Traffic in new homes will ‘crush’ Hinckley, councilors warn

Traffic from major housing developments could ‘crush’ a Leicestershire town, councilors have warned.

Plans for 475 new homes on the A47 Normandy Way in Hinckley were approved on Tuesday.

However, Hinckley and Bosworth District Council’s planning committee was told major road improvements were needed if the nearby A47 and A5 were to cope with extra traffic.

“The city is suffocating,” said committee vice-chairman James Moore.

“I don’t see how any level of mitigation is going to solve the problem.

“Where does it all end? It is not the case that we can just build a dual carriageway (on Normandy Way) because there is no money there and there is no space.

“By approving these ongoing developments, we are strangling our own city.”

The council last year refused planning permission for the 475 homes, but developer Richborough Estates overturned that decision on appeal.

The company resubmitted its plans to the city council after Leicestershire County Council said it no longer needed to include a primary school in the scheme.

Councilor Stuart Bray told the committee: “I am really concerned as this is one of a number of applications going forward.

“I have concerns about the impact on the Normandy road and the A5. At some point it will all come to a standstill. We know that.”

The county council said it would request a meeting to discuss the issue with National Highways and Leicestershire County Council.

National Highways said it meets regularly with the district council to discuss the A5 and is studying the entire length of the road to see what upgrades are needed.

A county council spokesman said: “We will work with the developers, National Highways and Warwickshire County Council, as the neighboring local highways authority, to manage the cumulative impact of the development on the local and strategic highway networks.”