The Ideas Board is currently closed and will be open again at the next stage of consultation and engagement on the Framework Masterplan. It is important that all Ideas received are published in the context of the stage of consultation they are given.
Below are the ideas we received via the Ideas Board during the consultation and engagement stage on the Vision for Whetstone Pastures Garden Village.
All feedback received via the Ideas Board is moderated before being published on it.
If you would like to get in touch with the project team, please complete the contact form below or e-mail contact@whetstonepastures.co.uk
The more 'green' initiatives the better. electric charging points, electric bikes, energy efficient homes, use of solar panels please.
Build it somewhere else. Anywhere but there I moved to Countesthorpe to live in a village not a sprawling suburban atrocity.
Open spaces, gardens and well spaced housing. There are far too many village developments in recent years that cram in far too many houses and lack sizable gardens.
Variety of architecture should also be a high priority.
Oh and trees! A lot of trees.
Scrap the idea. Not needed, the green field area more important than any houses!!!
Additional infrastructure, Health centre, school,shops etc are a must otherwise there is a risk to existing villages in the area
Don't forget about the disabled community and the build of bungalows. A bungalow with slightly wider doorways would enable me to have an accessible home.
If this is approved, then this needs to include the road infrastructure to divert traffic away from Countesthorpe and Willoughby Waterleys. The roads should not be connected with Willoughby Road as this will drastically increase the traffic and air pollution levels around the Countesthorpe college and the primary schools.
Not only are newly built houses expensive and unrealistic for the younger generation to buy but the proportions of the houses and gardens are far smaller than older counterparts. For a garden village proposing a better quality of life, I would expect at least larger gardens and consider better-proportioned houses rather than the developers making an easy profit for very little space.
In the proposals, it suggests between 3500 and 6000 houses considering New Lubbesthorpe is of a similar size in acres and they are only doing circa 4250 which isn't listed as a Garden Village. I would suggest that a 'Garden Village' should have less than this New Lubesthorpe as the quantity of housing is the main focus of this project.
Build it somewhere else, there have already been too many developments in this area which in turn have created extra much unwanted traffic and strain on our existing amenities - overcrowding of our schools and so on...
If it were to be a garden village there would be lots of space and houses would be spaced out well. And as a village would have all amenities to go with it.
But let’s be realistic, it is going to be an enormous new estate with crammed in houses with no gardens or parks with hundreds of social housing bringing its own problems.
Asbo central!!
This fertile farm land and beautiful countryside is not the place to build this large housing estate. It just expands the urban sprawl of Leicester
Great idea, but not 3 miles away from another huge 4500 house development in the district lubesthorpe. There local area is already far too busy with traffic, a 10 minute journey takes 40 minutes in the morning and this will make it worse, even with the new junction.
You haven’t included that each new home will need a charging point if the amendments to the building regs get changed. Will you be factoring that in even if these are built before the regs come into force? Make sure that you are factoring into the design the ease of charging those vehicles. Ie if you have block garages where do the chargers go?
Waste: central recycling points for items not picked up on the doorstep so people don’t have to travel to the tip.
Sustainable travel: government wants walking and cycling to be the preferred options for travelling. Consider in all properties no matter what size/ flats where those bikes
Can be stored safely.
Solar power give buyers the options to have solar power. From a developers POV it’s expensive but majority of homeowners can’t afford to retrofit solar on their properties. Also easier if it’s done as new build. Do it upfront the mortgage can absorb cost of solar and resident can make savings in their energy.
Move it away from our lovely countesthorpe! This is going to be another mass housing expansion that will destroy and consume our village!
Heard it all before...it’s all nice marketing fluff. Reality is low quality housing, too little off road parking, lack of distinct architecture, and no sense of ‘community’. Be interesting to see how it pans out, but these visions of garden villages rarely turn out how they are portraid.
Follow the money. That statement almost always gets you to the truth. Possibly going to happen here if you don't plan it properly. Housebuilders will want to deliver properties so they get revenue, politicians getting commissions will hold their hands. What do you get? Thousands of houses with multiple thousands of people, all wondering where to put their kids to school or do their shopping. One possibility is to cram them in with existing infrastructure elsewhere, causing more traffic movements and crowds making the physical distancing that everybody will be preaching for the next few years an impossibility. Don't do that! Instead, ensure schools, shops, banks, medical care, etc. are all in place beforehand (and recruit the workers. Plenty of unemployed these days thanks to the infinite wisdom in Westminster. Add Brexit and you'll have applicants queueing up for those jobs).
