GD7 Clause 1

Strongly Support.

I strongly support the location and extent of the Leicester, Thurnby and Oadby Green Wedge together with the Leicester, Scraptoft and Bushby Green Wedge.The Green Wedges are vital inorder to ensure retaining the discreet identity of these settlements and preventing their further merger.

Green Wedges are vital for protecting and conserving valued landscape which
I and other residents feel not only improves the quality of their lives/environment but provides a green lung and thus, helps with air quality.

houses will be built on the golf course. but they should not touch the nature reserve., it is still working and providing flora fauna and wildlife , deer and kingfisher specificaly. the builders proposal of a buffer zone is meaningless and will loose those benifits for ever

CPRE Leicestershire supports green wedge policy where there is no other protection but we feel the district should work towards designations such as AONBs.

The green wedges should be retained as they are as they are an important part of the abundant wildlife that frequents Scraptoft. If possible it should be larger than shown and have limited access to the public so as not to reduce their habitat.

I agree that the green wedge as proposed is maintained to ensure there is green space on the slopes between Scraptoft village and the dwellings already in the valley near Thurnby brook.

I support the continuation of the Leicester Thurnby and Oadby Green Wedge as it is vital to protecting the settlements of Thurnby and Bushby. I also support the extension of the Leicester, Scraptoft, Bushby Green Wedge.
Green Wedges are vital for protecting and conserving valued landscape which I and other residents feel improves the quality of their lives and environment. Green Wedges are also vital for providing a green lung and thus helping with air quality.

We support the green wedge for Leicester/Scraptoft/ Bushby and welcome the new area of Green wedge on the upper slopes of the Thurnby Brook Valley south of Covert Lane. However, SPC objects to the loss of the Green Wedge to the north of the village.

I am writing to voice my support for the Green Wedges in my area. As a Thurnby resident, I know from first-hand experience, the importance and benefits of the Thurnby and Oadby Green Wedge. I believe that extending the Leicester, Scraptoft, and Bushby Green Wedge would be highly beneficial also.
The Green Wedge is protecting and conserving our landscape, our air quality and our environment's ecological diversity. In this way it has a clear and positive impact on physical and mental health in our communities.
The Green Wedge is not only protecting the landscape and quality of life in the here and now. It is a means of ensuring that future generations inherit clean air, a well-balanced ecosystem and a naturally beautiful landscape.

strongly support the location and extent of the Leicester, Thurnby and
Oadby Green Wedge together with the Leicester, Scraptoft and Bushby Green
Wedge.The Green Wedges are vital inorder to ensure retaining the discreet
identity of these settlements and preventing their further merger.

Green Wedges are vital for protecting and conserving valued landscape which
I and other residents feel not only improves the quality of their
lives/environment but provides a green lung and thus, helps with air
quality.

I support the continuation of the Leicester Thurnby and Oadby Green Wedge as it is vital to protecting the settlements of Thurnby and Bushby. I also support the extension of the Leicester, Scraptoft, Bushby Green Wedge.
Green Wedges are vital for protecting and conserving valued landscape which I and other residents feel improves the quality of their lives and environment. Green Wedges are also vital for providing a green lung and thus helping with air quality."

I very much support the Green Wedge policy and in particular, the proposed new area of green wedge east of Station Lane and south of Covert Lane covering the Thurnby Brook Valley and extending into Bushby. Consultations at parish, district and county level over many years have consistently shown strong community backing for the green wedge policy. However a more logical boundary for the new area of green wedge would be along Covert Lane to the point where it turns south. The larger area currently forms part the Separation Area in the Core Strategy and in the made Scraptoft Neighhbourhood Plan. The Independent Examiners report made particular reference to this area noting that "A change in policy defining the Area of Separation would be needed to re-classify the site as deliverable" with a timeframe of 16+ years." He added that "The NP Policy is to retain the existing Area of Separation. If Scraptoft is to retain any of its original identity it will be important for this area of separation to be maintained." Significant weight should be attached to the Inspector's comments and conclusions and the fact that he did not make any changes to the area as proposed in the SNP.

I am objecting to the proposed change of status to the green wedge, or reducing it in any way because Scraptoft has already had over 700 houses built in the last 7 years, and more housing is proposed for Thurnby village, thus changing the village status of these two areas irrevocably.

Welcome the green wedge proposals for Thurnby/Leicester/Oadby but I am concerned by the proposed green wedge at Scraptoft North - it doesn't provide enough of a buffer between Scraptoft and Leicester and encroaches on the Local Nature Reserve.

