Opposition of local plan in and around Hucknall continues

Hucknall residents are continuing to campaign against Ashfield District Council's Local Plan despite the news that it will be paused when the first public consultation finishes in November.

The Plan includes controversial proposals to build 3000 houses on Whyburn Farm, which is greenbelt land, in Hucknall.

This has unsurprisingly caused uproar amongst the people in the town and led to a public meeting being held at The John Godber Centre nine days ago (Saturday 16 October) where there was an opportunity for attendees to quiz a panel made up of Councillors and local campaigners about the issue.

There has been the creation of a Facebook group opposing the Plan which has amassed over 4000 members in three weeks of being in existence.

An e-petition has also been created and has already been signed by over 2500 people.

On Saturday (23 October) some of the campaigners took to Sutton market with paper copies of the petition to garner some support from across the District.

One of the people leading this was former Labour Councillor John Wilkinson. Speaking exclusively to Hucknall Nub News, he said: "We collected 120 signatures form people in Sutton in a very short period of time which just shows this Plan isn't just regarded with hopelessness in Hucknall because Sutton itself will suffer. In fact, the whole of Ashfield will suffer from a Plan that tries to build massive estates in single areas, obviously on Greenbelt in Hucknall.

"There's a 1000 house settlement going in in Sutton. And the one thing that goes through all this is the notion of overdevelopment whether it's Sutton, or in Kirkby or Hucknall houses are being built without the guaranteed services that are needed to make it work. That was exactly the response we were getting in Sutton on Saturday."

Mandy Shaw who started the e-petition noted that the interest in the cause is not just restricted to Hucknall residents.

Speaking exclusively to Hucknall Nub News, she said: "I've had people contact me from Sutton and from other areas in Ashfield asking if they can have a petition to take out and get their friends and family to sign so it's not NIMBY (not in my back yard) basically people are fed up of being told what they've got to do.

"I've been absolutely amazed by the response that we've had and it's daily. Jemma (Chambers, the founder of the Facebook group) and I and other members of our little steering group get messages daily from people outside of Hucknall saying we support you can we sign your petition, can we take a petition round for you? So, it's not just Hucknall people who are against this Plan there are others as well."

The group has also adopted yellow ribbons as their symbol. Many residents have now taken to wearing them to show their opposition to the Plan. This even spread to Westminster when Hucknall MP Mark Spencer wore a pin badge with the yellow ribbon on it during Prime Minister's Questions on Wednesday (20 October).

Pauline Stevenson began the idea when she decided to put ribbons next to the planning notices on Whyburn Lane to draw people's attention to the Council's Plan. She has now put yellow ribbons on Hucknall market to raise awareness of the issue.

Speaking exclusively to Hucknall Nub News, she said: "I thought it would be a good idea to put the ribbons near the posters so people will see the ribbons and think what's that all about and it's worked! They're all down the bypass, they're going to be all over Hucknall, and it brings more attention to our cause and it's working quite well. Everyone's wearing one.

"You see posters everywhere and you just walk past them but this draws attention and everybody's looking at them and saying it's such a good idea to do it."

Anyone wishing to sign the e-petition against the Plan can do so here.