Plans for 850 homes and school approved

OUTLINE planning permission has been given for up to 850 homes between The Longs Shoot and the A5 near Hinckley.

The green light was given to the Callendar Farm residential development despite four members of the planning committee voting against the plan.

A detailed application, outlining the number and type of homes and infrastructure such as schools and a community hub, will now need to be submitted to Nuneaton and Bedworth Borough Council.

If approved the estate would become the biggest in Nuneaton and has prompted concerns about extra traffic on the already congested A5 and nearby Dodwells roundabout which is already a congested area.

It was not a unanimous decision, with councillors voting to eight for and four against to approve the plans.

Cllr Bill Hancox, chair of the planning applications committee, explained: “The detail will come back to us (the committee) and then there will be another deci- sion based on that.”

As previously reported, there were 18 letters of objection from 15 addresses, citing a number of different concerns.

Some members of the planning committee echoed these concerns, including about increased traffic, pollution, impact on health service, impact on schools.

It is understood that there will be three different ways to access the development.

There is a proposed signal controlled junction with a right and left hand turning lane out of the application site to the A5.

This access also accommodates a proposed rest area which is to replace the layby’s that would be lost from the A5 as a result of the development.

Conditions suggested By WCC Highways suggest that no more than 600 dwellings can be occupied until the access to the A5 is constructed.

The second point of access is a signal controlled junction off The Long Shoot, with pedestrian refuges and also involves the relocation of bus stops on either side of The Long Shoot. The third access point is from

proposed road running a through the adjacent site from Higham Lane that join together to create a Northern Nuneaton Link Road.

Addressing concerns about school places, the proposed development includes a new primary school with future potential expansion space which could accommodate up to a two form entry primary school.

It is understood that the details about the land is set aside for the school with outdoor play and associated facilities will be revealed when the next planning application is submitted.