Welcome the green wedge proposals for Thurnby/Leicester/Oadby but I am concerned by the proposed green wedge at Scraptoft North - it doesn't provide enough of a buffer between Scraptoft and Leicester and encroaches on the Local Nature Reserve.

Objections re: Green Wedge Reduction

4.13.4 The Scraptoft Neighbourhood Plan map 2016 which was agreed by Harborough Council clearly shows the golf course and nature reserve as essential Green Wedge.

4.13.1 clearly states that "Green Wedges are strategic areas of land" and "are aimed not just at preventing the merging of settlements but also guiding development providing a "green lung" into urban areas and facilitating recreational opportunities." Scraptoft Golf Course provides both of these things already - including a footpath for walkers and ramblers linking people from Leicester (along Keyham Lane West and Hamilton Lane) directly to the countryside. The nature reserve provides a peaceful and open space for both residents and wildlife to enjoy - essential for good mental wellbeing. Building on both of these key parts to the Green Wedge would therefore be highly detrimental to both Scraptoft and Leicester residents. The Leicester residents in question do not even seem to have been informed about this potential destruction of their "green lung"!

4.13.3 NPPF says that open land should be incorporated within it but the concentration of 1200 houses plus a primary school, G.P. surgery, retail premises and the road layouts proposed does not seem to leave any space available (except the narrow strip of Nature Reserve being retained). Therefore the plan is not fit for purpose as contrary to benefitting residents by allowing open space for sport/recreational and health and wellbeing aspects the plan takes these things away! The footpath will be made into a road, the wildlife will be forced out and away from our village and it will become a concrete jungle!

This Green Wedge is also essential to prevent flooding as already the new developments have increased the water running off into the brook as well as flooding on areas of Scraptoft's roads.

Scraptoft is an important village with a rural history and a conservation status. Harborough should be fighting to retain this for us or else we might as well be ceded over to Leicester City Council.

4.13.9 states that "the only types of land use that will normally be considered appropriate for these areas are those were the predominantly open and undeveloped nature of the land is retained." Which clearly does not fit with the building of 1200 houses plus primary school, G.P. surgery, retail premises and roads.

The building of such a concentration on this area also leads me to believe that developers will either insist that more of the Green Wedge land be given over to them for housing or they cannot build the necessary infrastructure half way through - as has happened before in Scraptoft with developers not held to account by Harborough Council.

Surely the importance of the Green Wedge and areas of separation surrounding Scraptoft outweigh the need for housing to be built on it during the next 15 years by Harborough? Other areas VERY nearby such as Hamilton and Barkby Thorpe are already in the process of being developed or have had plans passed for such development to help Leicester fulfil its quota. Harborough need to be standing up and fighting for us as a village.

this is NOT a corridor but a thriving nature reserve and should be kept as such and the brook maintained in a proper manner large numbers of wildlife have migrated to the nature reserve due to being squeezed out of their previous habitat due to the excessive felling of trees and the 720 houses built in their place the green wedge between Hamilton lane and hall road is also an important part of our village identity and should be kept as such

I very much support the Green Wedge policy and in particular, the proposed new area of green wedge east of Station Lane and south of Covert Lane covering the Thurnby Brook Valley and extending into Bushby. Consultations at parish, district and county level over many years have consistently shown strong community backing for the green wedge policy. However a more logical boundary for the new area of green wedge would be along Covert Lane to the point where it turns south. The larger area currently forms part the Separation Area in the Core Strategy and in the made Scraptoft Neighhbourhood Plan. The Independent Examiners report made particular reference to this area noting that "A change in policy defining the Area of Separation would be needed to re-classify the site as deliverable" with a timeframe of 16+ years." He added that "The NP Policy is to retain the existing Area of Separation. If Scraptoft is to retain any of its original identity it will be important for this area of separation to be maintained." Significant weight should be attached to the Inspector's comments and conclusions and the fact that he did not make any changes to the area as proposed in the SNP.

We feel that the villages of Thurnby and Bushby are threatened by the expansion of the city of Leicester and therefore support the continuation of the Leicester, Thurnby and Oadby Green Wedge as a defence against this threat.

Similarly, we also support the extension of the Leicester, Scraptoft and Bushby Green Wedge.

Green Wedges were introduced to save valuable landscape which local residents feel improves the quality of their lives and they also help maintain air quality for everyone.

For many years, there has been pressure to extend development of Leicester and Oadby to encompass the rural villages of Stoughton, Thurnby and Bushby which have a completely different character. In the past, Harborough District Council policy has been to designate certain areas as Green Wedge to prevent coalescence with the urban neighbours and I strongly support of the continuation of this policy in the new Plan.

