Issue - meetings

The meeting will hear about the new Leicester Local Plan which will set out the council’s future policies.

Rob Foers and Jeevan Dhesi, Senior Planners from Planning, Development and Transportation gave a presentation on the Leicester Local Plan; a copy of which is attached to the back of the action log. Points made included the following

·      The consultation on the new local plan had started on 26 July 2017 and would continue to the end of October 2017.

·      The Local Plan set out the Council’s planning framework up to 2031 and sought to meet the needs for homes, jobs, shopping, leisure and open space. It also set out policies to determine planning applications.

·      The next stage would be to formulate a draft local plan after taking into account the comments and views expressed in the consultation.

·      A Revised Draft Local Plan would then be drawn up; it was expected to be available during the Winter – Spring 2018.

·      There would then be a further period of public consultation. The finalised plan would need to be approved by the Planning Inspectorate and by full council before it was adopted. It was anticipated that this would be by the end of 2018.

·      The Local Plan would need to address key issues and challenges such as meeting significant population growth, housing, retail and employment needs and changes to the appropriate infrastructure.

·      There was limited open space in Leicester for new housing and employment opportunities.  A list of all potential development sites had been drawn up and views were sought from residents as to what sites should be developed and what should be protected.

·      As well as seeking views on general issues in the city, feedback was requested on local issues and officers were attending community meetings to seek residents’ views. Officers were therefore keen to hear from residents in the North Evington Ward.

A number of comments were received from Councillors and residents, including the following:

·      A view was expressed that council policies should restrict gambling, pay day loans and on road vehicle sales – ( there were issues with these on Green Lane Road for example).

·      Green Lane Road was a busy shopping area and attracted commercial tourists but it was looking tired and dirty.

·      There was a resurgence of small textile businesses in the area – could there be support for such businesses?

·      Population growth was an issue that affected North Evington; there were more house extensions and loft conversions being built and it was questioned whether there were appropriate planning policies to control that work. Officers responded that some building work did not need planning permission because it was allowed under permitted development rights.

·      Concerns were raised around parking. The lack of parking provision was already a problem and the situation would deteriorate further with the growth of retail areas and more housing developments. Officers responded that they were looking at parking standards.

Attendees were encouraged to respond to this phase of the consultation and reminded that comments needed to be received by end of October.

An update will be provided on a number of transport and highways issues and developments in the North Evington Ward.

Mike Pears – Team Leader (Highway Asset Management) gave the following update at the meeting:

·         Baggrave Road – the consultation had now taken place for the removal of double yellow lines.

·         A consultation/ discussion had been held with North Evington Ward Councillors whereby Highways requested Councillors to decide on the top three priorities for urgent works which were most essential from the list of works required in the Ward.

·         There was an ongoing initiative to address school run parking issues. Mike discussed the school assessment project and how schools had been ranked in order of prioritisation. Highways were currently looking at introducing lines to be enforceable and bollards.

·         In North Evington, some of the first schools to be looked at during 2017/18 included; Green Lane Infant School, Merrydale Junior School, St Barnabas CofE Primary School. Most other schools in the Ward would be visited during 2018/19.

·         Nick Griffiths – District Manager for Housing noted that a plan to recruit more parking enforcement was in place.

Residents’ concerns:

·         A resident expressed concern that there was an overspill of traffic on Humberstone Road and other roads since the new Haymarket bus station.

·         Councillor Osman requested that Highways provide a timescale for the Traffic Regulation Orders (TRO) on the one way systems in various parts of the Ward. Mike was to feedback and inform Councillors.

·         Jos Johnson (Facility Manager) requested that the double yellow lines outside Spence Street Sports Centre be remarked/ refreshed.

Councillor Osman posed the question to attendees as to what they felt the three main priorities in the ward were which needed to be considered. The following were chosen;

1)    One way systems off Green Lane Road.

2)    Explore A47 corridor project.

3)    Environmental parking around Kingfisher and a redesign.