Plans for 4,000 new homes submitted to councils

Controversial proposals to build 4,000 homes on farmland to the south-east of Leicester have been lodged with council planners.

Urban and Civic Developments Ltd and Homes England, the government's housing and regeneration agency, want to develop a 932-acre (377-hectare) area between Oadby and Great Glen.

Documents submitted to Harborough District Council and Oadby and Wigston Borough Council stated the scheme would create a sustainable new community to help meet housing needs in the area.

Opponents of the scheme said it would swallow up a large area of green wedge land and overwhelm the road network.

The plans show 3,150 of the new homes would be built on land in the Harborough district area and 850 in neighbouring Oadby and Wigston borough.

Peter Scott, district councillor for Great Glen, urged people to make objections to the scheme to planning officers at the authorities.

"I believe this proposed development to be in the wrong place," Scott told the BBC.

"It removes a green wedge between the city and its rural neighbours and lacks the road infrastructure to support it.

"It is heralded as a cure for some of the local road problems, like cutting off your own leg would cure leg ache."

Under the plans, two new primary schools, early years provision, and a secondary school are proposed along with a health centre, "local areas" for shops, and food and drink outlets, as well as a community hall and sport and leisure facilities.

The developers said the new community would be served by a low-carbon bus network and will have walking and cycling connections.

A transport assessment, drawn up by the developers, said "significant" amounts of traffic movement would be generated and it proposes upgrades to the nearby road network supported by an investment fund.

A new "primary street" through the development would connect Gartree Road with the A6.

More than 12 acres (five hectares) of land is earmarked for a mix of employment uses.

The developers said the scheme would create between 1,100 and 1,500 long-term jobs and about 260 construction positions during the 17 years it is expected to take to complete.

According to the plans, about half the site would be left as open space including new parkland along the River Sence and Wash Brook.

The proposed site, off Gartree Road, is close to Leicester Airport and surrounds the deserted medieval village of Stretton Magna.

"The development represents a rare opportunity to deliver a sustainable, landscape-led neighbourhood at strategic scale," the applicants said.

"The vision for the site is to create a well-connected place shaped by its existing landscape, natural features and heritage."

The planning committees from both councils are expected to consider the application before a deadline of 4 January 2027.

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