‘Cut losses, abandon bid to build on pit site’
A developer has been urged to cut its losses and drop its plan for homes on a former clay pit.
Councillor Stuart Bray, leader of Hinckley and Bosworth Borough Council, wrote to Orbit Homes about the Big Pit site, in Hinckley.
The Big Pit was a lake and de facto nature reserve in the decades after clay mining ceased at the site almost a century ago.
A 60-home development was given the green light on appeal in 2019 after the planning authority had twice turned down planning permission.
Opponents had argued the site was unsuitable for a housing development, because of flooding risks.
Work to fill in the pit was temporarily stopped in February last year, in the wake of Storms Eunice and Franklin, after the hole started to fill with water.
It resumed in May. However, the problems have not gone away.
Coun Bray’s open letter said: “In 20 years of being on Hinckley and Bosworth Council, I regard the decision by the Secretary of State to allow permission on this site as one of the worst decisions I’ve seen.
“During the planning process, local people warned of the disturbance this would cause and the effect on the water table and the knock-on impact for flooding across the area.
“I’m sad to say all these predictions have come true. In addition, this development has done a lot of damage to Orbit’s reputation with local people.
“As you would expect, I have followed the progress of the development closely, with the ongoing issues of the mess on the road that has seen repeated visits from enforcement officers to the perpetual cycle of the pit filling and then having to be pumped out of water.
“Surely it is now time to admit defeat.
“People such as myself who have lived locally for decades have repeatedly said that building on this site simply will not work.
“This must now be as obvious to you as is it to those of us who live here and know the area well.
“I would urge you to cut your losses and restore your reputation and hand the land over to the community so it can be restored to the important nature feature it once was.”
Coun Bray has invited Orbit Homes to attend a meeting with himself and fellow borough councillors.
He said he has yet to receive a reply to his letter.
LETTER URGES DEVELOPER TO DROP ITS PLAN