Plans revised for houses and flats on disused land

PLANS to build 17 houses and 89 flats on a former leisure centre site in Hinckley are to be changed before councillors consider them again.

The proposed Hinckley Square development on the disused site, off Coventry Road, will now be adapted to retain the borough council car park off Trinity Vicarage Road.

The height of the flats will also be reduced.

The previous scheme proposed two blocks of flats, one seven storeys and the other four storeys, containing a mix of one and twobedroom homes.

It came before the planning committee at Hinckley and Bosworth Borough Council in March, but councillors rejected the project, meaning it was sent back to the developer to be reconsidered.

Members decided the scheme was “out of keeping with the area”.

A council spokesperson said: “It’s still going to be a residential scheme but it’s going to be reconsidered from the scheme that went in before.

“The car park is going to be retained and the height of the development is going to be reduced – that was one of the concerns members had.”

In the previous application, the developer said: “Given its setting and Hinckley town centre, the site has a genuine potential to help stimulate a wider regeneration of the surrounding area.

“Furthermore the proposal will, by the nature of the site, assist in enabling the appropriate wider regeneration of adjoining brownfield sites.”

Six of the one-bedroom flats and five of the two-bedroom houses were to be classed as social housing with rents below market levels.

Eleven of the two-bedroom houses were to be classed as intermediate housing, costing more than social housing but less than the market price. This is in line with the council target of 20 per cent affordable housing for developments of 15 homes or more.

The plans included two parking spaces for each house plus parking in an undercroft car park for people living in the flats.

Also provided were paths for pedestrians and cyclists along with roads through the site, small parks, benches and a children’s play area.

The 1970s former leisure centre was demolished in summer 2016 and was replaced by a new leisure centre in Hinckley’s Argents Mead.

Last year, Hinckley and Bosworth Borough Council invited developers to submit proposals for a high-quality scheme on the site.