New plan for Kimberworth housing estate submitted
A NEW estate of houses could be on the way for a Rotherham suburb, under plans being considered by council planners.
If approved, it will mean a plot of unused land in Kimberworth being used for 27 new homes.
The land, off Pollard Street, is own by a company called Kruidberg Capital and is said to be already designated for residential use, according to planning documents.
The proposal involved constructing two and three bedroomed homes on the site, which was earmarked for development in Rotherham Council’s local plan - a blueprint to guide major developments in the borough, adopted in 2018.
It is a short distance from Meadowbank Road, giving easy access to the M1 as well as Rotherham.
The only access to the site - which is on a steep gradient - is from Pollard Street.
The site is around 130 metres long, with the land rising by more than 21 metres from its lowest to its highest point, a gradient of one in six.
That topography has influenced the proposed design for the site, to address issues including drainage.
In 2020, a planning application for the land was approved and that could have seen 30 split-level bungalows constructed there.
However, work did not start and the application - from a different developer - has since lapsed.
Talks with council planners has confirmed the authority still agrees to the principle of housing on the site - but suggested all gardens should be around 12 metres deep, something which was not achieved with all properties planned on the previous application.
The layout of the site has been proposed with homes fronting onto a new access road, providing “strong natural surveillance”, while the design would also allow for “defensible private rear gardens”, according to plans.
New trees would be planted in public areas, alongside existing specimens which would be retained, documents state.
Most of the housing would be over two storeys, but seven would have three floors, though the sloping site means that from the rear, only the top two storeys would be visible.
It is proposed those homes would have garaging on the ground floor.
A decision on the application will be made later.