Places Features

Villagers in Thurnby and Bushby say that they are under threat of massive housing development, even if Pennbury the proposed ecotown isn't given the green light.

Harbough District Council needs to build 7,000 new homes in the next twenty years, and village residents fear they could have 65 per cent of them there if the local plan goes ahead.

There are six options in the local plant for Harborough District Council to consider, with option three bringing particular concern to the campaigners.

Campaigners Judith and Geoff

Listen: The Campaigners

BBC Leicester's Bridget Blair has been to meet some of the campaigners...

The campaigners understand that at least 40 new dwellings per year will be built in the area anyway, but points in the local plans could see up to a further 2420 homes appearing in the next 20 years.

Helen Shepherd, the Vice Chair of the Thurnby and Bushby Parish Council, said it would be a shame if green areas were lost:

"There's five or six really, really lovely little areas of the district that could be lost to dwellings very easily if people don't actually start campaigning and complaining and putting their objections forward."

He is extremely concerned about the implications the plans could have on the identity of the local villages, even if it is not an immediate threat.

At present he feels they are still able to "retain our rural and community facilities as an independent village outside of the main structure of Leicester, even though it's only sort of 15 minutes down the road."

Judith Lord from the society believes that focus should be turned to the hundreds of empty dwellings in Leicester city, before considering new build projects.

This is not one of the options open to the District Council, so for now Helen feels it's important for villagers to make themselves heard:

"If we don't object within the next few week's there is a possibility planning might go ahead. People need to write, people need to petition and make their objections clear."

Listen: The Official Line

BBC Leicester's Ben Jackson spoke to Steve Pointer, Policy Manager for Built Environment Services at Harborough District Council, and Simon Galton, a local district councillor, about the need for housing...

Steve said that it was a requirement from the regional plan that additional houses must be built to meet local needs.

He said that the council are in a consultation stage and have made no final decisions on how the new homes will be distributed across a district which extends from Lutterworth to the edge of Leicester.

Steve added that proposed plans for the eco town would not affect the current planning networks:

He also said that the number of new dwellings in the area was more likely to be around 3,500, and would not be concentrated in one area.

Simon Galton is against the proposed plans, "It's mad, it's absolute madness. It's not Harborough's fault but this is what happens when you allow the local planning process to be effectively bypassed."

He feels that the infrastructure of the Thurnby and Bushby area is not sufficient to supply to a larger number of people, which was discussed in an earlier regional plan.

Three meetings will be held in Thurnby, Bushby and Billesdon for residents to find out more and comment on what they feel about the possible plans.