Blaby District Council Meeting 13 November 2018

The Chairman reported on his attendance at the Council meeting held on 13 November 2018 and his opportunity to speak for 3 minutes against the adoption of the Leicester and Leicestershire Strategic Growth Plan, which requires Blaby DC to build 17560 houses in the period 2031 – 2050 when it’s notional need is 6859.

The Council voted to endorse the LLSGP which will be a guiding document in the next phase of the Local Plan’s.

The Chairman spoke at length in respect of this matter and Residents asked questions,  to which the Chairman and Councillors  provided information and contributed to the issue.

The residents congratulated the Chairman on his presentation to the Council on the LSGP.

Leicester & Leicestershire Strategic Growth Plan (LLSGP)

The Chairman spoke about the LLSGP and the draft  proposal by Leicestershire County Council to apply to the Government for a Housing Infrastructure Grant for £50M towards infrastructure costs associated with potential housing developments in the County.

The Chairman,  Residents and Councillors also spoke about the proposed A46 Expressway which appeared to travel through Blaby between the M1 at Whetstone Pastures and Junction 2 of the M69.

Hinckley National Rail Freight Interchange

The Chairman spoke passionately about the proposals, questions and information in respect of the proposals were put to the Councillors by the Chairman and residents.

Councillors  provided the information and answered  the questions that had been requested from the Chairman and the residents.

 The Chairman advised the meeting that the Fosse Villages Group of Parishes had met with Burbage Parish and HBBC Councillors to coordinate our response, whilst Blaby DC appeared to be keeping a low profile. Leicestershire County Council appeared to be generally supportive of the HNRFI proposal. He stated that Blaby District Council will be required to submit a “Local Impact Report” to the Planning Inspectorate later in the process and all residents are urged to lobby their local councillors.

Residents and Councillors contributed and aired their views in respect of this issue.

Residents asked if there was a portal to comment on this re – public consultation

Cllr Maggie Wright confirmed the she would email the Chairman in respect of the public consultation.

Residents also enquired about Air Quality testing and how is a benchmark set.

Cllr Maggie Wright confirmed that she would contact David Gould the officer who deals with Air Quality.

Press Release Councillors Raise Concerns over Hinckley Rail Freight Interchange

The Leader of the Council had issued a Press Release which was circulated at the meeting which raised concerns over the Hinckley Rail Freight Interchange for the Leader and Local Ward Members in the area and said that they were unlikely to support current proposals for the new Rail Freight Interchange that is planned for a site near Elmesthorpe.

The press release read as follows:

“Although the site lies within the district, due to the size of the project the Secretary of State would decide if the plans will go ahead and not the District Council, Blaby District Council’s Planning team would only be able to produce a technical response.

The road structure would struggle to cope with the increased vehicle movements with Junction 21 of the M1 already at a standstill at several parts of the day due to current capacity.

The impact on nearby villages would be substantial especially with the  limited road infrastructure in the area. This has already caused major traffic issues to the residents which would be exacerbated by the plans.

The increased rail movements would have a knock on effect to traffic issues, especially at the automated crossing at Narborough.

Whilst the project could increase a substantial number of jobs, these are unlikely to be filled by the local population with the low levels of unemployment within the district.

With the proposed size of the development in a rural area there would be a considerable detrimental impact to the visual amenity and green space.

“Should the Secretary of State be minded to approve the application, substantial infrastructure would need to be provided prior to the commencement of the development.

“ The local County Councillor, Councillor Maggie Wright has also advised me that she fully supports these comments, together wit local Ward Members, Councillors Sheila Scott, Iain Hewson and Deanne Woods.

Collectively we will carefully monitor all activities on these plans going forward”

Further consultation will be conducted by the development company dbsmmetry in the autumn prior to the submission of any planning application to the Secretary of State and Residents are encouraged to participate and make their views known.”

Fosse Villages

The Chairman reported that the FVNP had been submitted to Blaby DC.

Cllr Sheila Scott advised the meeting that there was an officer dealing with the plan as there had been some issues.