Thurnby and Bushby Parish Council supports as sound. The two Green Wedges are vital to ensuring non-coalescence with Leicester City and Oadby and for providing a 'green lung' into the countryside. The Parish Council strongly supports the extension of the Leicester, Scraptoft, Bushby Green Wedge, noting that Leicester City is itself including the Green Wedge in its Local Plan.

The proposed designation of a Green Wedge between Thurnby / Bushby and Scraptoft adjacent to the area of committed housing development to the north east of Bushby (as identified on the Proposals Map Inset Map 63 - Scraptoft, Thurnby, Bushby) is objected to.

Whilst the western part of this area has previously been designated as an Area of Separation that sought to prevent coalescence of Scraptoft with Thurnby and Bushby (Core Strategy Policy EV/3 and Scraptoft Neighbourhood Plan Policy S7), the proposed Green Wedge extends significantly further eastwards. No justification for that is given in the Local Plan or the supporting evidence. Indeed, the recently adopted Scraptoft Neighbourhood Plan (Adopted March 2016) only sought to retain the Area of Separation immediately east of Station Lane (although part of this area has since been incorporated into a committed development site).

Moreover, there is no evidence presented to justify this new designation in terms of the specific merits of this area in relation to the express purposes of a Green Wedge designation. The HLP refers (para 4.13.4) to the Green Wedge Review (Draft Technical Update 2015) but that only considers the redesignation of the extant area of Green Wedge to the south of the existing urban area of Bushby.

In considering the four specific aims set out in Part 1 of this policy, the designation of this Green Wedge and extension of the area of protection in this way is not necessary to prevent the merging of settlements or to guide the form of development. In addition, the committed developments in this location provide appropriate connections between the urban area and the surrounding countryside, incorporating key publics rights of way and providing significant recreational opportunities without adding pressure or undermining the function of the wider area.

As such the designation of this area is neither necessary nor justified. Moreover, there are sufficient policies within the HLP to appropriately guide development form without the need for further restrictive measures.

Soundness
For the reasons set out above, Bloor Homes object to Policy GD7, which is considered unsound on the basis that it:
- is not justified in that it is not the most appropriate strategy and has not properly considered reasonable alternative strategies.

Proposed Change
Delete the Green Wedge designation that applies to the area between Thurnby / Bushby and Scraptoft.

The new Green Wedge designation covers a considerable extent of our Client's farm. This has been imposed by the Harborough Local Plan without any prior discussion, and in the knowledge that this land is suitable for further residential development as an extension of existing extant permissions.

The Green Wedge Review, Technical Update 2015 included no assessment of this land and no technical justification for the extension of the Green Wedge designation (formally the Area of Separation) onto an extensive tract of land curving to the south west.

The Leicester PUA Landscape Character Assessment and Landscape Capacity Study, Scraptoft Addendum, 2016 assesses the landscape quality surrounding Scraptoft. The study was a landscape capacity study and quantified the capacity of field parcels to accommodate development. It was not a technical assessment of the Green Wedge and does not provide justification for designating an extensive tract of private land as Green Wedge.

Considering the land parcels that the study assessed, it is evident that in each case the land was identified as being suitable for residential development. In many cases, particularly on the land further to the east, it was found that following the completion of the committed development south of Thurnby Brook, the landscape capacity of the field parcels to accept development was improved, making the land more suitable for residential development. This is completely at odds with the designation of this land as a Green Wedge, and does not provide the necessary technical justification to warrant such a restrictive designation akin to designating the land as Green Belt.

The designation as it is presently defined provides only limited protection to Scraptoft Village and the Conservation Area, focusing on the lower level land along Thurnby Brook, whilst leaving the upper slopes south of Covert Lane unprotected. These fields south of Covert Lane, if developed would have a far greater visual dominance on Scraptoft Village, and should the boundary of the Green Wedge should be reconsidered if that is the true purpose of the designation.

We argue that a smaller Green Wedge more tightly defined to the land south of Covert Lane would achieve the aims of protecting Scraptoft Village from further encroachment. The lower slopes of the valley along the Thurnby Brook should be considered as a suitable alternative for additional housing allocations.

The Harborough Local Plan fails to provide any technical justification for the designation of this land as Green Wedge. The Landscape Character Assessment relied upon to support this policy has been prepared to identify the capacity of the landscape for residential or other commercial development. Rather than support the case for a Green Wedge designation, it is evident from the detailed assessment that there is a medium capacity for residential development, a comparable situation to other land in the area not designated as Green Wedge. This medium capacity also improves to above medium capacity, following the development of extant planning permissions for residential development to the south of the designated Green Wedge.