Next, reiterating what a number of sensible people have already suggested. If you are going to deliver a garden village, it will have lots of gardens and green areas and parks. If you are merely paying lip service by coming up with a clever name to pull the wool over people's eyes, then you have done exactly what many people expect of politicians these days. I hope you will deliver on the gardens. It would be a blessing for something positive to happen for a change. Whether those thousands of houses can still be called a village, I leave to the semantics-sticklers.
Again, parroting others: Make roads wide and accessible and have cycle lanes (ideally in a different colour) and pavements. And plant some trees, another one of God's great ideas. Speaking of God, have you considered asking any churches if they would be interested in planting a fellowship there? This country with its rich Judeo-Christian heritage needs to consider its history and need of salvation through faith in Jesus. 10/10 die, no matter how hard the NHS tries. Jesus has a better track record. Read the Gospel of John.
Do the relevant authorities not visit these areas ?
The road system is gridlocked at the best of times, too much building has gone on in this area recently and massive developments already planned locally.
Calling it a Garden Village is just a way to make people think it’s going to be a pretty, open spaced development, in reality it will be a typical new development, cramming in as many buildings as possible.
And we don’t need another Logistics Park on our doorstep!
PLEASE DO NOT BUILD ON BEAUTIFUL GREEN SPACES.
Let’s be more environmentally friendly, plant some trees, protect our natural spaces, don’t just keep building monstrous developments on the edge of residential areas.
Let’s try and maintain as much of our green and pleasant land, instead of lining the pockets of developers.
Let’s think differently, develop brown site land if we must and utilise homes/ buildings that are sitting empty.
Create jobs that help our environment, not destroy it.
Take it somewhere else. I am a lifelong resident of Enderby, Whetstone and Blaby and have enjoyed villiage life and the countryside all my life. Enderby and Blaby were virtually doubled in size during the 60s and Whetstone went the same way soon afterwards. With planned expansion at Magna Park, plus new developement projected at Lutterworth South, why is this area seen as the promised land. the area does not have the infrastructure to cope with the increased traffic and demands of several thousand more new homes and a new logistics park. 24/7 operations do not go well with housing developements. We do not need it. Go away and leave the countryside in peace.
Ive read nothing about the existing roads, How many access roads and where will they be.
Great idea, people have to live somewhere, and if it could be worked, a new M1 junction, and a road link to the Industrial Estates in Whetstone, this could help heavy traffic through Whetstone to the industrial estates, lessening pollution, from vehicle emission , congestion, accidents.
I would hope , the planners, consider, roads, schooling, doctors, hospitals etc.
This is not going to be pleasant for us already living here, but maybe set out a plan of campaign, the motorway junction first, so deliver trucks, and the construction teams can get access easily to the work site, instead of trying to use the existing road network.
Homes need to be self sufficient for families to live in.
Covid has changed the world and the way we now live. We are all working from home and the sense of community is starting to take shape again.
You need to consider the installation of solar panels and ground source heat pumps, charging stations for cars, recycling points and bin areas.
There needs to be a consideration that does gas need to be installed at the properties as electricity is the route forward.
We need larger gardens and allotments for growing our own items and having live stock like chickens. As some people want this and this is not aloud on new estates due to the covenants.
We need spaces for communities and walking areas. Places like everard meadows that links communities. Coffee shops, cafes and small local shops that people can use without having to travel to surrounding villages. Within the parks play areas for the kids of all ages including adults. Not just small children teenagers and adults. There also needs to be sufficient parking for these areas as they don’t consider that people like to visit these areas and then it over spills.
The schools need to a priority and the health centres as these are already at capacity?
The traffic- low noise roads for neighbouring villages and alternative routes so that traditional and established villages are not affected.
To alleviate traffic congestion provide a guided bus route with adjacent cycle path into Leicester along the disused rail line possibly via Fosse Park Shopping. Similar to the one one provided between Cambridge and St Ives, Cambs.
Build smaller. Don’t connect it to other villages like Countesthorpe.
Villages are small friendly places. Not huge sprawling acres of houses.
Build well proportioned houses with suitable off-road parking and gardens front and back.
