Bellway Homes has been given planning permission to build 259 new homes on a site in Hazlemere where fly-tipped waste caught fire and burned for weeks earlier this year.

The developer has had the final sign-off from Buckinghamshire Council’s planning director on its proposed new housing development on the land off the A404 Amersham Road.

It comes after councillors approved the plans and deferred them to the planning director in October 2023, despite huge public opposition to the new development.

A deed struck between Bellway and the council was published this week, stipulating that 48 per cent of the new homes must be ‘affordable’.

The legally binding document is what is known as a ‘Section 106’ agreement, which local authorities use to hold a developer to certain obligations as part of its planning permission.

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Prior to this final sign-off on Bellway’s plans, the company’s Hazlemere site has been in the news a lot this year following a fire which burned there for several weeks from April into May.

Bellway said rubbish at a former coachyard on the site caught light after an estimated 70 truckloads of waste were illegally dumped there by fly-tippers who smashed through a gate and removed large concrete blocks to gain access.

Smoke from the smouldering material caused some nearby residents to feel sick and a subsequent report uncovered by the Bucks Free Press revealed that investigators had found total petroleum hydrocarbon (TPH) – a chemical classed as ‘hazardous – present in burnt soil samples.

Bellway’s PR firm said that the discovery of TPH, a chemical found in crude oil, was standard for former industrial premises, that it did not present a risk to residents and that all waste was removed from the site ahead of its forthcoming redevelopment.

Bellway’s original plans for the site included 290 homes, but this was scaled back to 259 following a public consultation, with the developer also promising more green space on the estate than it had initially planned.

Its approved plans for the land include 495 parking spaces, 261 of which are allocated, as well as a new vehicular access off Amersham Road and new sports and play areas for children.

The houses will be a mix of private, custom build, first homes, shared ownership and ‘affordable’ rental, with properties ranging from one to four bedrooms.

Bellway said it had tailored its plans to local feedback and 30 people wrote in support of its proposals to redevelop the site.

However, around 300 residents objected to the developer’s blueprints, as well as the ward councillors and Hazlemere Parish Council.

Some of the main issues raised were a perceived lack of appropriate parking, the loss of biodiversity, a lack of a sense of separation between Hazlemere and Holmer Green and the expectant burden that residents of the new homes will place on already-pressurised local services.

The NHS Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire and West Berkshire Integrated Care Board said the increased population ‘would amount to further pressure on GP practices through the need for more consulting rooms and larger/additional waiting areas and car parking’.

The MP for Chesham and Amersham Sarah Green, who was among the objectors, also raised the issue of a lack of primary school and GP capacity in the area.

She wrote: “This lack of infrastructure will have a significant impact on my constituents in Holmer Green.”