Residential
Primrose Lane, Killamarsh
12
Residential/Care
Scheme Summary
80 homes + Care Home
North East Derbyshire District Council
Community Engagement
The Situation
North East Derbyshire needs new homes in sustainable, well-connected locations. The land off Primrose Lane presented a straightforward opportunity: arable fields bounded by existing residential development to the south and west, employment land and the Chesterfield Canal to the north and east, and an approved housing scheme already under construction immediately adjacent.
The site's connectivity is exceptional. It sits within miles of the Halfway Park and Ride providing frequent Supertram services to Sheffield, with bus stops just a 10 minute walk away. Killamarsh Local Centre — Aldi, Co-op, medical clinic, library — is 850m away. Schools are within walking distance. And Rother Valley Country Park, with its 750 acres of trails and nature reserve, is accessible on foot.
The question wasn't whether this location made sense for development. It was how to extend the existing community thoughtfully while maximising the site's natural and transport assets.
The Approach
Stratland commissioned Spawforths to prepare an engagement brochure making the strategic case for the site's contribution to North East Derbyshire's housing need. The document was built around three pillars: connectivity, containment, and community benefit.
The spatial strategy mapped the site's relationship to the wider Sheffield city region — showing how proposed infrastructure improvements including the Barrow Hill Line reopening and a new Killamarsh station would further strengthen an already well-connected location along the Staveley Growth Corridor.
At site level, the approach focused on working with existing features rather than against them. The Chesterfield Canal and its mature tree belt provide a natural buffer to neighbouring employment uses. The site's topography — falling from south to north — creates opportunities for naturalised drainage and landscape-led design.
The Outcome
The illustrative masterplan proposes a residential development with diverse housing options — affordable homes, family housing, and dedicated senior living provision to the south of the site. The canal and tree belt form a robust northern boundary, while the southern edge connects seamlessly to the existing approved development.
The northern edge of the site is naturalised with wildflower meadows and public open space along the existing watercourse, linking to the adjacent land. Existing hedgerows and trees are retained with walking routes connecting through to the wider public right of way network and on to Rother Valley Country Park.
The site sits within Flood Zone 1 with no heritage constraints, no statutory ecological designations, and no impact on Green Belt function — a clean, deliverable opportunity in a location where the infrastructure already exists to support new homes.
