Leicestershire village impacted by multiple large-scale planning applications
Residents of Diseworth are worried that nearby developments will mean their village is no longer secluded.
A village in Leicestershire is facing multiple planning applications that residents worry will impact its village status.
Diseworth sits just south of East Midlands airport. A Freeport has been built near the airport which opened last year.
The Freeport is expected to grow, depending on the approval of various planning applications, including property investment company SEGRO’s development consent order (DCO) application for a 250-acre warehouse site next to the airport. The approval for this is expected in early 2025.
There are proposals for a new settlement called Isley Woodhouse to be built consisting of 4,250 houses.
The plans are part of Local Plan Position North West Leicestershire District Council's (NWLDC) Local Plan for 2020-2040 to meet housing targets.
A public engagement period for Isley Woodhouse has been active until today, when it ended. If approved, the settlement would be built on land between Isley Walton, Diseworth and Tonge.
Residents of the village feel that a new development, as well as the Freeport, will suffocate its rural landscape.
A campaign group called Protect Diseworth, made up of residents of the village, has been established to try and oppose the development.
The campaign has rallied over 200 objections against SEGRO's plans.
Max Crosby-Browne, from Protect Diseworth, said: "The combined effects of these two developments would wipe out the green buffer which ensures the protection of the nature of a heritage village.
"As long as you've got a green buffer around you, you've got the best of both worlds; you get that village nature and easy access to services. But when that buffer goes, we would just be connected to 4,250 houses through our village up through an industrial park to the M1."
He says they are not opposed to new houses, but there are concerns of the impact when it is combined with the other developments.
"People recognise the need for housing. Much of what we would be arguing is in isolation: heat, light, noise, the environmental impact, the traffic impact and the flooding risk."
NWLDC is developing a preliminary outline planning application which they said they expected to be submitted in January.
The authority will then consult residents and other organisations as part of the planning process.
A timeline published as part of the consultation suggests a full planning application could be submitted in 2026.