Don’t cram in more houses to turn the profit
Think about quality and not quantity
And don’t build affordable housing anywhere near any of it if you want it to be a nice green village
Proper joined up thinking would have linked Leicester, Whetstone Pastures, Lutterworth East and Rugby via disused line and provide a truly sustainable solution. With the shelving of the Expressway there is nothing on the infrastructure to be provided to alleviate existing traffic problems and why another logistic park 15 mins from Magna Park? How will the development compensate for the loss of habitat for the red listed farmland birds like grey partridge and lapwings?
This plan needs additional road infrastructure to divert inevitable extra traffic away from accident spots and narrow congested often poorly lit roads around our villages. For example - the narrow roads from Cosby and Whetstone through to Littlethorpe/Narborough village are already choked at times. Narborough village is a notorious pinchpoint for traffic tailing back into Littlethorpe and on to the B4114, residents unable to drive out of their own streets, emergency and bin vehicles struggling for access, pedestrians having to take extra care as drivers speed past on the wrong side of the road to "beat the train". The B582/B4114 Foxhunter Roundabout is another pinchpoint that has far too many accidents. The plan is fundamentally missing measures to minimise the increased traffic impact to the villages and spots where safety is a real concern.
How is 6000 homes and an industrial estate a village.
The green belt is far more important than concreting over beautiful countryside, take your idea and think again!
Great ideas presented but unfortunately a large housing estate enveloping green spaces that can never be recovered. Why, when we have loss of the high street etc, do we want to develop green fields? Profit will be the main motivation- a green garden village sounds so much better! When you are a large scale developer fields are much easier to convert into housing people want to buy at a premium regardless of infrastructure and supporting local services. Do house builders revisit their sites to establish whether their promises have helped the local communities- extra doctors, teachers, road networks etc? This is a major project which will have a huge impact on the surrounding villages. If it is to go ahead make it into a ‘proper village’. Different housing and space. Not tall houses with tiny gardens and lots of narrow roads. Give it a centre and make sure other villages don’t suffer with additional traffic.
I opposethis development
First and foremost - this is greenbelt and it shouldn't be developed here!
Having said that - it must not only retain, but must add to and enhance the existing natural environment (woodland, hedgerows, trees, ponds etc)
It must be kept small to reduce its impact
Houses must have reasonable sized gardens and be reasonably spaced apart and look like village houses
Traffic infrastructure must divert away from Cosby and Countesthorpe
There must be supporting infrastructure - library, health care, community centre, allotments
The proposed J20a must be able to support the flow of traffic the community and it's logistics park would create without adding traffic to the existing road infrastructure
There are 2 dismantled railways in the site. They must be used for pedestrian and cycle routes. It would make sense to make the great central line connect with the existing one into Leicester.
6000 homes equates to roughly 20000 people and logistics distribution centres are generally very automated so they will only be able employ a few hundred people so they will have to travel. Opening up these old railway lines will safely allow that without adding hopefully to much traffic to the existing network.
Support in principle, BUT only on the proviso that local infrastructure is upgraded prior to major building works. The motorway junction is needed already to cope with the traffic from Blaby, Whetstone and Countesthorpe-congestion around Fosse Pk and Enderby is awful. Local amenities such as shops and leisure facilities also needed as build progresses - not left to the last stage and eventually never built. Make use of the disused railway either as cycle way or guided bus. Full installation of solar roofs, electric car charging, off road parking for minimum 2 cars each property, minimum space standards and decent gardens. Blaby DC need to take the lead on this to ensure needs of wider community are met. Employment from industrial park will be limited, likely low paid and few residents of new development will actually work there.
This so called new village will be no more than an extention of Countesthorpe with only a few hundred yards separating the two and the same for Willoughby and to think you would even think of creating a new large so called living space with a motor way (M1) running through the middle of it, with air pollution and noise so close to peoples homes.
The wrong location without a new motorway junction - the amount of addiotnal traffic this development will create feeding into an already heavily overloaded A426 / B582 (Enderby Road) for traffic getting to the M1/M69 doesn't bear thinking about. Previously a new motorway junction was panned for this area along with out an outer ring road to the east of the county - the latter has been sucessfully squashed and with it seemingly the new M1 junction - likewise this plan should be abanonded.
Upgrade the dangerous Countesthorpe road/ Lutterworth road junction to a roundabout and continue the A426 blaby bypass dual carriage to the new motorway junction.
