Residents have until 24 November to comment
A planning application has been submitted for a 60-metre industrial mixing tower at New Stanton Park – a structure that would become the tallest building anywhere in Erewash and the centrepiece of a major new render-manufacturing complex proposed by international firm Fassa Bortolo.
The deadline for public comments is Sunday 24 November.
🏗 A structure unlike anything else in the area
The proposed mixing tower would stand at 60 metres (196ft) – roughly:
- Three times the height of Bennerley Viaduct,
- As tall as a 20-storey building,
- And equivalent to 20 double-decker buses stacked on top of each other.
Nothing of this scale currently exists in Ilkeston, Stanton, Trowell or Kirk Hallam.
Under the original masterplan for the site, buildings were capped at 21 metres.
The developer’s own Planning Statement confirms the proposal far exceeds this limit and therefore requires a brand-new application.
🏭 Part of a much larger industrial plant
The tower is one element of a wider industrial development that includes:
- A milling tower
- A material reception tower
- A material storage tower
- A 13-metre high main warehouse
- Laboratories, compressors, dryers and conveyors
- Extensive HGV yards and loading areas
- A new two-storey training and office block
Internal drawings show the mixing tower contains 11 floors of machinery, used to dry, mill, store and mix limestone, cement, gypsum and additives to produce render products.
The company describes the building as “process-driven” and says the height is required to allow material to flow vertically through the system.
👀 Visible from Stanton, Trowell, Nutbrook Trail and even 3-4km away
The official Landscape & Visual Impact Assessment (LVIA) includes photomontages from multiple viewpoints.
These show the tower would be visible from:
- Nutbrook Trail (just 109m away)
- Stanton-by-Dale
- Kirk Hallam
- Trowell
- Ilkeston town edge
- The M1 corridor
- And in some cases nearly 4km away
The LVIA concludes the tower would be “highly visible to a significant number of people”, including walkers, cyclists and drivers.
🌙 Lighting and night-time impact
A 109-page lighting assessment shows:
- Dozens of LED floodlights across the site
- Yard lighting up to 10 metres high
- An aviation warning light at the top of the tower
- Lux levels similar to supermarket car parks in some areas
This raises concerns about night-time glow over the Erewash Valley – particularly as the site borders the Erewash Canal Local Wildlife Site.
🚛 Heavy HGV activity
According to the Transport Statement and Planning Statement:
- The plant will import 32,000 tonnes of limestone per month from Matlock
- Plus cement, lime and gypsum
- Using 16.5–18.5m articulated lorries
- Entering and leaving via Low’s Lane and the A608
Outflows of finished product also require regular HGV movements.
🌿 Sensitive location next to the canal
The ecological report confirms the site sits immediately beside the:
- Erewash Canal Local Wildlife Site
- Nutbrook Trail
- A newly-installed bat house
The report highlights the need to keep canal-side lighting below 1 lux to avoid harming wildlife.
📣 How to comment before 24 November
Residents can have their say in three ways:
1️⃣ Online
Search for planning application:
ERE 1025/0059
on the Erewash Borough Council website, then click “Make a Comment”.
2️⃣ Email
📧 planning@erewash.gov.uk
Include reference ERE 1025/0059 and your name and address.
3️⃣ Post
Planning Department
Erewash Borough Council
Town Hall
Ilkeston
DE7 5RP
📝 What happens next
Erewash Borough Council will review public comments before deciding whether to approve the 60-metre tower and the wider industrial complex.
Given the scale of the proposal – and the short timeframe – residents are encouraged to share their views before the deadline.
One Comment
We’re on moorebridge lane we don’t need more lorry’s down here