Details revealed for dozens of village homes ‘built for horses and carts’

Full details of 75 houses built on fields in a Leicestershire village have been announced. Developer Lagan Homes has revealed the size of homes to be built on land south of Markfield Road in Ratby, as well as information on landscaping and green spaces.

The estate will include four one-bed houses, 16 two-bedroom houses, 36 three-bed houses and 19 four-bed houses. A main street will run through the 13.5 acre site and the main access will be from Markfield Road.

When initial approval was given for the scheme last February by Hinckley and Bosworth Borough Council, councilor Ozzy O’Shea said Ratby was “exceeding its means” and claimed almost 270 homes had been approved for the village. Shea added: “We can’t keep taking it, the infrastructure isn’t there. The main street was built for horses and wagons. We can’t widen the main street.”

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The council received 12 objections to the original application, with one resident pleading with the authority to “stop further development”. “At this rate we won’t have any more green spaces, once it’s gone it’s gone forever,” they added. “No destruction to our beautiful country.”

Ratby Parish Council also objected to the plan, saying the houses would have a “significant, negative impact on the intrinsic value, beauty and open character of the area”. But council leader Cllr Stuart Bray said that because Leicestershire County Council had not objected, “it will be another application which, if we turn it down, we simply wouldn’t have any chance of appeal”.

To the west of the site, 90 homes are under construction after being approved in 2021. The site is also adjacent to two woods, Martinshaw Wood and Pear Tree Wood, as well as pasture land.

Planning documents for the 75 homes state: “Like the housing to the east of the site, the built development is to be set back from Markfield Road. This allows the adjacent Markfield Road field, along with Martinshaw Wood, to be designed as a green area for habitat creation, which includes the introduction of new deciduous woodland blocks and tree planting.

The developer also promised a play area. The application documents are on the council’s planning portal and comments and objections can be made until Friday (June 14).