Complaint new homes plan would destroy countryside

The plans involve building on land near Barkby Road in Syston

A parish council has complained plans for 195 new homes in Leicestershire would create a "nondescript suburbia".

Taylor Wimpey has submitted a third application to build homes on the land north of Barkby Road in Syston.

It said the new homes would have a 'a distinctive character and a strong sense of place' which it believes will fit in well with the rest of the area.

But Barkby and Barkby Thorpe Parish Council has said the development would destroy an important green space.

An email from Carla Cunningham-Atkins, clerk the parish council reads: "This application is jumping the gun and is clearly opportunistic and reliant on the lack of a five-year housing supply persuading the plans committee to grant the application. Taylor Wimpey must surely know through their own two public consultations that there is little support in the community for this development.

It adds: "The location of the development compromises the areas of separation between Syston and Barkby, Syston and Queniborough and Barkby and Queniborough and degrades the rural environment of the land alongside the road between Barkby and Queniborough. It will turn pleasant countryside into nondescript suburbia."

The letter also raises concerns about the impact the development would have on traffic, schools and other local services.

Taylor Wimpey first applied to build 195 homes on the land in 2018, only to withdraw the proposals in January 2020, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

It then applied again in February 2022, but Charnwood Borough Council did not make a decision on the plans within the Government recommended timeframe.

Taylor Wimpey then lodged an appeal with the Planning Inspectorate, which is set to be heard later this year.

However, it submitted its third application to build on the land to Charnwood Borough Council at the end of July, which has led to the latest objections from the parish council.

Taylor Wimpey has started an online public consultation that will run until 19 September.

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