My idea is you enter into an honest and open consultation with the people this venture will really affect, not this token website to make it look like you are a responsible company doing the right thing by the local community. The term Garden Village is a misrepresentation of your plans.
Consultation periods which fall across the Christmas period. Webinar events (under the guise of being Covid safe) which discriminate against the elderly or less tech savvy members of the community, those more likely to have knowledge of the surrounding area and the potential problems the development may cause. Traffic surveys scheduled for the Leicestershire holiday period to give a false reflection of peak time road congestion and related air quality measurements.
Not the actions of a forward thinking company wanting “to create the best possible vision for Whetstone Pastures.”
If the idea really is "all parties working together" and for "creative and imaginative developing that we and future generations can be truly proud of", then involve your local community and something good may just come of it, for everyone, not just the shareholders of Tritax Symmetry.
Can I just add, your website is storing cookies on the computer or device of everyone who visits it without requesting their consent.
I'm impressed by the vision presented and would welcome such an innovative and modern, much-needed approach to development and housing needs.
I'm horrified, however, by some of the prejudice and bigotry I see represented on this Ideas Board.
Good people wanting to live well are not defined by their wealth, access to mortgages and private housing, ethnicity or faith. Please do not assume that it is people without a lot of money that are the cause of anti-social behaviour. All sections of society produce people who do not always behave well and many more who are good, decent and kind who want to raise their families well, give their children a good education and live a good life.
A true community will include, welcome and care for people of all ages and backgrounds. Our young people and young families will need affordable housing. Why would we need unaffordable housing? Which of us started our home-owning in a large 4+-bedroomed house? The countryside and the desire for 'village life' is not the preserve of the wealthy.
Many living in Countesthorpe, Peatling, Whetstone, Lubbesthorpe, Broughton Astley and so on, have moved away from another area yet seek to deny that opportunity to others. Ask yourself if you live in the original village or on developed land. Those who travel into Leicester for work are responsible for the congestion and traffic problems that are described. Please do not seek to blame others for the problem. The planning for walking and cycle routes and sustainable travel is part of that solution.
Build a sustainable way of living, with local shops, schools and health facilities that do not require car travel; buildings and houses that can generate their own electricity, and can be heated cheaply; accessible green public spaces for exercise and well-being for all; a community with a heart; a place where people can grow food for themselves and access locally grown food; an environment that supports local wildlife and biodiversity.
If this truly is an alternative to the cookie cutter/doll's house type of development that we have seen far too much of, and is rightly criticised here, then we should celebrate its vision of a better way to live.
So create the vision and it will be celebrated. Show that good quality housing and development is achievable.
Re-open the disused railway line between Broughton Astley, this site, Countesthorpe and Leicester. This will encourage residents to use public transport over already congested roads.
Equip all new homes with solar panels and heat pumps to make a genuine difference to the carbon emissions of the development and avoid inevitable costly retrofits.
Provide Countesthorpe with a southern bypass between Lutterworth road and Welford road to reduce through traffic in the village, this will get worse with villages/suburbs to the east accessing the new motorway junction.
Save our fields and green spaces .. please .. no more building
However much “green space/parkland/walking/bike trails & local facilities” you plan to put in TRIPPLE IT. Developers seem to put the minimum in and think people will be happy with it. Think about the people and families instead of just how much you will profit financially from all this.
if you are serious about a sustainable future, you need help. Warm Green words are cheap, but there are examples out there! hve you contacted https://www.bioregional.com/projects-and-services/case-studies/how-we-helped-developer-brick-by-brick-create-an-ambitious-sustainability-action-plan or similar?
it wouold be a disaster for another executuve car dependant estate, built for its proximity to a motorway, so please be far more ambitious. you need a total audit on your scheme from teh word go. This company seems to have had great success in building people freidnly zero carbon homes
To live in the countryside to myself means a quieter, calmer and healthier lifestyle. I wonder if this 'garden village' will do this, I think not. Personally I would like to see old hedgerows, old trees, fields, not newly planted shrubs or saplings scattered throughout the estate. Housing built in a village style i.e not all the same, with large gardens and parking for at least 3 cars, (having a garage doesn't mean people use them.)
Infrastructure - Doctors, dentists, chemists, schools, shops.
Walk ways/ cycle routes that link the 'garden village' to other nearby villages or further away.
The Countesthorpe Road/ Cosby Road junction with the A426 turned into a roundabout thereby slowing the traffic down. Maybe a pedestrian walkway and bridle way over the A426. Use the dismantled railway lines for walk walks/ bridleways. Make the developers create full length paths as part of their 'deal'.
