good or very good’ and 18 respondents feeling ‘bad or very bad’ about living in the village. The majority felt ‘satisfied’.
• 69% of respondents liked living in Creswell because of the good access to green space and the countryside.
• 53% of respondents said that poor public transport was an issue.
• 51% of the respondents did not like the quality of the village centre.
• 42% of the respondents cited a lack of good job opportunities.
• In terms of types of new housing, 39% of respondents wanted ‘new market housing’, 30% wanted ‘affordable homes’ and 26% of the respondents wanted ‘housing of all types for local people’.
• 68 individual comments were made covering a variety of issues. Common themes were fear of crime and anti-social behaviour.

Working in Creswell

3.5  Out of the 11 respondents that answered this section, the headlines from the ‘Working in Creswell’ section were as follows:

• In terms of why respondents liked working in Creswell, 7 respondents (64%) said it was because they ‘lived close to their job’.
• 6 of the respondents (55%) wanted ‘more jobs in retail’ and 3 wanted ‘more jobs in leisure and entertainment’.
• In terms of what could be done to improve respondents working lives, 6 (55%) wanted ‘more frequent public transport’, 3 wanted ‘more available car parking’ and 2 respondents wanted ‘better walking or cycling routes to work’.
• 7 individual comments were made across a range of concerns including a lack of jobs.

Village Centre

3.6  Out of 28 respondents that answered this section, the headlines from the ‘Village Centre’ section were as follows:

• In terms of why respondents liked the village centre, 9 respondents (32%) said it was because they ‘liked the variety of shops and services’, 6 said it was because they ‘liked the convenient bus stops.’
  

• In terms of why respondents disliked the village centre, 17 respondents (61%) ‘disliked the poor choice of shops and services’, and 17 ‘disliked the unpleasant shopping environment’ and 16 respondents ‘disliked the limited car parking’.
• In terms of what respondents thought could be done to improve the environment of the village centre, 14 (50%) said they wanted ‘higher quality paving and street furniture’ and 8 respondents said they wanted ‘shops to have a better appearance’

Green Spaces, Countryside, Climate Change and Nature Conservation

3.7  Out of the 28 respondents that answered this section, the headlines from the ‘Green Spaces, Countryside Climate Change and Nature Conservation’ section were as follows:

• 18 respondents (64%) liked the green spaces because they were ‘good for recreational walking’; 9 thought they were ‘good for kicking a ball around’; and 8 felt they were ‘well maintained’.
• 17 respondents (61%) disliked the green spaces due to ‘poor quality Equipped Play Areas’; 11 due to ‘poor maintenance’; and 7 respondents (25%) chose ‘other reasons.’

• In terms of the countryside footpaths, 13 of the respondents (46%) were aware of ‘some’ walking routes’; 10 (36%) were aware of ‘lots of’ walking routes.’ 9 respondents (32%) thought that only ‘some’ countryside footpaths were of ‘good quality’.  
• In terms of cycle routes, 12 (43%) respondents were aware of ‘some’ cycle paths, 10 thought there were only a ‘few’ cycle paths. 3 respondents (11%) felt that only ‘some’ cycle routes were of a good quality.
• In terms of combatting the effects of climate change, 16 of respondents said ‘more solar panels’ were needed and 6 of respondents said ‘more tree planting’ was needed.
• 15 individual comments were made across a range of environment related concerns. Common themes were lack of maintenance of open ground, poor quality of footpaths, and the need for better cycle and bridleway provision.

Summary

3.8  This new and more digital way of consulting people proved to be a success in that it saw greater levels of public involvement, increasing an awareness of local views. The responses from this Initial Consultation Exercise told us that:

• Creswell is a reasonable place to live, largely because it has good access to the countryside.
  

• In terms of types of new housing, most respondents wanted new market housing, followed by affordable homes.
• A lack of good job opportunities was one of the main reasons given for why people did not like living in Creswell.
• Poor quality public transport is an issue. 
• Feelings about the village centre aired on the side of ‘satisfied, to very bad’. None of the respondents felt ‘very good’ about it. An unpleasant shopping environment and a poor choice of shops and services were given as reasons.
• To improve the village centre, large proportions of respondents said that a higher quality of paving and street furniture was needed followed by the shops having a better appearance.
• Respondents felt that Creswell has good green spaces and countryside footpaths and cycle routes but that all could be improved.
• To combat the effects of climate change, a significant number of respondents said that ‘more solar panels’ and ‘more tree planting’ was needed.

