Huge scheme to build almost 3,000 homes near Lutterworth is poised to get the go-ahead next week

A huge scheme to build almost 3,000 homes near Lutterworth is poised to get the go-ahead next week.

The controversial Lutterworth East blueprint was surprisingly deferred in late April after a critical last-minute submission by the University Hospitals of Leicester (UHL).

Hospital chiefs demanded about £1 million from developers to pay for the surge of thousands of extra patients sparked by the sprawling 556-acre initiative.

Now the massive project is finally expected to be rubberstamped at a virtual Harborough council planning committee meeting on Tuesday night (July 28).

Planning officers are recommending that it should be approved.

Back in April Cllr Phil King, who leads Harborough District Council, said he was “immensely disappointed” after the plan was temporarily shelved.

Cllr King told the Harborough Mail at the time: “It’s immensely disappointing and very frustrating that this decision has had to be delayed.

“We received the UHL’s last-ditch intervention just 24 hours before our meeting.

“We immediately consulted our lawyers about what to do.

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

The Conservative 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.”

Cllr King vowed to bring the Lutterworth East scheme back to be vetted by the planning committee after studying all the issues.

The Lutterworth East blueprint will create 2,750 homes as well as new 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.

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.