Consultation gathers feedback on major employment site plan

A public consultation has been held to gather feedback on plans for a major employment site in Derbyshire.

Verdant Regeneration wants to create the 200-acre, rail connected scheme near to Junction 25 of the M1, on part of the former Stanton Ironworks.

Verdant completed a deal for the site towards the end of last year – and first revealed its plans for the development – called New Stanton Park – back in April.

Last month it launched a public consultation, which closed on 5 November. It is now going through those responses ahead of a submission to Erewash Borough Council.

According to Verdant, if the scheme gets to go-ahead, the site could provide up to 261,471 sq metres of employment space and create 4,000 new jobs.

Since purchasing the site, Verdant has been working with the borough council and a wide range of stakeholders to draft proposals for the regeneration of the site, which is off Lows Lane, in Ilkeston.

A number of plans were put forward as part of the consultation. The main benefits include the remediation and re-use of a large, brownfield site, to provide employment space and create jobs.

The plans also include consolidation of the existing rail line and provision of new rail spur; retention of approximately 50 acres of woodland and waterways for biodiversity; creation of a substantial new pond within the site for drainage and re-routing National Cycle Route 67 to make it a safer, more pleasant route for cyclists and pedestrians.

David Ward, director of Verdant Regeneration, said: “The team has been working closely with Erewash Borough Council and a wide range of stakeholders to prepare a planning application that offers significant economic development and employment in a scheme, which also retains much of the green open space and waterways within the site.”

New Stanton Park site has already been identified by the borough council as a key regeneration site in its Core Strategy.

With a direct and operational link to the Midland Main Line railway, the site has potential to become a key distribution point for materials being imported and exported efficiently throughout the UK and beyond.