 

3.9  The responses received to the initial consultation revealed that overall, people like living in Creswell. The most positive reason chosen was good access to green space and the countryside. However, when wider opinions were expressed, this revealed issues in Creswell with respect to anti-social behaviour. Respondents however praised the community spirit of the village.

3.10  In terms of employment, consultation responses revealed that Creswell is seen as a place with limited employment opportunities. Jobs within the village and access to jobs further afield are an issue. Some respondents stated a link with this and the anti-social behaviour issues.

3.11  Concern was expressed that the village centre looks run down and lacks variety, that it could benefit from more businesses including independent shops and better parking.

3.12  In contrast, respondents felt generally positive about the green spaces in Creswell and the access to the countryside around the village. From the responses received it is apparent that green spaces make an important contribution to the quality of life in Creswell and provide both social and environmental benefits. Maintaining and improving green spaces in and around the village was considered by many as a priority.

Second Consultation: Community Views on Creswell

3.13  The second stage of consultation focussed on masterplanning and sought to find out what the people of Creswell and other stakeholders thought any potential growth in Creswell could look like.

3.14  To enable this public engagement to take place, the Council worked in partnership with The Future Fox, a PropTech digital planning company, to develop a new, innovative Masterplanning digital planning tool. This work was funded using money from the Government’s PropTech Innovation Fund.

3.15  The digital planning tool helped participants explore how large development sites are designed, what features or components they could include and to appreciate the trade-offs between elements that generate income for the developer such as housing/employment developments and those that cost money such as infrastructure.

3.16  One of the sites around Creswell that had been promoted to the Council through the Land Availability Assessment ‘Call for Sites’, namely the area of land to the north-west of Creswell, was chosen as the ‘blank canvas’ for the masterplanning exercise.

3.17  Respondents had a wide range of land uses that they could add to their Masterplan. They could add as many or as few land-use tiles as they wanted. The tool also included a financial element so that respondents could explore how some land uses were ‘Income Uses’ whereas others, namely ‘Infrastructure Uses’, have an overall cost to being delivered. Respondents were encouraged to ‘balance the books’ and so explore the trade-offs when planning for new development. This financial element was included to give a sense of realism to the creation of the masterplan and to make explicit the connection between income generating growth and the cost of infrastructure provision.

3.18  Over 725 people used the Masterplanning digital planning tool. In all 127 formal submissions were received showing the types of land uses that people thought any growth in Creswell should include. The table below shows the total number of tiles placed by land use type from all 127 submissions.

 

Income Uses	No	Infrastructure Uses	No
Market Housing	163	Roads	206
Shopping Area	83	woodland	149
Offices	72	Nature Sites	79
IT Workplaces	71	Green Space	77
Social Housing	67	Solar / Wind Farm	62
Eco Homes	63	GP Surgery	59
Total Income Uses	519	Leisure	56
		Western Park	38
		Sport Playing Pitch	37
		Skills College	30
		Primary School	29
		Recycling Centre	29
		Total Infrastructure Uses	851

3.19  In participating in the masterplan consultation, some respondents achieved the balance of infrastructure cost with the necessary associated growth, whilst others did not. Not all respondents chose to ‘balance the books’ with respect to infrastructure and growth. In those cases, the Masterplan submissions primarily comprised only environment related infrastructure, effectively stating a wish for ‘no growth’. In all cases the respondents’ choices have enabled the Council to better understand the community’s priorities.

3.20  In terms of income generating land uses, as can be seen from the above table, Market Housing was the most frequently chosen. Employment-based items (Offices and IT Workplaces combined) were the second most popular income generating uses after housing reflecting the importance people placed on employment in creating balanced growth. In terms of infrastructure, ‘Woodland’ was most significant in its popularity, followed by ‘Nature Site’ and ‘Green Space’. In this analysis, the choice of Roads as the top Infrastructure Use, is considered not to reflect a preference of those that undertook the exercise, more a reflection of the understanding of roads as being necessary.

