Council leader says he is 'immensely disappointed and very frustrated' after the decision to build nearly 3,000 homes near Lutterworth was deferred

As we previously reported, last minute concerns from the NHS about a stretch on their services meant that the decision was shelved
Harborough councils chief has said hes immensely disappointed after a massive project to build almost 3,000 homes at Lutterworth was put back.Harborough councils chief has said hes immensely disappointed after a massive project to build almost 3,000 homes at Lutterworth was put back.
Harborough councils chief has said hes immensely disappointed after a massive project to build almost 3,000 homes at Lutterworth was put back.

Harborough council’s chief has said he’s “immensely disappointed” after a massive project to build almost 3,000 homes at Lutterworth was put back.

Unhappy Cllr Phil King revealed his frustration after the authority’s planning committee was forced to defer the huge scheme at a pioneering ‘virtual’ meeting on Tuesday night.

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All nine councillors voted to shelve a decision for now after a critical last-minute submission by the University Hospitals of Leicester (UHL).

One of the country’s biggest and busiest NHS Trusts, they said the proposed new 2,750-house initiative by the M1 would stretch local health services to the limit.

But Cllr King, leader of Harborough District Council, told the Harborough Mail: “It’s immensely disappointing and very frustrating that this decision has had to be delayed.

“We received the UHL’s last-ditch intervention on Monday April 20 – just 24 hours before our meeting on Tuesday evening.

“We immediately consulted our lawyers about what to do.

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“They advised our members to defer and we had no option but to do that.”

The council boss added: “I am very frustrated because Leicestershire County Council’s application to build at Lutterworth East hasn’t just come out of the blue.

“This has been in the pipeline for a very long time.

“The UHL has had months to voice their views – but chose to leave it to the last minute.

“This major development is in our local plan for Harborough – and as such we just want to get it dealt with.”

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Harborough council’s planning officers have recommended that the ambitious blueprint is approved.

And Cllr King said he’s now hoping to bring the county council’s long-term plan back before the planning committee in the next few weeks.

“We will go away and examine the issues raised by the Trust.

“All being well this will take another six to eight weeks and we’ll look at it again to make a firm decision by June,” he insisted.

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Cllr King praised Harborough council’s IT staff for staging their first-ever remote online meeting amid the Covid-19 crisis.

“Our staff had to put in a lot of hours and a lot of effort to put the meeting on and make it happen.

“Our councillors all had webcams and it was a total success, technically it went very well,” he said.

A Leicestershire County Council spokesman said: “We’re disappointed that it was deferred.

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“We hope that Harborough District Council will look to have the application determined at the earliest possible date, recognising that their planners with the ‘approval recommendation’ recognised its significance for meeting local plan requirements.”

The Lutterworth East scheme would create 2,750 new homes, community facilities and employment space.

Set to take years to complete, the vast development would be built on land east of Lutterworth and the M1.

It would feature over 100 hectares of green space, two new primary schools, employment space to create about 2,500 jobs, a community hub and a network of footpaths and cycle routes connecting with the town centre.

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The site is identified in the Harborough Local Plan as a key area to accommodate new housing in the district, known as Lutterworth East Strategic Development Area (SDA).

Some 1,260 new homes would be built by 2031 with the rest going up after 2031.