Keep in mind Covid 19 has made a lot of people realise what is important - green space, health, family.
Looking forward to seeing more detailed plans before consent is given.
This development will ruin beautiful country side, destroy wild life habitats and ruin the lives of local residents. Villages Willoughby, Countesthorpe, Cosby and Whetstone will become one big town, roads in the area will not be able to take the extra traffic, country lanes will become extremely dangerous for the many horse rides in the area.
A logistics park needs decent road access. The roads adjacent to this site are the A426, which has capacity for neither the cars associated with 6-7000 houses, nor a steady stream of trucks. To the east, the Willoughby Road is a small, rural road. Are Tritax Symmetry imagining that there will still be an M1 J20A, even though the A46 expressway has not been approved? Where would the money for this come from? How would it affect traffic flows through all the nearby villages? I suspect the whole scheme is not viable.
It is suggested that the disused railway line be opened up and used as a footpath, cycleway, whatever. But that little strip is one of the few real havens for wildlife in that area.
We need to make sure the new village has a soul. Dickens Heath near Solihull is often held up as a success of a new village, but if you go along there on Sunday (even pre-pandemic) it's dead, there's no bustle.
Similalry, Meon Vale near Stratford has only recently been brought together as a community by a campaign to oppose further development.
Therefore, my idea is to design in community groups and activity from the earliest stages. That means not just setting aside space for community use or providing football pitches and hoping they will get used in time. It means devising a strategy for getting the groups that will use these spaces consittued and up and running from the very first days and weeks of people moving in.
if they do build 6000 new houses if the second phase goes through thats potentially 12000 extra cars , the road network can not cope now, Also where will all the water go? There is potential for more flooding at jubilee Park and further down the Soar. And there is the point of the main north sea gas pipe running right through the middle of the site, I dont see why we need to build on farm land when there are plenty of run down areas in the city that could be develop how will we feed ourselves in the future when we have no farm land left.
This consultation is all green-wash with buzzwords and notions to get what is basically a bog-standard mixed housing/logistics development past the planners. The plan is big on vague themes and totally devoid of detail. Many of the "green" and sustainable ideals it aspires to are not enshrined in law and hence there is no recourse to the law if, for example, the developers did not put in promised public transport services.
Far from making the area a transport paradise, this development would put huge strain on local roads. New construction *always* increases traffic, even when new roads are included.
If this project wanted to be *truly* radical and "green", it should be designed with zero car ownership in mind.
This development is not a part of the District Council's development plan and there is no guarantee that the objectives of both are compatible with each other.
The other thing this project, and many others, don't consider is the demography of the UK population. In 20 years' time, around one third of the population currently alive (the 60+ age group) will probably be dead. Many residents in this age group currently live in large family homes still and without meaning to appear callous, when they pass on, a large amount of housing stock is going to be realised to serve a *falling* birth rate i.e. our population is going to shrink and not grow.
If the lockdown and 2008 financial crash have taught us anything, it's that the era of the "big shopping centre" is probably past its zenith. So in less than a generation, all the big new stores being built in places like Fosse Park will be derelict and any new houses needed can be built there.
The "Vision Document" published in December 2020 is laughable: "Protecting, conserving and
enhancing existing wildlife and habitats". The best way to do this is to build on brown-field sites and not green-field ones!
I appreciate the need for housing; however, serious consideration must be given to the community facilities in and around Countesthorpe such as schools, healthcare, recreational centres and a variety of shops. There isn’t enough for residents now, so what will be the impact to the village with this huge development? Builders may make plans for additional facilities but do not guarantee them.
The roads around this area are not suitable to cope with that amount of traffic from such a large proposed site
Countesthorpe station road is already grid locked at junctions at rush hour
Cosby village main road is also gridlocked during rush hour
Suitable road plans need submitting to ensure new traffic does not go via the villages
It will be cauous
The development is too large and the additional traffic flow will cause major issues in Countesthorpe and the surrounding areas. The plans are too vague as to how the traffic will be managed and what additions eg traffic lights etc will be added to existing roads. There are many elderly within Countesthorpe who already struggle navigating the reads with the traffic which cuts through the village. The additional housing will make all roads in the area unsafe, unless footpaths, lighting, speed limits etc are all revised.
