Plan for 10,000-home farmland development revealed

A total of 1,730 acres of farmland have been earmarked for development

Plans have emerged for 10,000 homes to be built in west Leicestershire.

Developer Nurton Developments has set out proposals for a 1,730-acre (700 hectare) area of farmland at the edge of Norton Juxta Twycross, close to Twycross Zoo.

The Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) said the new community would be formed of three "connected villages" and called Norton Heath.

Early plans show space would be set aside for schools, sports and leisure facilities, and shops located in local centres.

The LDRS said the scheme was in its early stages but the site had been added to the latest draft of Hinckley and Bosworth Borough Council's (HBBC) Local Plan - a strategy setting out future long-term development.

'Meeting needs'

A website set up to promote the plan said the new homes would be built over a 40-year period and that by 2045, about 2,750 of the properties would be delivered.

The majority of the new homes would sit on land within Hinckley and Bosworth borough but part of the site also falls within neighbouring North West Leicestershire district.

Some 79 acres (32 hectares) of employment land is also proposed under the scheme.

According to the plans, half of the entire site would be retained as parkland.

Nurton Developments said Leicestershire was a "great county" which boasted "historic market towns, rural villages, open countryside and a rich industrial heritage".

However it said the area also faced "big housing challenges" and there was a "shortage of properties", meaning young people were "often unable to buy or rent a home".

It added: "At the same time, there's a need to improve transport connections for villages, deliver new schools, healthcare facilities and create accessible public open space for healthy living. Norton Heath can help Leicestershire meet these housing and social infrastructure needs."

Residents are able to have their say on the latest draft of the local plan until 28 November.