Consultation events planned for borough
Local consultation events are being planned across the borough:
Drop-in sessions: Markfield Community Centre, January 17 from 9.30 to 12.30pm
Bagworth Community Centre, January 17 from 1.30 – 4.30pm
Burbage Millennium Hall, January 18 from 1.30 to 5pm
Age UK Earl Shilton, January 24 from 9.30 to 12.30pm
George Ward Centre Barwell, January 24 from 1.30 to 4.30pm
Drop-in Presentations
St Peters Parish Hall Market Bosworth (housing), January 30 from 4.45 to 7.30pm
Memorial Hall Sheepy (vision and environment), February 2 from 3 to 6pm
Sports Pavilion Newbold and Themed Verdon (overarching strategy and infrastructure), February 12 from 2 to 7pm
Village Hall Witherley (overarching strategy and infrastructure), February 15 from 4.30 to 7.30pm
Groby Village Hall (healthy lives and tourism), February 21 from 4.30 to 7.30pm
Atkins Building Hinckley (economic development), February 26 from 4.30 to 7.30pm FAR-REACHING plans for housing, transport and industrial growth projects across the borough are going out for public scrutiny.
The suggestions for Hinckley and Bosworth form just part of the ambitious - and contentious - raft of development proposals for the whole of Leicestershire over the next three decades.
Two blueprints are being promoted, the draft new Local Plan specifically for Hinckley and Bosworth borough and the overarching Strategic Growth Plan (SGP) which covers the whole of Leicestershire, including the city of Leicester.
Each outlines how many new homes should be built, where transport links should be improved or created and which pockets of land could be used for employment parks and economic expansion.
If accepted and adopted the plans will guide how the borough and county will develop up to 2036 and beyond to 2050.
Each settlement and every resident will be affected by this growth in one way or another.
Specifically for Hinckley and Bosworth the plans suggest a housing need provision of 454 new dwellings per year up to 2036 and also up until 2050.
However, these figures are likely to increase due to the borough taking some of the burden of residential requirement from both Leicester City and Oadby and Wigston, both of which say they don’t have enough available land to fulfil their housing need quota.
The SGP is being generated by the Leicester and Leicestershire Enterprise Partnership and all the local authorities in the county. Each authority has agreed if one area falls short on its housing capacity, the other councils will take up the slack.
As well as this the SGP suggests the borough should be accounting for up to 62 hectares of employment land for office, light and general industrial operations and small scale storage and distribution usage up to 2031 and a further nine hectares up to 2036.
This doesn’t take into account land supply for major warehouse and logistics operations - such as those proposed in the burgeoning strategic rail freight hub earmarked for huge swathes of green belt between Burbage and Stoney Stanton.
While none of the figures are set in stone and obviously subject to change, county and city officials say they need some kind of future looking scheme to ensure joined up development which will attract investment and secure economic expansion.
The final version of the SGP will provide strategic direction and help shape the Local Plan of Hinckley and Bosworth Borough Council and those of all the other local authorities.
It will also be used to support bids for Government funding to deliver the infrastructure needed.
One of the most ambitious proposals which would have a huge impact on the borough is