We have many new developments nearby turning small towns to large and destroying villages. There are many a brownfield site locally that would benefit from development, not the green space we so desperately need. Less land to back British farming, more chance of flooding new and existing homes & displacement of already suffering wild life. I for one know even as a hard worker I will never be able to afford one of these new homes due to the location proposed & the fact they are new. This will also devalue properties nearby to the proposal, including the one I live in. These developments thrive from greed, not implementing new infrastructure & we all know all that would go ahead is the houses, non eco-friendly along with all the harmful emissions from building right through to the additional traffic on country roads. Affecting horse riders, cyclists, walkers and natural beauty.
No body goes out for a peaceful walk to admire an estate, they go to unwind in the quiet countryside.
We can cope with a handful but we do not need our local area changing, leave it be. The police are struggling with pratroling locally as it is, with many crimes left unsolved, why would you want to stretch them further?
There has already been a vast amount of new housing built within a stone’s throw of this area. I want green fields, not a huge estate. More traffic is inevitable. This does not fit with Blaby’s local plan.
Countesthorpe is being ruined, not the village it used to be. Traffic around the area has increased. We really don’t need more houses around the area!
To include a low level community shopping and dining village with visual green space recreation areas to meet and greet, with enjoyable people and pet walking and cycling activities.
Also allow adequate visual and child play space around development housing to accommodate the additional c8 thousand cars safely and with minimum burden to the visual and local environment
This is being proposed in a prodomantly village location
All roads in and out have not been adapted since the villages were created
If this ever gets passed all routes into the garden village need to be via the main Lutterworth road
With no access routes via the village of Countesthorpe or Willoughby leys main roads which are literally countryside single lane near enough dirt roads
Upgrade Lutterworth road with several entrances into the new village
And ensure a independent school
And doctor surgery and facility for the youth is provided whether it be a form of village centre youth centre
And a family public house which family’s can enjoy so maybe get a chain involved like greene king or Marstons
And a young generation group : parish council type of people who can get involved
Offer the opportunity to self build in an area for people who would like to create their own houses at affordable land prices (recently been on tv in in Oxford)
Make any shops in the area at affordable rent to create local business opportunities which are viable
My concern with building any new home is that the building companies are doing it as cheap as possible and not thinking about the environmental impact of their savings. Solar panels are an easy start but public transport needs to be easily accessible too - it's not acceptable for people to have to walk 15/20 minutes to be able to reach a bus stop and they need to have seating for those less able to stand whilst waiting. Public transport needs to prevent excessive traffic so you need to know where people will be travelling to and make sure these routes are covered and maybe even subsidised to encourage people to use them. This development will have a negative effect on local villages and it's not fair on those who have chosen to live and build their lives there who didn't want to be on busy roads etc.
You need to make sure there's the basic requirements such as good schools from nursery to at least year 6 and then reliable public transport for reaching schools further away. Countesthorpe can't have more cars from students attending it's college, they encroach on local residents driveways already. You need a good GP surgery - many are already finding it hard to fit people in when they need appointments. Space for local businesses to rent premises with charges that are reasonable - Countesthorpe business rates are far too high and this cannot be replicated in other villages. Village halls/community meeting spaces, allotments, shops with prices that aren't too expensive and push people to need to drive elsewhere, post office, dentist, food takeaways. You need to make sure people have what they need where they live so they aren't relying on driving to other localities when not needed as this adds unwanted traffic on the roads.
You need local nature areas for people to walk their dogs - something like Bouskell park in Blaby is good but you also need more trees. There needs to be trees and wildflower areas to benefit the wildlife and water spaces for nature that revolves around these places.
The homes need to be as self sufficient as possible in regards to energy needed. The climate needs to be given in depth consideration.
Very concerned regarding proposal to build between 3500 & 6000 new homes only 3 miles away from New Lubbesthorpe development of 4500 new homes
Lack of thought for sustaining a greener environment ie solar powered energy, electric vehicles charging points, cycle paths, storage of cycles, footpaths
Concern for the environment, loss of green spaces, we should be protecting our green areas. Using green spaces reduces land to back British farming, increase chance of flooding new & existing homes, disruption to wildlife
Look at using existing empty homes/buildings which are empty or develop brown site land-NOT GREEN
New developments always generate increased traffic
Lack of infrastructure-medical, community centre, schooling, open spaces, bus routes, shops.
