‘Laughable’ plan for another 55 homes in village

Concerns raised by residents over plans for more homes RESIDENTS FEAR PRESSURE ON FACILITIES AND RURAL ROADS

RESIDENTS have voiced major concerns about plans for 55 homes on the outskirts of their village, fearing it will overload village services and cause traffic problems.

The development in Stoke Golding includes up to 22 “affordable” homes and would be built off Wykin Lane, which leads on to Stoke Lane, a narrow road out of the village.

Steve Martin is part of Friends of the Community: Stoke Golding, which has put together a formal response to Hinckley and Bosworth Borough Council, opposing the plans.

“It’s not a good proposal, people find it laughable in the village”, the 53-year-old said. “Traffic’s a big concern. Stoke Lane is a single track road for the vast majority of it, and the edges have been eroded away.

“It’s already over-utilised and throughout the week we have cyclists and horse riders.”

Vehicles would access the site via a new T-junction on Wykin Road, near to where the road goes from 30mph to 60mph, and Steve fears it would have poor visibility.

Documents filed with the application said the scheme would provide “a range and mix of family house types sizes and tenures which offer flexibility and choice, creating a balanced and integrated community”.

The group of neighbours is also worried that developments in the village will put even more pressure on services such as the doctor’s surgery and schools.

Steve said he believed developers should seek to build on brownfield sites within Stoke Golding rather than on fields outside the village.

Plans have also been filed to build six houses behind The White Swan pub, in the centre of the village.

These would encroach onto the Bosworth Battlefield site.

Historian Richard Smith, of the Richard III Society, is opposed to the latter proposal.

He said: “What should happen is that there is a proper archaeological investigation, in case there’s any other material relating to the battle underground.

“The whole point of having a conservation area is that national interest.”

A spokesman for Everards, which runs The White Swan and is bringing forward the plans, said that a desk-based archaeological assessment had been carried out for the scheme.

He said: “As the site and the field to the rear lie within the registered battlefield of the Battle of Bosworth, there may be a need for further archaeological assessment before any development can start.” it’s an area of