Information on Loughborough

Regional Plan

Posted on 27/06/2007
Loughborough Newsdesk

digger preparing for new homes in loughboroughCharnwood Borough Council voted at Cabinet on the 14 June, to resist proposals to increase the scale of development over and above that proposed in the Regional Plan, and is now publicly clarifying the background and reasons for its decision.

The Regional Plan will set the scale and broad location for new homes and jobs to be provided in Charnwood up to 2026.

The Plan currently states that approximately 10,170 more homes are needed and suggests that these are best provided in two urban extensions. These are split equally between Loughborough and East of Thurmaston, with each area providing 4,875 homes.

The Plan is currently the subject of a public examination, and alternative proposals have been put forward to increase the allocation at Loughborough from 4,875 to 8,000 homes.

Cllr Hilary Fryer (Conservative, Barrow and Sileby West), Charnwood Borough Councils Cabinet member for Planning and Development, said: "We acknowledge the need for some development at Loughborough but want to ensure that as many Green Field sites as possible are protected, while we also believe that the Borough Council should be allowed greater flexibility in deciding where any necessary development should take place after taking local issues into account.

"We considered carefully the larger scale proposals but we were not persuaded that the investment needed to off set its impact could be relied upon, nor that its impact upon the environment could be justified, or that the potential benefits claimed on its behalf could be delivered with certainty.

The Plan was prepared the Regional Assembly, and published for consultation in September 2006. Greenfield sites are sites where the land has not previously been built on whilst Brown field sites have had previous development. Central government has been encouraging the use of Brown Field sites in preference to green field.

Cllr Fryer: "Most recent housing figures now suggest that with more opportunities on Brown Field sites having been identified, the balance to be found from Green Field sites can be reduced to 6,870 homes.

The next step sees Charnwood Borough Council take its case to the public examination of the Plan, which runs until July. An independent Panel will consider that case alongside other arguments before submitting a report with recommendations to the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government in the autumn.