Homes planned for fields between villages
PROPOSALS FOR NEIGHBOUR SITE ALREADY BEEN REFUSED TWICE
UP to 99 homes could be built on the edge of Queniborough in fields next to a site where proposals for hundreds of homes were previously refused twice.
Developer Hollins Strategic Land has submitted plans to Charnwood Borough Council for fields off Melton Road, in the gap between the village and East Goscote.
A different developer – Hallam Land Management – had previously attempted to build 220 houses on a neighbouring site, but was refused permission in 2018 due to concerns the scheme would encroach on the countryside separating the village from East Goscote.
Hallam then lodged and subsequently withdrew an appeal against that decision, before submitting new plans in 2020 for up to 200 houses on the same plot of land.
But this second proposal was refused for the same reason in March 2021. However, Charnwood’s draft local plan includes both sites as potential locations for housing.
The council says it will support proposals that restrict development to the southern part of the sites.
Documents submitted by agent Emery Planning say “the [local planning authority] now accept that development to the north of Queniborough is the most sustainable direction for growth to meet the housing needs”.
The application is for outline planning permission, meaning details on the exact number and design of the homes and how the development will be laid out will be submitted at a later date if the council approves the scheme.
But the developer says there will be two, three, four and five-bed houses, with 40 per cent earmarked for properties classed as “affordable”.
The developer says it will be providing open spaces, including “wildflower grassland”, along with play equipment for children.
The planning documents read: “The proposal represents the natural extension of Queniborough.
“The scheme aims to be responsive and comply with the local character of the area and responds sensitively to the surrounding context.
“Existing trees and hedgerows within the site are set to be retained and enhanced within the proposal and incorporated into the new development design. A significant amount of new tree planting is proposed.”
Several neighbours have already complained about the development, with residents of Wetherby Close saying the development will have an “overbearing impact”, cause loss of privacy and sunlight, and that “the appearance of the area would change radically”.
Comments on the scheme can be made on the borough council’s planning portal until Thursday, February 16.