Public meeting planned over proposed 40-home Cliffe Road development

Residents campaigning to protect a prominent green space and popular viewpoint in Glossop are urging the public to attend a meeting to discuss proposals to build more than 40 homes on the site.

Friends of Whitfield Green Spaces is organising a public forum at Whitfield Community Centre on Ebenezer Street on Tuesday 20th October at 6.30pm, to outline its concerns about the planning application for land at Cliffe Road and St Mary’s Fields.  

The application, registered under planning reference HPK/2026/0358, has prompted concern among campaigners who say the elevated site is an important green space, valued for its open views across Glossop town centre and its contribution to the area’s landscape character.  

The group previously nominated the site for designation as a Local Green Space in the new High Peak Borough Council Local Plan. Campaigners say their nomination attracted more than 1,176 signatures within a week and is still being considered by the council.  

However, a planning application for more than 40 homes has since been submitted for the same land. According to the group, the council has confirmed that it must consider the planning application while the Local Green Space nomination remains pending.  

A previous application to develop the site was unanimously rejected by High Peak Borough Council in 2020, with the loss of visual amenity among the key concerns cited by campaigners.  

Friends of Whitfield Green Spaces says it recognises the need for sufficient housing but believes the current proposal would result in a significant loss of public green space without delivering sufficient social benefits.  

Among its concerns are the impact on the landscape and views across Glossop, potential wildlife and biodiversity losses, traffic and pedestrian safety, drainage and flood risks, and possible land instability because of the site’s elevated and sloping position.  

The group also points to the developer’s ecological assessment, which it says indicates a 22% biodiversity loss, and questions how the development would meet the requirement for a 10% net gain in biodiversity. Campaigners say the application does not provide a clear plan for achieving that gain.  

The group has also raised concerns about the absence of proposed affordable or social housing, with the developer reportedly stating that affordable homes would not be economically viable.  

Derbyshire County Council has objected to the application on grounds relating to the assessment of drainage, flooding and land instability, according to the campaign group.  

The group plans to submit a formal objection and is encouraging residents to make their own representations to High Peak Borough Council before the objection deadline of 29th October.  

The public forum on Tuesday 20th October will give residents an opportunity to hear more about the application, discuss the campaign’s main objections and find out how to make their views known.  

The group has invited local elected representatives and council officers to attend but says it has yet to receive a response.