New town bid picked as preferred housing option

PLANS for a new town with 2,750 homes, a retail centre and industrial park in Lutterworth have been recommended as the preferred development option for the area.

Planners at Harborough District Council have advised bosses to select “Lutterworth East” as its strategic development area to meet housing and employment targets up to 2031.

The proposal is to develop a huge 504-acre swathe of countryside spanning from south of Misterton to north of Bitteswell.

The development, which is the size of 252 football pitches, would be linked to Lutterworth via a new road and motorway bridge crossing the M1.

Proposals also include a new primary school, a country park and employment opportunities.

The option was one of four being considered by the district council as part of its new Local Plan.

A council report said Lutterworth East was the preferred option due to its good transport links, with proposed changes at junction 20 of the M1 and the A4304, as well as the possibility of a new bypass.

However the costs of building the new infrastructure would be significant and is a “major constraint”. But the option would deliver “major positive effects” on housing, economy, health and well-being which, combined with employment opportunities at Magna Park, makes the development “far better than all others” in socioeconomic terms.

However half of the