Residents object to new homes plan for village

Residents have objected to plans to build 128 homes on land off Snells Nook Lane

Almost 100 residents have objected to proposals to build a "large" housing estate in a Leicestershire village.

Developers have submitted plans to Charnwood Borough Council to build 128 homes, including 38 affordable homes, on land off Snells Nook Lane in Nanpantan.

Residents claim the scale of the development will worsen existing traffic problems and "destroy" the village.

A report to the authority's planning committee stated the estate "would not cause an unacceptable impact on highway safety" and there was a "recognised significant need" for affordable housing in the borough.

In total, 97 objections have been made to the council, the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) said.

Residents said the traffic situation in the village, which is situated on the edge of Loughborough, was already "very dangerous" on "severely congested" roads.

One resident, quoted in the report by planning officers to committee members, said: "Safety of residents is not considered, it is already very dangerous pulling out of driveways into traffic in a 40mph zone and with queuing traffic at peak times, vision is blocked."

Other concerns included the impact on the views of nearby Burleigh Wood, loss of green space and a potential damaging impact on wildlife.

One resident said: "Nanpantan is a beautiful part of Loughborough, this will destroy the village."

Another added it would change Nanpantan from "a community of small developments and individual houses to a community completely dominated by one large development".

'Strong green network'

In planning documents, developer William Davis said it had contacted residents of 188 homes in a public consultation about the plans.

The documents read: "The street network has been designed to achieve 20mph design speeds through the use of bends, staggered junctions and the use of shared surface streets.

"A feature of the proposals is the strong network of green spaces with little greens breaking up the built form, in addition to the green corridors around the edges of the site," it added.

The council report recommends committee members agree to delegate the final decision to the head of planning, as long as they are happy with the plans.

It adds: "Based on the evidence submitted and the response from the Local Highway Authority it is considered the development would not cause an unacceptable impact on highway safety, and the residual cumulative impacts on the road network would not be severe, subject to the provisions requested.

"As such, development should not be prevented or refused on highway grounds."

The planning committee is due to decide on the application on Thursday evening.

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