New date for Matlock housing options meeting
- Monday, 25 June 2012 07:48
A new date and venue have been announced after unexpected demand led to the postponement last Thursday (21 June) of a scheduled public meeting in Matlock to discuss future housing options for the town.
The new meeting will take place in the sports hall at the Lumsdale site of Highfields Upper School on Wednesday 18 July from 7pm to 9pm.
Last Thursday around 150 people arrived at Matlock's Imperial Rooms for the meeting in a room that is licensed for only 100 - so Derbyshire Dales District Council had no option but to reluctantly reschedule.
A spokesman said:
"We're pleased to have found a bigger venue after the turnout for the original public meeting took us by surprise. Previous consultations on housing options in Matlock had attracted around 40 people and indeed that was the number who attended the first of the public meetings in Ashbourne on Monday evening last week.
"We are of course delighted so many people want to have their say and we unreservedly apologise to everyone who was inconvenienced the first time around. We attempted to take everyone's name and address and are contacting these people direct about the new date and venue.
"A further complication on 21 June seems to have been that many people turned up thinking a final decision was going to be made at the meeting. This was never the case - a decision will be taken by Members later this year after all the consultation feedback has been assimilated."
The deadline for receiving comments on the housing options for the whole of the Derbyshire Dales has now been extended by a month to 30 August.
The District Council announced on 14 June that local people were being given another opportunity to have their say on where 4,400 new homes will be built in the Derbyshire Dales by the year 2028 to meet future housing demands.
The first public meeting and exhibition in the six-week consultation took place in Ashbourne on 18 June, giving local people another chance to have their say on where developments should happen.
To meet the 4,400 target, land for housing needs to be allocated in the forthcoming Derbyshire Dales Local Plan, with the provisional distribution projecting 270 new homes in Matlock, 60 in Wirksworth, 160 in Darley Dale, 30 in Tansley, 400 in Ashbourne, 50 in Doveridge and 50 in Brailsford.
The District Council's series of public exhibitions and public meetings enables residents to discuss issues with planning officers and make their comments known.
The housing options proposals can also be viewed and commented on online.
Remaining Housing Options exhibition dates and venues are:
- Wed 27 June: Tansley Village Hall Exhibition 2-6pm, Public Meeting 7-9pm
- Thu 28 June: Doveridge Village Hall Exhibition 2-6pm, Public Meeting 7-9pm
- Wed 4 July: Darley Dale, Terrace Room, Whitworth Centre1 Exhibition 2-6pm, Public Meeting 7-9pm
- Wed 18 July: Matlock Highfields Upper School sports hall (Lumsdale), Public Meeting 7-9pm
Information is also be available at Matlock, Wirksworth and Ashbourne Libraries during normal opening hours.
