13.2.11 to 13.2.13 Environment explanation

The nature reserve is a unique asset. There is abundant wildlife in it, deer, foxes, owls, grouse, woodpeckers etc. and to distroy an area that has already been left undisturbed for so long would be foolish. Who needs a park when the nature reseve was already there. Previous mismangement of the area, grazing, is not a justification for abandoning it. Rather it is a case for sorting out the mater

I fully support that IF development was allowed it is imperative to preserve as many trees as possible.
However, from personal experience developers" say trees are diseased and cut them down anyway.

Harborough has done little in the way of tree protection, enforcement and prosecution in Scraptoft when people move into the new houses and chop down the trees in their gardens! The number of houses and roads as well as proposed doctor's surgery, primary school, retail development for the site seems incredibly high and I feel Harborough will NOT preserve enough of the wonderful trees and vegetation here..

This proposal will destroy and not enhance the village of Scraptoft and its outlying areas. The location of the building development is not sensitive to the existing landscape nor will it enhance the local environment. Instead it will destroy the village distinctiveness, cause substantial harm to the landscape, heritage and historic environment. It will not safeguard surrounding views nor will it provide mitigation for damaged rural features. Scraptoft lies in a valley and any houses built on the valley slopes to the north will be visible from afar (as are those recently built on Beeby Road}

I believe that insufficient publicity has been given to the allocation of a strategic development site on Scraptoft Golf Course. At the very least I would have expected the opportunity to view and discuss these plans at an exhibition or public meeting held in the village.

Scraptoft has been a building site for more than 15 years now, with over 700 houses built in the last 7 years. This has been very disruptive and local infrastructure has been stretched to breaking point.

A development of this size will inevitably harm local amenities and produce major traffic problems. The Nature Reserve must be protected as much for its historic importance as its wildlife value and the landscape value of the existing Golf Course must be protected.

I have no confidence that the social and transport infrastructure needed to support 1200 new homes will be provided. It will inevitably throw more strain on existing health and education and bring even more traffic through the village. It is also unclear how traffic from the site with find its way southwards towards Oadby, Fosse Park and M1. Given that plans have recently been published for an eastern by pass these plans are premature until there is more clarity about the provision of this new major road.

Proposed Development - Scraptoft North (SDA)

I believe this proposal is unsound.

The number of dwellings needs to be reduced at least by 50%

Access from the site onto the primary roads needs to be improved to a standard that could cope with 700 housed that have already been built in the last 7 years and any additional houses to be built on the SDA.

Keyham Lane West has already been widened in one part but there are still pinch points at Humberstone end and the Hamilton Lane end. It is already a bus route which the buses have to drive over the kerb or on the verge if another bus or lorry comes in the from the other direction. This route passes 3 schools and also has speed restrictions and speed calming in place. Vehicles are also parked alongside the route on one side.

Another route that might get used is New Romney Crescent and Nether Hall Road although this junction is also very busy onto Hungarton Boulevard and it passes a school.

Another route would be Scraptoft Lane, although the lane itself has less problems it wouldn't be a preferred choice due to how busy it gets just after it joins Uppingham Road. People wanting to get to South Leicester will have to use Station Road and would have to go through Scraptoft Village which doesn't cope at the present time with the amount of traffic using it now. Station Road backs up from Uppingham Road traffic lights at peak times upto Pulford Road for upto 20 minutes for your turn to get out. This route will also be used for the School run to Gartree and Beauchamp College. If the road from Keyham Lane West to Beeby Road was built it will make Beeby and Barkby a rat run for anybody wanting to go North East. Anyone wanting to go East will make Keyham a rat run. Barkbythorpe could also become congested due to so many people wanting to get to Thurmaston and surrounding areas. These are all country roads and not suitable for heavy traffic.

To make this plan sound you would have to improve Keyham Lane West so there was a minimum of a single lane in each direction without interruption giving current residents adequate parking to the properties and proper traffic light control for school pupils. Also improvement to all junctions that enter Keyham Lane with proper sight easements traffic light control onto the Thurmaston Lane/ Hungarton Boulevard roundabout. Station Road junction must operate more efficiently; with existing traffic and proposed traffic this junction will need widening so there is a minimum of two lanes in all directions approximately 50meters. The number of houses should be restricted to a maximum of 600 split into 2 sites, one site approximately 200 onto Beeby Road and second site approximately 400 houses access from Hamilton Lane.

Nature Reserve

It was agreed with Leicester City Council and Harborough District Council in 1999 it was sound then, it is even more sound now due to recent developments primarily Scraptoft Hall Development it appears to have become a major feeding ground to a number of birds there appears to have a balance of nature. Species seen dear, rabbits, foxes, kites, bats, owls, green woodpeckers, kingfisher, hedge sparrows, thrushes, yellow wag tails, robins, wrens, great-tits, chiff-chaffs, starlings, song thrushes, numerous butterflies. It would be beneficial to wildlife if the nature reserve was extended with a corridor through the existing golf course of around 100 metres wide to the open land north of the developments.
Refer to report by Sue Timms and Karen Headly for Leicestershire and Rutland Environmental Record Centre Leicestershire County Council report dated 18 May 2017.

It is also very important to keep the Green Wedge between Scraptoft and Leicester to maintain our village status identity and not to be swallowed up as suburb of Leicester.
Scraptoft has been intensively built in a short space to time it should be more evenly distributed thorough out the districts.