Latest bid for homes in village to be debated
COUNCILLORS are to decide on plans for a major develoment on the outskirts of a village this evening.
DLP Planning has filed plans on behalf of Robert Jones to build the housing estate of 61 homes in Higham on the Hill.
The proposals, for fields off Wood Lane at the south west end of the village, include a shop.
The latest proposals follow a bid for 26 homes in the centre of the village that was withdrawn recently.
Under the latest proposals, vehicles would access the site via a new entrance on Wood Lane.
Hinckley and Bosworth Borough Council has received more than 50 letters of objection to the scheme, with locals worried that the village is becoming overdeveloped and lacks the infrastructure to support more homes.
Higham resident Geoff Coxon wrote to the council to strongly object to the proposals.
He raised concerns that Wood Lane is already overused and the new homes would only make this worse, while also bemoaning the loss of green fields.
He said: “The development would result in the loss of open countryside views, with the best unobtrusive panoramic views to the horizon from Higham on the Hill.
“The views include Hartshill Hayes Country Park, with its ancient forest and sloping meadows.”
Mr Coxon also claimed that other recent housing developments built along the other side of the A5, near the
Higham Lane roundabout, have already changed “what was once a pleasant country view”.
More houses are earmarked for land to the north of Nuneaton, as fields between Higham Lane and Weddington have been “identified” by Nuneaton and Bedworth Borough Council for potentially providing space for 1,750 homes.
Last month, a scheme to partly demolish and redevelop the disused village pub, The Oddfellows Arms in the centre of Higham, was pulled.
Developers had planned to create 26 homes on the land, but it was withdrawn to the delight of campaigners, who are desperate to retain the boarded-up pub for the community.
It has been closed since August 2018, and under the plans was to be extended to create a four bedroom house.
A campaign group to save the pub, which was the only one in the village, aims to raise funds to buy the building and create “a thriving hub” at the heart of the village once again.
Of the Oddfellows application, a council spokesperson said previously: “The applicant was advised that the proposal was likely to be recommended for refusal for a variety of planning reasons so they have withdrawn the application at this time.”
The council’s planning committee will decide on the latest homes plan at a meeting starting at 6.30pm today.