3.21  To accompany the masterplan submissions, a range of written responses were received.

3.22  Those respondents that were against further growth in Creswell, were generally of the view that the residential growth to date in the village has not led to improved/increased levels of infrastructure provision.

3.23  Respondents that were more ambivalent about growth often mentioned that it had a negative impact on the natural environment of Creswell. A view that was reflected in the masterplan submissions with natural environment land uses featuring highly on infrastructure priorities.



 

3.24  Where respondents supported growth in principle, they had the same concerns as those that were against growth, that growth had to translate into necessary infrastructure provision and environmental improvements. Effectively a balance of growth and nature.



Feedback: Community Event

3.25  The third public engagement was to provide feedback to participants and local stakeholders. In this, the Council worked in partnership with Digital Urban, a company that creates 3 dimensional digital recreations of places and virtual reality experiences.

3.26  The responses to the masterplan exercise were translated by Digital Urban into a virtual reality version of Creswell. The digitised Creswell showed the consolidation of recent and already planned growth together with potential new employment uses. As well as recent and proposed new housing, the range of recent and planned infrastructure was also shown, including the health centre. The environmental improvement project, Bolsover Community Woodlands was shown with the trees animated as growing over time.

3.27 On 27th July 2023, 109 people participated in the virtual reality balloon ride over Creswell at the Heritage and Wellbeing Centre. The feedback from the event focused on the usefulness of using virtual reality as a way of understanding Creswell in a different way. The use of virtual reality was well received by the attendees and anecdotally was found to help bring the housing, employment, and infrastructure proposals to life. The event brought forward a strong feeling of community pride.

3.28  The feedback from all three stages of public engagement has informed the choice of potential options in taking forward the preparation of a Growth Plan for Creswell.

4) Growth Plan Options

Views on Growth

4.5 There are however potential opportunities for village centre enhancement from bringing nature into the centre through tree planting and in the positive environmental and economic impact of bringing vacant buildings back in to use.

4.6 What has come out through the consultation responses is the need for increasing opportunities for social participation in Creswell. In addition to venues such as the Events Centre and Creswell Heritage and Wellbeing Centre, this could be achieved through the creation of more workplaces in the village and the informal social opportunities provided by outside space.

4.7  Based on the consultation responses received and the concerns raised, the following three potential options are put forward for a Growth Plan for Creswell.

Option A: Consolidation of already committed housing growth.

Option B: Consolidation of already committed housing growth but with additional employment growth.

Option C: Pursue additional housing and employment growth.


4.8 The following table summarises these three options.

Option A	Consolidation of planned housing growth	300 planned for houses at Colliery Road.	This level of growth is already provided for on committed windfall sites.
Option B	Consolidation of planned housing growth alongside additional employment growth within existing buildings	300 planned for houses at Colliery Road, with small scale employment growth.	Low level of employment growth focusing on the reuse of existing buildings and existing facilities in the village.
Option C	Pursue additional housing growth alongside additional employment growth	300 planned for houses together with additional residential and employment development.  The potential housing sites in Creswell can accommodate from 35 to 1,077 new houses. Additional employment growth on edge of village location(s).	A level of housing growth that would bring forward new infrastructure. Employment growth that would include purpose built new development.

Option A - Consolidation of already committed growth

4.12 The Strategy would prioritise maintenance as well as the potential for the enhancement of existing open spaces in and around the village.


4.13 Another key aim of the Strategy would be to explore the opportunities for increasing green infrastructure within the village and strengthening green links to the wider countryside. Acknowledging the important contribution of green spaces and nature to the quality of life in Creswell, a community centred approach will go hand in hand with improving ecological networks, addressing the health of both people and nature.


4.14 The focus of the Strategy would be Environmental Projects based in the village and surrounding area. The Delivery Plan would look at the different ways of delivering these projects on the ground in terms of the potential for community participation, the involvement of partnership organisations and the availability of funding to make things happen. The purpose of the strategy would be to have a list of Projects that are ‘ready to go’. As key to this, the opportunities provided by working in partnership with local landowners, businesses, and organisations to open up funding opportunities will be explored.




