Homes in the Leicestershire village have been approved despite flooding concerns

Twenty homes in a Leicestershire village have been given the go-ahead despite fears from local residents that they could worsen flooding problems. The homes will be built on a field off Chaveney Road in Quorn as long as Severn Trent Water does not lodge an objection to the scheme.

Details of the development, presented by a Mr Marriott, were given to Charnwood Borough Council’s planning committee at a meeting last week. Around 23 local residents opposed the proposals, along with Quorn Parish Council, concerns raised including a possible increase in road accidents, existing flooding problems being exacerbated, loss of countryside and the effects of pollution from the nearby Mountsorrel quarry on new residents. .

A bungalow will be demolished to provide access to the site. Cllr Lance Wiggins told the committee that while the development could have “limited economic benefits”, it would have a negative impact on the village. “The public footpath that runs the length of this site is one of the most popular for walkers in the village and this development would completely change the character of this part of that path,” he said.

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A report by the council’s planning officers said the area where the houses would be built was in the lowest flood risk category. The report also showed that Leicestershire County Council, in its capacity as the main local flood authority, had no objection to the scheme but asked that conditions be added to address surface water drainage.

Chris Ronald, chairman of Quorn Parish Council’s planning committee, told the meeting that Storm Henk had flooded the main roads through the village, leaving it “impassable for at least a day”. “We’re living in an era of climate change and we can expect more, and worse, storms like the one we had in January, and that just wasn’t taken into account in what submitted by the applicant or in what the (council’s planning) officer reported to the committee,” he said “It would be quite reckless to give any kind of approval to this scheme until we are much clearer about the potential to produce and more flood damage than we have. already.”

The report added: “The Local Highways Authority has closely considered the objections received on the basis of motorway concerns, including those reporting recent events, but does not consider that the modest increase in traffic flow resulting from the development will significantly increase their inclination.”

But ward councilor Lee Westley, who was unable to attend the meeting, said in a statement read to members: “These 20 homes will add pressure on an already overstretched village which has played its part and my safety concerns in regarding access to the site. of Chaveney Road remain as valid as ever. I don’t agree with (the local highway authority’s) accident data, which is simply inaccurate.”

However, councilors voted unanimously to approve the planning officers’ recommendations. The decision means the scheme can go ahead as long as Severn Trent Water does not oppose it and is subject to successful negotiations over the developer’s financial contributions to local facilities and services. The council will seek more than £400,000 in financial contributions from Mr Marriott. Eight affordable homes will also be required by the council as part of the scheme.

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