A bid to build 170 homes at the edge of a Leicestershire village is set to be decided next week. Catesby Strategic Land resubmitted its plan for the new homes, which it wants to build in fields off Leicester Road, in Countesthorpe, in February.
This is the developer’s second attempt to win approval for the scheme, after a largely identical plan was rejected in 2016. Despite similarities between the old and new applications, planning officers have recommended the scheme be approved.
The previous refusal went to appeal, and the council’s decision was upheld by the planning inspectorate but only because the authority could prove it had active plans in place to build the number of homes needed in the area, and this development was not on a pre-approved site for housing. However, council officers said the authority could no longer demonstrate that, so a refusal at this stage would not be upheld on those grounds should the new plan also go to an appeal.
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The planning inspectorate also considered at the time the council’s concern that the development would have a “harmful effect on the character and appearance of the area”. It disagreed with the local authority on that point, saying the impact would not be “significantly harmful”, and rejected it as a valid reason for refusing the application.
The authority’s third reason for denying permission for the 2016 scheme was the impact on nearby roads. However, prior to the appeal hearing, Catesby submitted a new plan to reduce highways concerns and these were accepted by the council, which subsequently withdrew this reason for refusal. The updated proposals for the road network included upgrading the roundabout at the Leicester Road/Foston Road junction and creating a fourth arm from Ladbroke Grove, which the developer said would “remove the existing queuing and delay issues” along the route. It also said it would widen the carriageway at the exit from Foston Road to “accommodate queuing vehicles turning both left and right”.
Both Blaby District Council, the authority which governs the area in which the application falls, and Leicestershire County Council as the highways authority have said those changes would be appropriate mitigation for the increased traffic on the roads from the new homes. The county council said “the impacts of the development on highway safety would not be unacceptable, and when considered cumulatively with other developments, the impacts on the road network would not be severe”.
However, many local residents and the surrounding parish councils disagree. Blaby District Council has received 715 comments on the latest plan, 700 of which were objecting to it.
Residents said they feared the proposal would exacerbate flooding in the area, which they said was particularly bad over the winter just gone. They also said the roads were already “dangerous”, and that there was too much traffic going through the village already.
They raised concerns that the new roundabout proposed in the plan would “unlikely be an improvement”, and that the new housing would create a “rat run” in the village. Objectors also claimed there was already a lack of school places, GP appointments and suitable shops in Countesthorpe. “Countesthorpe has had its fair share of new housing,” one said.
The scheme is one of a number of developments proposed for the village. The Catesby application was one of three housing developments submitted for the area in the same week. Cumulatively, they would total 426 new homes if all three were approved.
Countesthorpe Parish Council echoed its residents’ fears. A spokesperson said: “You will read a lot of comments from residents about lack of school places, inability to get an appointment at the health centre, the long queues to get in and out of the village at peak times, lack of leisure facilities, flooding, sewage problems, the strength of roads, the width of the pavements, the danger on the roads.
“They are real, lived consequences of Countesthorpe’s infrastructure being already overloaded.”
They added: “The parish council has significant concerns about the adverse impact on local services and facilities, if the cumulative effect of this and other potential developments are not given consideration, with the potential increase in the population of Countesthorpe by a third.”
Blaby Parish Council said the development would also put strain on roads in its own village. A spokesperson for the authority said: “Roads are already very congested, especially if there has been an accident on the motorway or when the roads are flooding. If this development was to be approved, there could be up to approximately 340 additional vehicles on the roads. The infrastructure needs to be put in place, otherwise Blaby will become gridlocked.”
Kilby Parish Council said the application formed part of a “creeping expansion” of Countesthorpe which would also impact on neighbouring areas such as Kilby itself. Again, the concerns raised centred around traffic issues. A spokesperson said: “Local residents are already victims of the noise, pollution, congestion and risks to road safety caused by Main Street Kilby forming part of a ‘rat run’ for vehicles from Countesthorpe, Blaby and villages beyond travelling to and from destinations to the east, especially at peak times.”
Blaby District Council’s planning committee will meet next week to debate the scheme. Catesby has applied for outline permission only, meaning it would only be approved in principle if councillors followed officers recommendation to approve it. The full details would be decided through a later application.