Traffic and flooding fears over 31 homes plan Glen Parva

Glen Parva residents fear a plan for 31 new homes in their village will lead to traffic and flooding problems. Farmland south of Little Glen Road in the village is being prepared for proposed development, plans submitted to Blaby District Council reveal.

Applicants Clarendon Land & Development II Limited and John Littlejohn Designer Homes Limited carried out a pre-application consultation with residents and received 18 responses. Most express concern about the “inevitable” increase in traffic that would come with the new homes.

Residents feel local roads are already congested, particularly on Little Glen Road itself, the consultation revealed. They are concerned the proposed access arrangements, which would be via Little Glen Road if the application is approved, would only make the situation worse.

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The developers said they acknowledged these concerns in their app, adding that “there will inevitably be an increase in traffic levels.” However, they believe this increase can be “easily accommodated by the local motorway network” without the need for additional work to provide additional capacity.

They added that “there are no motorway safety issues identified or currently expected to arise as a consequence of the proposals”. Leicestershire County Council, as the local highways authority, also weighed in, with officers saying they were happy the proposed development would have “no major impact on transport in terms of capacity or congestion or highway safety”.

However, they added that they did not believe the developers had “considered safe and appropriate access to the site in sufficient detail” and said they could not provide final highway advice on the app without further information.

Residents have also raised concerns about flooding risks at the site. They said there had previously been heavy flooding in the area and documents showed the development would be in a flood risk area.

The claimants said they had undertaken an initial flood risk assessment which showed the southern end of the site was not suitable for residential development. As a result, the proposed development would be limited to the northern part of the site, which they said was at low risk of flooding.

However, some support for the plans was received. The application said: “One person supported the proposed development, highlighting the need for more affordable housing to get people off the streets. In addition, this respondent thought that the recreational area of ​​the site would be good for young people, especially with cycle paths”.

If approved, the 31 homes would consist of three one-bedroom flats, three one-bedroom houses, 20 two-bedroom houses and five three-bedroom houses. It would be a mix of social and “affordable” housing, the documents state. Approximately 62 parking spaces will be provided.

Blaby District Council has launched its own consultation on the plan which runs until Wednesday 24 July. A decision on the plans is expected on Thursday, August 15.