I object to changing the status or reducing the area of the Green Wedges as this will mean the loss of identity for the individual villages and increased traffic for the whole area.

WE just wanted to say to say that we wholeheartedly support the proposed green wedges for Thurnby, Bushby and Scraptoft. We found the consultation at the White House helpful.

Refer to attached document.

1.2. On behalf of Westleigh Partnerships Limited we are seeking to work with Harborough District Council in promoting the Land south of Grange Lane, Thurnby (Appendix 1 of attached) for residential development.

2.1. The proposed development site comprises a grassland field located south of Grange Lane, to the west of the village centre of Thurnby, as shown outlined in red in Appendix 1.

2.2. The site covers an area of approximately 1.36ha (3.36 acres) and consists of a single field of broadly flat arable land, marked by clearly defined boundaries. The site is bound by residential development on three sides; to the north by Grange Lane, to the east by Firs Farm and Court Road, and to the west by The Spinneys. The southern boundary is marked by mature hedgerow, beyond which lies open countryside. The site lies adjacent to the Thurnby and Bushby Conservation Area, as designated in 1977.

2.3. Thurnby is a compact village that benefits from a number of local services and facilities including a Primary School, a Public House, a Co-Operative Supermarket and the Church of St. Luke.

2.4. Furthermore, the village also lies within close proximity to further services and employment opportunities located in Leicester (approx. 4.9 miles), Oadby (approx. 3.3 miles), Great Glen (approx. 5.2 miles) and Billesdon (approx. 4.9 miles).

2.5. The site is considered to have good access to public transport links; the nearest bus stop is located opposite the St. Luke's Church of England Primary School, which is approximately 0.2 miles to the east of the site entrance. The bus stop is served by the Arriva 56 bus service, which runs between Leicester, Scraptoft and Thurnby from 7am - 7pm from Monday to Friday, and from 8am - 6pm on Saturdays, with buses calling at the stop every 30 minutes. The bus route provides access to Leicester Rail Station, where frequent connections are available to Birmingham, Nottingham, London St. Pancras, Sheffield and Lincoln.

2.6. We consider that the site has capacity to deliver up to 28 residential dwellings, including vehicular access, car parking, landscaping and drainage. Any development of the site could deliver a mix of dwelling types and sizes, including bungalows, terraced, semi-detached and detached dwellings ranging in size from 2 to 5 bedrooms, including a proportion of affordable housing subject to viability.

2.7. Any development scheme would be sensitively designed to protect the residential amenity of properties to the north, east and west of the site by limiting development to two storeys, where possible and providing additional planting within the site boundaries.

2.8. Therefore, we consider the site is in a sustainable location, close to a number of services and employment, and is highly accessible. It represents an opportunity to deliver a high quality development that will make a valuable contribution towards meeting the District's development needs.


3.2. We support the proposed spatial strategy for growth set out in Policy SS1: Spatial Strategy. The NPPF and the Draft Local Plan are underpinned by a 'presumption in favour of sustainable development'. It is therefore considered rational to direct development towards locations that are within close proximity to a wide range of employment opportunities and local services and facilities. As outlined above, Thurnby benefits from a good functional relationship with Leicester and the facilities and services available in the city. As such, we support its identification as part of the Leicester Principal Urban Area where development should support the regeneration and development objectives of Leicester City and Oadby and Wigston Borough.

3.3. In respect of Policy GD1: Achieving Sustainable Development, we strongly support the inclusion of this policy in the Harborough Local Plan in line with Paragraph 14 of the NPPF. We are encouraged by the Council's desire to positively consider proposals that contribute to the sustainable development of the District.

3.4. We support the proposed strategy for locating growth within or contiguous to the built up area of settlements, as outlined in Policy GD2: Settlement Development. We consider that the proposed development at Land South of Grange Lane is of an appropriate scale that reflects the size of Thurnby and the level of service provision. It is considered that the site is visually and physically well connected to the village and services within the village are within an appropriate walking distance. Development of the site for up to 28 units would be of an appropriate scale for the village and can be designed in a manner that respects and enhances the local character and distinctiveness. The site is bound on three sides by residential development and as such development of the site would not impact on the separation of settlements.


3.5. With regards to Policy GD5: Landscape and Townscape Character we fully support the requirement for new development to be sensitive to the landscape setting and the settlement's distinctiveness. Any development of the Land South of Grange Lane, Thurnby would be positively prepared to ensure the provision of a high quality and inclusive development. Any scheme would seek to ensure that it makes a positive contribution to the local character and respects the site's edge of settlement location.

