Controversial housing scheme in Leicestershire village given green light

A plan to demolish a former kindergarten and build new houses in its place has been approved. Councilors on Blaby District Council’s planning committee voted in favor of the Enderby scheme last night, Thursday 9 May.

The disused Smarties nursery in West Street is to be bulldozed and 21 homes built in its place. Each of the four one-bed blocks, 10 three-bed houses and seven two-bed houses are to be classed as “affordable” housing, planning documents show. Access to the site will be via the existing West Street entrance with a newly created road leading into the site.

The application was among the most contested in the district last year, data sent to LeicestershireLive by Blaby District Council revealed. Some 23 objections were received by the local authority. However, councilors followed officers’ recommendations to approve the scheme and voted unanimously in favor of it.

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Concerns included congestion and increased traffic in the area, disruption to possible neighbors during the construction phase, loss of trees within the scheme and limited capacity for local services such as doctors, schools and dental surgeries. Enderby local councilor Cheryl Cashmore also raised the issue of congestion in the town.

Although Leicestershire County Council decided that the new use of the land would create less traffic than the permitted use of the nursery and therefore refusal was not possible due to motorways, Councilor Cashmore said the site had been vacant “for a number of years ” and “people will get used to not seeing so much traffic”. She said she will work with the county council to see what can be done to alleviate any problems that arise from the extra traffic.

Coun Cashmore added “it was nice to see brownfield land being developed (with) much needed housing”. Disused industrial sites are those on which they were previously built. Finally, she seconded the motion to grant the plan approval.