Thousands of new houses but unlikely young people will be able to afford them
This large development is not part of Blaby district council's development local plan & the two may not work well or at all together
Whetstone Pastures?Are these the same pastures that you will be concreting over to build this massive development?You talk about the importance of the environment to your plans and how you can make the village a green place but anything you do will only make this area much less green than it already is.Also,I should point out that just slapping the word “Garden” in front of something does not make it any more palatable or welcome.Perhaps you can tell the new residents about the “Garden” motorway they will be living next to?You should try and develop on existing urban and brownfield sites and improve the environment there rather than this huge and unnecessary destruction of green belt land.
How is building an Industrial park and 6000 houses a Village?! Please leave our beautiful countryside alone, Countesthorpe has already had mass housing developments. Our green fields are much more important.
Create new bridleways. The development will put more traffic on the road and plenty of equestrians, dog walkers, ramblers, runners etc. would love to get off the road.
Plant more trees than you chop down.
Provide plenty of green space.
Create a self supporting road infrastructure rather than increase traffic through local villages.
The surrounding villages already have more than enough traffic going through them, this proposal does nothing to address this or accounts for the increased traffic that will occur if this proposal goes ahead.
Why is this development needed, especially considering that New Lubberthorpe is still being constructed, which addressed the housing requirements for the area.
What is the plan for the "disused" railway, which is used by the local communities?
I have grave reservations about this development and question the premise upon which it is established. The fact that anyone would consider building homes so close to a Motorway with all the potential health hazards associated with major roads is extremely worrying.
Just looking at a map shows that ‘Whetstone Pasture’ is disproportionate in relation to other developments in the area. Existing settlements have grown up organically. The Whetstone Pastures Plan appears to be an experiment in pseudo rural development which is being used to industrialise another huge area of Leicestershire by the back door. Aside of this, there are many outstanding issues in the established communities that need to be addressed. Adding to the population in the area will not relieve them.
Will it improve long standing major infrastructure issues for existing communities? If the answer is ‘No’, then we should be pressing to get things right for the people who already live here before opening the doors to this scheme that detracts from the work of the countryside which is growing food, nurturing livestock, conserving habitats for wildlife, encouraging diversity, optimising water courses and land, in order to alleviate and prevent flooding.
I appreciate the need for housing across the board but does a development like this meet the country and county’s priority housing needs? Needs such as those who are disabled, elderly, in need of social housing, individuals and families in temporary accommodation, rural homelessness and unaffordable rural house prices?
In these uncertain and changing times it seems premature to consider a project with such far-reaching implications.
Please don’t ruin our lovely countryside there are lovely villages around this area we don’t need this “garden village “ we all move to a village for a reason to enjoy the lovely countryside that is around us it would be awful for it to be built on. We don’t need this there is enough building of housings estates as it is. Whetstone Countesthorpe Cosby Willoughby Ashby Magna they are all lovely places and it would effect them all !!!
It is a must the road networks are improved significantly. Furthermore, some decent walkways between villages etc.
Environmental vandalism on an industrial scale, presumably food production will not be a future requirement.
New roads should have be planned and well considered before you spend a fortune attempting to ‘sell’ the idea of a wonderful new housing estate. Without the expressway or the new motorway junction being approved, the additional of up to 6000 new homes will gridlock all local villages that are already full of traffic and parked vehicles on main roads. I’ve seen or heard nothing yet that convinces me that this huge estate will bring anything but lost green space, lost natural habitat and increased pollution, no matter how ‘environmentally friendly’ you try to promote it.
This area has been subjected to significant amounts of development over several years which has caused the green spaces between villages to disappear at an alarming rate.
The knock on effect of these developments has already created dangerous levels of traffic congestion on the A426 and through surrounding villages whose narrow roads are totally unsuited to the volumes of traffic now seen. The situation is compounded by regular closures of the M1 due to accidents and roadworks and the cancellation of the Eastern Distributor road which was much publicised as the means of support to allow for such huge developments as this to be built here begs the question on what justification can this "garden village" be promoted as an improvement to the area? History has shown that promises to provide community infrastructure are hollow with building companies only interested in the profit from the number of houses they can cram into the available space rather than extra service provision, gardens, green spaces and the natural environment.
This part of the county has reached saturation point for building so to preserve existing villages and what is left of the countryside the scrapping of this overambitious scheme in this area is the only sensible option.
