Evans Concrete, Ripley, Derbyshire
 
This scheme, seeking outline planning permission for 46 dwellings was approved in March 2009 and was the result of a long series of negotiations with the Local Authority on an existing manufacturing site within the town of Ripley, Derbyshire. At the time of the application, the site was designated for business and industrial use within the local plan and as such, a detailed business case was put together from the outset to demonstrate that the client’s operation was increasing in size and had outgrown the current facility. An alternative employment site for the company was then located within the borough and a number of acoustic, ecological and highway assessments were then carried out to clarify that the site could be rendered suitable for residential use in terms of amenity and access arrangements.
 
A number of scheme proposals for the development were then put together clarifying how the site would be developed to ensure that any adjacent noise generated from commercial neighbours would be attenuated along with showing suitable access facilities to and from the site on to the busy connector road adjacent. Lastly, prior to submission of a formal planning application, a public consultation was carried out giving neighbours and local councilors an opportunity to have input into the proposals and any suggestions were then incorporated into the scheme prior to its submission.
 
The consequent planning application was submitted for approval and  the decision in favour of the proposal granted at planning committee within the allotted time scale. This resulted is a significant increase in housing provision for the borough, proving that despite the proposal being contrary to local plan policy, a favourable outcome could be achieved which was to the benefit of the locality, the authority and most importantly, the client.