4.15 The Strategy will be a key document in supporting bids for funding to a range of bodies/organisations, national and local. It would also inform requests for S106 developer contributions from any future growth in Creswell.


4.16 Delivering the projects on the ground will provide an opportunity for a range of people from within the community of Creswell and Elmton to come together. In this, the Strategy will build on the Community Woodland Project, a district-wide project within which Creswell is the location of the flagship Lark Rise Community Woodland on Fox Green and the former spoil heap. The project works with communities to increase, improve, and link up Bolsover District’s trees, woodlands, and hedges with the aim to benefit wildlife and to help people get more from their green spaces.


4.17 The community participation component of the Community Green Strategy will take forward and expand on the progress already made by the Community Woodland Project to give everyone the opportunity to improve their physical and mental health through access to high quality local treescapes and related community activities. Its environmental projects will complement that of the woodland planting. The aim is for the quality of the green infrastructure and linkages in and around Creswell to be enhanced, thereby increasing the contribution of green infrastructure to the quality of life for the residents of Creswell into the future.





4.18 The Strategy would also help to take forward the aims of the Council’s Local Nature Recovery Action Plan (2022) as it relates to Creswell. In this there are opportunities from potential future growth in respect of developer’s contributions towards Biodiversity Net Gain, with the protection and restoration of local wildlife, and opportunities to re-introduce species lost from the local countryside.

 

Option B – Consolidation of already committed growth with additional employment growth within existing buildings and cafes spaces.

 

4.19 The focus of Option B is economic growth, alongside the consolidation of recent and planned housing and infrastructure and the Community Green Strategy as outlined under Option A.


4.20 This approach is based on using the built assets that Creswell already has, in the potential of existing buildings and businesses in the village to provide employment space for those working from home as self-employed or as hybrid workers with shared time between home working and office working.


4.21 Employment growth under this option would comprise desk-based workspaces in underused buildings as Shared Rural Workspaces as well as promoting table-based workspaces in the cafés and other existing venues in the village.



Shared Rural Workspaces


4.22 The underused buildings in Creswell represent a potential asset to the village. Some of these buildings provide space that can potentially accommodate a range of employment uses. One such use is Shared Rural Workspace, an initiative that has developed in a large number of rural areas across the country, more-so since the pandemic introduced hybrid working across a range of office-based employment.


4.23 Unlike serviced offices, shared rural workspaces comprise a range of desks/tables and seating that occupy a largely open space within a building. As such they allow for collaboration, knowledge sharing and chance meeting, whilst also enabling those that use it to be able to work privately. Such workspaces cater for hybrid workers, that is to say those office-based workers that also work from home for some of the week. It also caters for freelancers that are otherwise based at home.  As well as responding to the social needs of home-workers and freelancers, Shared Rural Workspace can address the sometimes-uneven provision of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) in villages, by providing ICT to a high specification.


4.24 The interior of the shared workspace building is key. Critically, it comprises a range of spaces, from comfy, cafe-style areas to reception areas where people can grab a seat and work in a way that suits them. Through the use of modular office furniture both collaborative and private spaces can be created. In this way the interior of shared workspace buildings can provide something for everyone. The environment of the workspace is homely in the way of being warm and welcoming. The approach is comfortable furniture, ambient lighting, plants, rugs, and soft furnishings to create comfortable and fluid spaces that help creative thinking.


4.25 In Creswell, the former Midland Railway station building and surrounding area are underused. The building and site could potentially accommodate such shared workspaces. The high architectural quality of the building and proximity of the Robin Hood rail connection from Creswell to neighbouring towns and cities provides an ideal location for a high-quality accessible working environment. There have been various studies undertaken investigating the former Station’s potential for employment uses. Under this growth option, these previous studies would provide the starting point to take forward the investigation of its potential for shared rural workspaces.