Please can all the infrastructure be to the highest standards or insulation, security and design not just what is accepatble at the current time. It should be possible to provide houses with latest solar/thermal/wind renewable and car charging capabilities built in at the design stage. I would expect the planners to be able to provide detailed specifications of each dwelling and these only be allowed if they meet the required standards which are set by the local community not the local planning authorities. I suggest these standards be devised and agreed first before any further plans are presented.
To scrap this project, a development of this size will just be to the detriment of the surrounding area. My suggestion is to develop brown site land and invest in run down parts of Leicester which need improvement and rebuilding encouraging people back to the city and surrounding areas, rather than ruining more countryside as it’s cheaper to develop.
Include a section of tiny houses....ideal for singles or young couples or over 50s single women...with food growing possibilities and lots of fruit trees....
What will happen to the big house? It is a beautiful building inside and out. Could it be used as a community centre, library, G P surgery, Cinema, part of a school, bridal centre the possibilities are endless. It would be a sin to demolish it
There are no major roads to connect other than the Lutterworth Road which is, as a single lane carriageway, already has far too many vehicles on it. This will result in all the surrounding roads, ( built for when most villages were smaller than today and with far less cars per household) carrying the extra traffic. Willoughby Road, Cosby Lane, Holt Lane, Shuttleworth Lane to name a few. How will this be dealt with. Will they be shut at one end to avoid villages and small roads being used as rat run, endangering walkers, joggers, horse riders too name a few, many who have built a life in these villages to pursue such hobbies.
The M1 is already frequently congested so adding another on/off road here will not help,...
With the approval of Lutterworth East this whole area will just be urban sprawl. I worked 50 hours a week for over 20 twenty years to get out of the city I grew up in. What a waste of my time.
Previous poster pointed out about future food production. It's very foolhardy to rely on imports.
We should be focusing on population reduction not paving over paradise and putting up a parking lot.
Wouldn't it be great if there was some bigger thinking that connected Whetstone Pastures with Lutterworth East , Broughton Astley and the City of Leicester; which is failing. If the money going to be spent on HS2 was re-directed into Light rail connecting local communities with each other and there local centre (Leicester) we could then move on to connecting the cities. And as a footnote there is at this moment in time over 2millon square foot of warehouse space unused within 10miles of WP and LE
Why not build it nearer London, Northampton or Manchester where you’re based? Even the Blaby council leader who’s supporting it doesn’t live close enough to be affected. There’s already too much traffic, motorway is too busy and police, doctors etc are overstretched. Also, where are the people going to come from? 12000 to 20000 incomers? Where are they living now? Is this goodbye to our local countryside? Disgusting
Build these houses around Leicester City Centre and help rejuvenate the city rather than destroying beautiful countryside. This is surely more aligned with the SGP than building a sprawling housing estate in South Leicestershire?This will increase traffic flow and pollution, especially now the A46 extension and new J20A has been kicked into the long grass.
How will the existing A426 cope with an additional 10,000 cars per day going both ways through Lutterworth (J20) and Fosse Park (J21)? Both routes are terrible even now at peak times.
The owners should engage with the local community and National Trust with the aim of turning the land into a forest/park facility for local communities.
Houses spaced out more and big gardens - all new builds these days are crammed in with no garden space
On the edge of the new village could we have a man made beach please, thank you
There needs to be a plan in place to minimise the traffic load on the small surrounding villages (such as Willoughby Waterleys and Ashby Magna). These villages do not have the infrastructure to handle a dramatic increase in traffic.
My main concern would be that if a project of this size goes ahead then this would significantly increase the amount of traffic that would pass through smaller villages such as Countesthorpe. Traffic levels in this area are already bad and would be horrednous if all of these extra houses were built nearby. I would hope that a new motorway junction would be added at Whetstone pastures to enable all of its residents to go about their daily business (work, leisure etc) by driving straight onto the M1 which would mean less through traffic into Countesthorpe.
This isn't a good idea. Countesthorpe has been expanded so much in recent years, so this is not just nimbyism. There are plenty of brown field sites available, and these should be developed first. and money could also be allocated to make existing housing more environmentally friendly. Of course local farmers are in favour, they stand to gain from this development.
Build it somewhere else. Stop taking our countryside away from us. There are already enough empty warehouse on magna park!
What this area desperately needs is rewilding to encourage native flora and fauna, in a move away from intensive agriculture and urbanisation.
