Legal moves opposing garden village in Derbyshire

In a legal letter to the council, local campaigner and business owner Dominic Webb raises concerns over the postponement of financial contributions from the developer for SEND (Special Educational Needs and Disabilities) provision, as well as the development’s impact on heritage assets and the environment. 

Mr Webb will consider applying for a judicial review claim if the council does not agree that permission for the development, which has received objections from more than 6,000 people, should be quashed. 

Plans for the garden village, known as Clowne Garden Village, were first given support by the council in 2018, before being held up due to discussions over highway improvement schemes.  

In September 2024, the council reaffirmed its support for the plans in principle, despite concerns being raised that the proposal was outdated after being first submitted in 2018.  

Objecting to the development, residents in the area have argued it would lead to overcrowding, create drainage and flooding problems, negatively impact the wildlife, and place a strain on highways, health services and education. 

The decision to grant conditional outline planning permission for the development was rubber stamped on 20 August 2025. 

In the months before permission was granted, Mr Webb took issue with the council over a decision to allow the developer to defer payments to Derbyshire County Council to help fund SEND support, which Mr Webb argues breaches duties to have due regard to the equality impacts of decisions in the public sector. 

In the letter, sent by law firm Leigh Day to Bolsover District Council on Mr Webb’s behalf, several potential grounds for judicial review are set out, including allegations over a failure to assess the impacts of the development on heritage assets and the environment. 

The proposed grounds of the claim are: 

• The decision to grant planning permission fails to have regard for the impact that the deferral of SEND provisions would have on the need to advance equality of opportunity for people with protected characteristics, and the justifications for the deferral were unlawful.  
• Further assessment of the development’s impacts on archaeology and heritage should have been required.  
• There was a breach of Habitats Regulations in that there was no clear reasoned conclusion provided on whether the development could result in disturbance or damage to breeding sites for local wildlife.  
• There was a breach of Environmental Impact Assessment Regulations in that there was no assessment of whether the development would impact the structural integrity of the local reservoir, the impact of greenhouse gas emissions from the construction, and the cumulative environmental effects of the housing development with a proposed hotel and waterpark adjacent to the site. 

Dominic Webb, who is also chair of Clowne Garden Village Action Group, said: 

“Residents of Clowne and Barlborough have been subjected to a process that has dragged on for over eight years, without any finality, by a district council that has failed to heed residents’ clear concerns. The council’s own planning committee members have expressed concern over the process undertaken. 

“It therefore right that having failed to represent residents in any shape or form, the district council now faces a simple choice. Either quash the legally unsound decision to approve planning permission, or defend its actions in the High Court.   

“Leigh Day brings countless years of fighting such injustices to the table and I am pleased we have been able to secure their help in seeking to have this antiquated planning application properly reviewed by the courts.” 

Leigh Day solicitor Rowan Smith, who represents Mr Webb, said: 

“Our client is arguing that Bolsover District Council has wrongly allowed the garden village developer to delay making payment to Derbyshire County Council for SEND provisions. This support is important to make sure there is equal of opportunity for people with special educational needs and disabilities. Our client is also arguing that there were significant gaps in the environmental assessment process of the planning application. Mr Webb hopes that this letter will prompt Bolsover District Council to agree that its grant of planning permission should be rescinded.”