Why it's important to prevent this development
Bottesford is a village in the north of Leicestershire. It is a quiet and pleasant place to live, but now faces an existential threat of being overwhelmed by significant new developments allowed by our local planning authority, Melton Borough Council, who so far, seem to be immune to our arguments against new large developments.
An application for 88 houses on Normanton Lane has just had a unanimous acceptance of outline planning by the Melton Planning Committee, irrespective of the facts that it exists in an area of separation between the villages of Bottesford and Normanton, had over 650 objections, and is positioned outside of the old village envelope and the area defined by the emerging Neighbourhood Plan.
These proposed developments are expected to place a significant extra burden of traffic on the roads through Bottesford village, which is already congested at peak times. If, for example, further development were to be allowed beyond the Wickets on Belvoir Road, such traffic would be routed directly on to the A52 bypass and not through the village.
We believe that the plans for the development of the Rectory Farm site are being finalised for submission to gain planning permission for at least 163 houses. It is difficult to see the logic behind selecting this site as the main focus of development in Bottesford. The site is located on a flood plain that requires expensive access construction which would make the planning authority’s Sustainability Objectives more difficult to achieve, and it is a site that would exacerbate the village’s existing traffic problems. It does not, therefore, seem the most rational of choices. Whilst we accept there is a national need for more housing, we do not believe there is a national need for the type of detached three and four bedroom houses that would be the only financially viable option for the development of this site.
Issues that could be caused by this development
Development of Rectory Farm, the largest of the 9 planned new sites, would significantly contribute toward:
- Bottesford village becoming a town as it is inundated with excessive development
- Flooding becoming a major issue every year
- The village clogging up with even more traffic (potentially over 3000 extra car journeys each day)
- Our infrastructure and services collapsing under the significantly increased demand
- Our local schools being unable to cope with the inevitable rise in intake levels
- Bottesford High Street becoming an even more unsafe place for families to cross
In order to challenge the volume of potential housing developments we require expert advice to attend planning committee meetings on our behalf and put forward an informed argument against the applications such as Rectory Farm. To fund such expertise requires money and this is where you can help by contributing to this cause.
EVERY PENNY RAISED WILL BE MATCH-FUNDED BY ANOTHER DONOR (up to a maximum of £500)
So if we can raise £500, that total will be doubled.
Thank you for your continued support.