135 homes to be built in Hinckley & Bosworth
The development plans have been approved by Local Parish
A 135-home housing estate has been given the go ahead for a Leicestershire town, with a parish councillor praising it as a “quality development”. The homes will be built on land off Station Road in Market Bosworth after Hinckley and Bosworth Borough Council’s plans committee approved the application.
The scheme, by housebuilder Miller Homes, also includes 1.3 acres of employment land and will be built on fields opposite the former Kyngs Golf and Country Club where a 50-room hotel is set to be built after Statue Homes received planning permission last year. Two houses will be demolished to provide an access from Station Road, and some existing commercial buildings will also be bulldozed to make way for the new scheme
There had been nine objections to the plans, including from George Denny, a local businessman who owns the Kyngs Golf and Country Club. Mr Denny said he was “concerned” about how a proposed priority junction for the scheme would impact on plans for a ghost island – where road markings provide a separate area for vehicles waiting to turn – that was approved by the council as part of an application for work at the golf club.
He said: “I object on the basis there aren’t sufficient safeguards in place to give me peace of mind that the proposed access will not prejudice my approved works. The highway drawing submitted by Miller Homes contradicts the legal precedent set by it. What’s the point in planning a legal agreement if it can just be discarded to benefit someone else?” He said the council had a “legal duty” to uphold and protect the previously approved permission for the ghost island.
But council officer Tim Hartley said he wanted to reassure Mr Denny over his concerns about the ghost island and the priority junction, saying Leicestershire County Council’s highways team had considered the issue and confirmed they were happy with the proposals. Mr Hartley added: “Both the ghost island and the priority junction are able to go ahead”.
The scheme was supported by Market Bosworth Parish Council. Parish councillor John Wasteney said that in a poll 89 per cent of town residents supported the neighbourhood plan, which included the proposed development. He said Market Bosworth needed a development “in keeping with the rural settlement”. He added: “The existing housing developments are not urbanised. They all give that rural flavour. Plenty of green space, plenty of trees. This quality development before you has met all of those criteria that were in the plan.”
Councillor Brian Sutton said he thought it was a good development, but added the town was “desperate for a larger doctors’ surgery”. Section 106 financial contributions have yet to be agreed with the developer, but a report presented to councillors said £104,000 would be sought towards Market Bosworth or Newbold Verdon surgeries.
Councillors voted to approve the scheme, but a vote count was not given. The housing estate will include 13 one-bed homes, 45 two-beds, 52 three-beds and 25 four-bedroom properties.