Plans have been submitted to build two homes on a secluded plot of land behind South Street in Ilkeston town centre.
The application proposes two two-bedroom houses on former rear gardens and the site of abandoned brick sheds associated with numbers 60, 62 and 64 South Street.
The enclosed plot sits between South Street and Albert Street, immediately behind Ilkeston Jobcentre.
According to the submitted plans, the two-storey, semi-detached building would contain one home on either side.
Each property would have a lounge, kitchen-diner and bathroom on the ground floor, with two bedrooms and storage space upstairs.
No vehicle access or parking
The development would have no vehicle access or on-site parking.
The main entrance would be a two-metre-wide pedestrian route beside number 35 Albert Street. A second, narrower route beside number 64 South Street is described in the documents as an emergency or informal access.
Secure storage for four bicycles would be provided, while the applicant says residents would use off-street parking available in the surrounding area.
However, the submitted documents do not appear to explain how removals, large deliveries or construction traffic would be managed.
With no way for a vehicle to reach the proposed houses, building materials, furniture and other large items would seemingly have to be carried from a vehicle parked on a nearby street and taken through the pedestrian access.
Landscaping and wildlife features
A shared landscaped area would be created alongside the homes.
The proposals include wildflower and pollinator-friendly planting, two Japanese maple trees, bird and bat boxes, bee bricks, rockery features and log piles intended to provide habitats for insects and small mammals.
A biodiversity report says the 309-square-metre site currently consists largely of hardstanding, covered ground, waste and poor-quality former garden land.
The report claims the proposed landscaping would produce a biodiversity net gain significantly above the statutory ten per cent requirement.
Site within conservation area
The land is within Ilkeston Conservation Area and is also identified as being inside an Archaeological Alert Area.
A heritage statement submitted with the application says the plot may once have been connected to the former Wesley Chapel, which occupied the site now used by Ilkeston Job Centre.
The chapel was used as a place of worship between 1845 and 1957 before being demolished in 1968. The report says archaeological material associated with its former use could potentially remain beneath the ground.
It argues that the proposed development would have a limited visual effect on the conservation area because the homes would be set behind existing buildings and would not be visible from the public highway on South Street or Albert Street.
The houses would have brick walls, pitched dark-grey roofs and white windows intended to reflect the appearance of surrounding properties.
The application will now be considered by Erewash Borough Council.
What do you think of the proposal? Would two new homes be a good use of this disused town-centre land – and do you have concerns about the lack of vehicle access?