4.26 In the same way, traditional agricultural buildings also present an underused resource in respect of the potential to accommodate shared workspace. As well as the opportunity to combine high quality technology and a welcoming community workspace in an otherwise redundant rural building, their particular contribution to the provision of shared rural workspaces is the environment offered by an agricultural setting, providing the ideal relaxed location for creative thinking and work.






4.27 Shared rural workspaces in the reuse of agricultural buildings provide high quality office space with the emphasis on a natural landscape setting and access to the countryside. The setting can help contribute to a relaxed ambiance for networking and social interaction, a place to work, network and meet clients.

4.28 In Creswell, there are a number of 19th century farmsteads located around the historic core of the village. The high-quality landscape and network of footpaths from the farmstead’s out into the open countryside provides the ideal setting for the high-quality working environment that characterises shared rural workspaces.

4.29 It is possible to consider that the provision of shared rural workspace could help strengthen the community of Creswell, in that those who may presently work from home for some or all of the week, are able meet with others. In an environment to share business ideas and foster enterprise it would also provide the opportunity for business growth. In combining high quality technology and a welcoming community workspace, shared rural workspaces could also help support and grow the digital, knowledge-based, and creative economy within Creswell.


Co-working Cafes


4.30 Creswell has a range of cafés, either stand alone or as part of a community space, that could potentially provide co-working venues. A co-working cafe combines a traditional cafe with features of a shared workspace where people can work in a relaxed and social environment while enjoying the typical cafe amenities, such as coffee, snacks, and comfortable seating.

4.31 Basic requirements for a co-working café would comprise high-speed internet, printing services, power outlets, and office supplies to support productivity. If space allows, communal tables, or private meeting rooms possibly on upper floors where people can work in a collaborative setting. With the use of first floor rooms cafes could offer hot desking, meeting rooms and private offices which can be rented out for a day or on a more long-term basis. If hosting a meeting with a team or looking to set up a freelancer group there would need to be a big enough table.

4.32 As with shared workspace, co-working cafes offer an informal place to meet, network and potentially collaborate on projects. However, although co-working in a cafe provides the opportunity to socialise, it doesn’t have the consistency and range of people to be found in a shared workspace. Co-working cafes typically offer more flexibility in terms of usage however, as individuals can drop in for a few hours or a day at a time and without having to pay a fee.

4.33 The size of the café is fundamental to it working as both a café and a co-working space. It may not be viable for smaller cafés to give up tables to patrons who were occupying a table for a long time without buying food. Similarly for a co-worker the ambient noise in a small café may be too distracting for working. During the week a cafe could have a dedicated space for working, which could minimise such disruption.

4.34 The dilemma of how often a co-worker using a café needs to order drink/food to be welcome could be overcome by a membership scheme that would also offer discounts on food and drinks or the offer of ‘unlimited coffee’, and (if available on upper floors) hiring meeting rooms.

4.35 The different ways of delivering workspace in Creswell would be explored in a Creswell Workspace Strategy. This would be a multi-agency initiative with a range of Council departments working in partnership with local property owners, businesses, and organisations.

Option C – Pursue additional housing and employment growth

4.40 All Creswell LAA sites would need to bring forward developer contributions towards infrastructure which would be secured by S106 Agreement. Section 106 contributions fall within three main types: Green, Social and Physical infrastructure. Within these, contributions are most often sought towards education, sports and outdoor recreation, open space, affordable housing, highways, health, and art infrastructure. The level of contribution sought from each site against infrastructure is dependent on the numbers of houses approved.

4.41 The impact of further growth upon the natural environment of Creswell was raised in a number of consultation responses including from those who were not against growth. This is addressed in national legislation embodied by the Environment Act 2021 which requires that all new developments now contribute towards preserving biodiversity through creating or enhancing habitats. The mandatory requirement under the Act is a 10% uplift in biodiversity, known as Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG).

4.42 One of the main principles of BNG is the importance of the balance between the need for development and the natural environment. This is in acknowledgement that development often results in a significant impact on or loss of nature and habitat. BNG requires the developer to either incorporate additional habitats in the development or mitigate the loss by providing it elsewhere. The requirements under the Environment Act for BNG took effect in January 2024 for large sites and April


Shared Rural Workspaces