Richborough has appealed the refusal of up to 200 homes on Green Belt land off Burnside Grove, Tollerton. A public inquiry will decide; comments are due by 17 November.

A developer is appealing against Rushcliffe’s refusal of up to 200 homes on Green Belt farmland at the north edge of Tollerton. The appeal will be decided at a public inquiry, the most formal kind of planning hearing.

Anyone can comment. The Planning Inspectorate must receive comments by Tuesday 17 November 2026, quoting appeal reference 6016761.

The applicant is Richborough. Its outline application, 25/02016/OUT, covers land north of Russell Farm Close, with access from Burnside Grove. Rushcliffe Borough Council refused it on 26 March 2026. The appeal started on 13 October, and the council wrote to everyone who had commented on 20 October. (Rushcliffe Borough Council, application 25/02016/OUT)

What Richborough wants to build

The appellant’s statement of case describes the scheme:

  • up to 200 homes, a mix of one to four bedrooms
  • 90 affordable homes (45%), which it says is 15 points above the usual 30% requirement
  • a site of about 9.26 hectares of arable land, at about 35 homes per hectare
  • public open space, a children’s play area and sustainable drainage
  • vehicle access from Burnside Grove only

Richborough says it would accept a “local connections” rule, so the affordable homes could go first to people with a link to Tollerton.

Why the council said no

The council gave six reasons in its decision notice:

  1. Green Belt. The scheme is “inappropriate development”, and no “very special circumstances” outweigh the harm.
  2. Wrong place for growth. Tollerton is an “other village” where new housing is limited to local needs, and the site is not allocated in the Tollerton Neighbourhood Plan.
  3. Traffic. It had not been shown the village’s roads and junctions could cope safely.
  4. Access. It had not been shown that a road from Burnside Grove could be built to a standard the highway authority would adopt.
  5. Neighbours. Queues to turn onto Melton Road could harm people living on Lenton Avenue, Bentinck Avenue and Stanstead Avenue.
  6. Farmland. The site would mean the permanent loss of best and most versatile agricultural land.

The officer’s report puts that loss at 5.7 hectares. It also records 259 objections. Traffic and the single access road were the most common themes. Tollerton Parish Council objected as well, arguing the site sat wholly in the Green Belt and that no need had been shown. (Tollerton Parish Council objection)

The argument will turn on four homes

The first reason for refusal rests on Rushcliffe’s housing supply, and that is where the appeal will be fought.

Under national rules, Green Belt land that counts as “grey belt” can be built on where there is an unmet need for homes. The council’s own pre-application advice accepted the site could reasonably be treated as grey belt, according to Richborough’s statement. The council’s case is that there is no unmet need, because it can show a five-year supply of housing land.

The two sides read the same figures differently:

  • The council says it has 5.1 years of supply. That comes from its February 2026 assessment: 4,676 deliverable homes, against a need of 873 a year plus a 5% buffer.
  • Richborough says the need should now be 890 a year, using housing data published in March and May 2026. On that figure, it says the same 4,676 homes is exactly 5.00 years, a surplus of just four homes.

Richborough also says some sites in the council’s list are not deliverable and that some build rates are too optimistic. If the inspector agrees the supply falls below five years, the Green Belt reason weakens considerably. (Appellant’s statement of case, 24 September 2026)

The same 890-a-year figure sits behind the borough’s new Local Plan, which we covered when its first consultation opened.

What it means for you

  • To comment, use the Planning Inspectorate’s comment on a planning appeal service with reference 6016761, by 17 November. Comments go to Richborough and the council as well as the inspector.
  • If you objected to the application, your comment has already been passed on. The council’s letter says you can add to it, change it or withdraw it.
  • To take a formal part in the inquiry, a group or, unusually, an individual can apply to the Inspectorate for “Rule 6” status. That allows you to give evidence and cross-examine witnesses. The council says anyone interested should contact the Inspectorate immediately.
  • To read the papers, open the Documents tab on the application page, or visit the West Bridgford Customer Contact Point at West Bridgford Library.

No inquiry date has been published yet. The Inspectorate says it is still finalising the arrangements. The decision will be posted on the same appeals website.

This is separate from the much larger Gamston and Tollerton scheme for 2,250 homes, which is still waiting for National Highways’ view on the A52. More decisions are on our planning news page.