The developer behind a 13-home plan for Whitwick has refused to redo a traffic survey amid “rat-run” concerns. A decision of the plan to knock down two homes and build 13 in their place was deferred by North West Leicestershire District Council’s (NWLDC) planning committee in November over concerns the additional houses would increase traffic issues in the area.
Councillors had asked applicants Nick Harding and Joanne Tudor to go back and look again at the amount of traffic that goes down Church Lane, saying their original survey had been done in the 2023 Easter school holidays. They feared the data would not be an accurate reflection of the traffic at its worst following concerns from the parish council and local residents that the area is already a “rat run” and on-street parking problems “hinder” the “free flow” of traffic. Objectors added they fear the development will “compound these issues and cause accidents”.
However, the developers have now said they will not be doing another traffic survey and also warned they will be appealing the non-determination decision in November. The scheme is set to go back to committee next week, with council officers calling on elected members to either approve or reject it. Officers have also warned the committee that an appeal would be “very difficult” to defend if the application is thrown out on highways grounds.
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This is because Leicestershire County Council, as the local highways authority, has raised no concerns over the development’s potential impact on neighbouring roads. An application can only be refused for such reasons if the impact on the road network is “severe” or if highways safety would be “unacceptably” compromised.
The county council’s highways team said the objected-to assessment undertaken by the applicants was not meant to assess the amount of traffic travelling along Church Lane in the first place. Instead, it was to consider vehicle speeds along the route so officers could determine conditions around visibility from the site entrance. This development was not expected to produce enough additional journeys to and from the site to require any further analysis, they added.
Moreover, officers had previously said any existing on-street parking problems is a matter to be “reviewed and addressed separately” by the county council.
The application has proven controversial with the local community, with 62 objections filed against it. Other concerns include the risk of overshadowing, loss of privacy and general impact on neighbouring homes; strain on local services such as the medical centre and schools; and the impact of the construction work on the neighbouring cemetery which the parish fears will be “distressing for the bereaved”.
Each home would come with multiple parking spaces
(Image: Julian Owen Associates Architects)
Whitwick Parish Council had also criticised the plan, saying it was seeking to demolish “two perfectly good homes” and to replace them with a “highly concentrated” development on what is currently grassland. They felt this would be akin to an “act of ecological vandalism”.
Planning officers dismissed these in advance of the previous committee meeting and have maintained their recommendation to councillors that the plan should be approved when they meet next week. The proposal is for outline permission only. This means, if they give permission for the scheme, it would be approved in principle only and the developers would need to return with a full application to be agreed before any work can take place.
The new homes will be made up of two two-beds, seven three-beds, three four-beds and one five-bed property. The majority of the parking would be off-street, with multiple spaces for each home.