Watermead Country Park: Concerns over impact of planned business park

The proposed site would be partly built next to Watermead Country Park

More than 2,000 people have objected to plans for a new business park near a Leicestershire beauty spot.

Developers Wanlip Holdings Ltd want to build industrial, storage and distribution space on the edge of Watermead Country Park at Thurmaston.

However 2,200 people have signed a petition against the scheme because they are concerned about its impact on the park and its wildlife.

Councillors deferred a decision on the project when they met on Thursday.

The Local Democracy Reporting Service said Charnwood Borough Council's planning committee voted six to five to ask the applicant to rethink plans to fill in a carp lake on the site.

However, the authority's planning officers warned the firm might lodge an appeal if a decision was not taken with a government-recommended timeframe.

'Balancing act'

Most of the land is set aside for employment in Charnwood's core strategy - which lays out the planning framework for the borough up to 2028.

Wanlip Holdings has earmarked the 70,600 sq m (759,932 sq ft) site for warehousing which it said could create 918 jobs.

Planning permission was granted in 2015 for office, warehouse and industrial use, along with a hotel, leisure facilities and a restaurant, though that application did not include the proposals to fill in part of the lake.

The latest plans include the creation of a new water body in the north of the site.

Committee member councillor Geoff Lawrence, who proposed postponing the decision, said: "We know it is a tricky balancing act to make in terms of benefits and harms. The benefits of additional employment opportunities can't be denied."

However, he added that "the ecological harm caused by 40 to 50 per cent of the carp lake being lost and filled in" was "going to be very, very significant".

Wanlip Holdings spokesperson Steve Lewis-Roberts said none of the proposed development site was within the country park boundary.

He also spoke about the "best in class" environmental credentials of the proposed development, including electric vehicle charging and net-zero carbon status, and added: "The development will deliver significant economic benefits including the creation of approximately 918 permanent and 447 temporary jobs and represents a significant investment in the local economy."