To discuss proposals relating to the development, for residential use and the erection of 320 dwellings, on land east of Heritage Way, Leicester. A planning application has been submitted to Charnwood Borough Council for determination and this application will also need to be considered by Leicester City Council on the basis that the access to the proposed development will be from the City side of the development.
Minutes:
Darryl Watson, Senior Planner from Leicester City Council and Owen Bentley from the Barkby and Barkby Thorpe Parishes Action Group (BABTAG) were present to talk to members of the community about the proposed Greenfield Development – East of Heritage Way. An outline planning application had already been submitted to Charnwood Borough Council for 320 houses on agricultural land situated off Hamilton Land in the Barkby Thorpe Parish. However, the vehicular access to the proposed site would be within the City and therefore a planning application would also need to be submitted to Leicester City Council.
Councillors Potter and Sandhu explained that as they were members of the Planning and Development Control Committee, if members of the public wanted them to act as advocates on the application, the Councillors would need to declare a pre-determined interest, withdraw from the meeting and not participate as members of the committee when the application was considered. If however, members of the public wished them to attend as members of the Planning and Development Control Committee and participate fully in the consideration and vote when the planning application came to committee, they needed to remain impartial and therefore withdraw from the forthcoming discussion on the planning application to avoid any appearance of bias and impartiality. After some discussion, members of the community agreed that both Councillors Potter and Sandhu should remain in the Community Meeting for the discussion on the application. This meant that when the planning application came to committee they would need to declare a pre-determined view and withdraw from meeting when the application was under consideration.
Darryl explained that the City Council were expecting a planning application to be submitted, but this would only be in respect of the vehicle and pedestrian access, and that was the only part of the application which the City Council would consider. The development itself would be considered by the Charnwood Borough Council.
Owen Bentley then addressed the meeting and he explained that BABTAG were opposed to the proposal for the following reasons:
· The development would be a very considerable strain on both the City and Charnwood.
· There would be additional pressures of schools, including the Pochin School which was located closest to the development. This would result also in an increase in traffic generally in Barkby and Barkby Thorpe and exacerbate parking problems.
· There would be additional strain on medical amenities such as local General Practitioners.
· The development would result in the loss of 46 acres of highly productive agricultural land, on which wheat was grown.
· Roads from the development would lead into Heritage Way and also Bryony Way, which was a narrow road.
· The development was within one mile of the Hamilton Deserted Medieval Village, and it would threaten the environment of such a nationally recognised monument.
· Smaller developments scattered through Charnwood would be preferable to this proposal for such a large development.
Members of the community made the following comments:
· Wise expansion of the City was essential and an orderly process and thoughtful planning was needed.
· As well as the development adding pressure for schools and G.P.s, there would also be resource implications for dentists and the Police and Fire Services.
· The Police were facing cutbacks and they were never seen in the locality.
PC Martin Peberdy, Keyham Lane Local Policing Unit, responded that potentially, the Policing of the area would be the responsibility of the County, however, as Hamilton police were nearer to the development, in reality they would probably be called to respond to incidents.
· If the development was approved, presumably Charnwood and not Leicester would benefit from any S106 money. What would the S106 money be allocated to.
Daryl explained that he could not answer queries on behalf of Charnwood Borough Council.
· There would be more cars on the road and already bus drivers were experiencing difficulty in driving through some of the streets in Hamilton because vehicles were parked on both sides of the road.
· Was it known if Charnwood Borough Council had conducted an Environmental Impact Assessment?
Owen responded that a negative impact on bio diversity had been demonstrated.
Councillors expressed the following concerns about the proposal:
· There were 9 schools in the community which were already full to capacity.
· The services in the area were already insufficient.
· Extra traffic on Keyham Lane would add to the already extensive pressure on that road.
· The community did not have the capacity or resources for so many extra homes.
Councillor Potter re-iterated her concerns and stated that she would not participate when the Planning and Development Control Committee considered the application, but she would lobby on behalf of residents.
Members of the community also made the following comments about general issues:
· How was the Community Meeting publicised? I found out about the meeting by accident.
Councillors explained that meetings were advertised, information was put in the public arena including libraries and sent to everyone who had previously requested details of the meetings. A member of the Hamilton Residents Association commented that details of the meetings could also be found on their website. Councillor Potter explained that the Ward Councillors also held surgeries, which were extremely busy.
· The area of Keyham Lane West, close to the school was in need of improved lighting as the area there was very dark.
The Chair added that there were already issues relating to Keyhan Lane and the need for improved lighting would be added to the list.