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Plans to build up to 12,000 new homes
UP TO 12,000 new homes could be built in the south of Rotherham, leading to claims this week that the roads and drains will never cope.
More than 350 acres of employment space have also been earmarked, as Rotherham Council aims to hit Government targets for 2026.
The Local Development Framework consultation document sets out three options, with only Rotherham town centre set for more development than Dinnington.
Senior planner Helen Sleigh said: "The target is another 24,500 homes between now and 2026, and about 300 hectares of land for employment."
"We have assessed the sites which are currently vacant in order to reach the three options in the document. The first only just meets our housing needs, the second extends that to include the area along the transport corridors."
"And Option Three is everything we have surveyed, although we won't be taking forward all these sites."
The proposals were discussed at Dinnington Resource Centre on Tuesday evening, when many community representatives said the transport and sewerage networks simply would not be able to deal with the proposed development.
But the third option was still the most popular, in order to allow for the greatest scope of options as the project moves forward.
Kiveton Community Development Trust director Steph Hryschko said: "Doing it this way around is going to put massive pressure on the existing infrastructures, and there's no room to expand the schools and widen the roads. I think they are just being a bit blinkered in their approach."
"We suggested having a fourth option on Tuesday, which was basically laughed off by the planning members. That was to use a large open space and start from scratch, sort of like they are doing at Waverley."
"They said that would be too expensive, but if you ask anyone who has renovated a house, they know it's a lot cheaper to build anew."
Wales Parish Council chairman Gill Shaw added: "I am also concerned how the schools and Doctors surgeries will cope with all these extra people. We are stretched to the limit as it is."
Anston borough councillor Darren Hughes said he echoed such concerns in his own ward, saying: "The planners should be thinking about the roads and infrastructure from the beginning, but at the moment it seems to be they'll sort that out when they come to it."
"Also, they have to make sure these communities, with lots of new properties, don't become isolated. There are problems in Treeton where the new estate doesn't integrate at all, and I don't the lessons have been learned for Waverley."
Todwick councillor Clive Bantry said: "We have a long time to produce the 24,000 houses, and in a situation like that I would suggest opting for the third choice, because it offers the most choice, and we can make decisions according to the circumstances that might come up in the next 17 years.
Trevor Stanway, from Laughton Parish Council, added: "There will be jobs in 2026 that we could never have envisaged. You just don't know what will happen, and Option Three will give us the most choice later."
An informal drop-in session will take place at Dinnington Resource Centre on Tuesday 21st July from 2pm to 7pm.
You can view the relevant documents at www.rotherham.gov.uk/forwardplanning. If you are unable to access the internet, a reference copy is available to view in the Guardian's Laughton Road.
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Weather for Dinnington
Wednesday 23 May 2012
Today
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Temperature: 12 C to 23 C
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