3.6. We are strongly opposed to the allocation of our site within the proposed Thurnby/Leicester/Oadby Green Wedge, as identified by Policy GD7: Green Wedges.

3.7. We consider that the proposed development site does not perform the functions of a green wedge, as outlined above, and therefore propose its removal from the Thurnby/Leicester/Oadby Green Wedge. The primary function of the proposed green wedge is to prevent the merging of settlements. However, the proposed development site is bound on three sides by existing residential development; as such the built form of the village already encroaches on the separation of Thurnby and Leicester beyond that which is proposed by development of this site, and likewise to the south between Thurnby and Oadby. Thus, development of this site would not contribute to the merging of settlements.

3.8. Furthermore, in respect of the function of the Green Wedge to guide the development form, as stated above the site is bound on three sites by existing residential development and the current built form of the village extends further west and south than the proposed site boundaries. As such, development of the Land south of Grange Lane, Thurnby would be complimentary to the existing built form of the village.

3.9. With regards to Green Wedges providing access to the open countryside, the proposed development site is currently under private ownership and as such the site cannot be used as a local green space, nor can it currently provide access to the open countryside to the south. As such, development of the site would lead to the site being a greater asset to the community, as it would enable the local community to access Bushby Brook and the open countryside with greater ease.

3.10. Additionally, the site is not currently used for recreational purposes; the site is located in close proximity to Manor Field Park and the community scout hall, both of which are more suitable recreation locations. Therefore, it is considered that the proposed development site at Land south of Grange Lane, Thurnby does not perform the functions of a Green Wedge site and as such we proposed removal of the site from the allocated Green Wedge.

3.11. We fully support the objectives of Policy GD8: Good Design in Development, good planning and good design are inseparable and we are pleased that this has been identified by this policy. As previously outlined, any development scheme for Land South of Grange Lane, Thurnby would be positively prepared to ensure a high quality and inclusive development design. Any proposal would be designed to protect the residential amenity of existing properties located to the north, east and west of the site by strengthening the landscaping of the site's boundaries and limiting development height to 2 storeys.

3.12. In respect of Policy H1: Provision of New Housing, we fully support the recognition that the housing requirements outlined in this policy are a minimum and the level of flexibility that this element of the policy provides. However, we are concerned that development within the Leicester PUA is to be located within a single Strategic Development Area [SDA] on land north of Scraptoft. Given the high level of infrastructure that is required to be implemented prior to the delivery of housing at large strategic developments, such as the proposed SDA, there are often substantial delays between their initial identification and the first delivery of housing. Therefore, we believe it would be beneficial for the Local Plan to identify a number of smaller housing sites that could assist in the short-term delivery of housing in the PUA. In this light, we are proposing the allocation of Land South of Grange Lane, Thurnby for residential development. The site represents a sustainable development that is suitable, available, achievable and viable and can be delivered now.

3.13. With regards to Policy H2: Affordable Housing, we support the requirement for residential development to provide a proportion of affordable housing on site. As previously stated, the clients have stated their willingness to meet this requirement, subject to the appropriate viability assessment.

3.14. We fully support the requirement of Policy H5: Housing Density, Mix and Standards for new development schemes to deliver a range of housing types and sizes. Any development scheme at Land South of Grange Lane, Thurnby would deliver a mix of property types and sizes, including bungalows, terraced, semi-detached and detached dwellings ranging in size from 2 to 5 bedrooms.

3.15. Finally, in respect of Policy CC3: Managing Flood Risk, we fully support the objectives of this policy in line with Paragraphs 14 and 100 of the NPPF. Given the presumption in favour of sustainable development is the golden thread running through national and local planning policy, it is logical that this translates into development being located in areas that are not at high risk of flooding, and that schemes do not increase the risk of flooding elsewhere. With reference to the Environment Agency Flood Map for Planning, the proposed development site is not located in an area at risk of flooding.

4.1. We consider the proposed development site at Land South of Grange Lane, Thurnby has the capacity to accommodate up to 28 dwellings with associated vehicular access, car parking, landscaping and drainage. Any development scheme could provide a mix of dwelling types and sizes and could be positively prepared to preserve and enhance the village's character and distinctiveness.

4.2. We fully support many of the objectives and policies contained within the Proposed Submission Draft of the Harborough Local Plan 2011-2031. However, to ensure that the strategy for delivering new housing is robust, we propose the allocation of the land south of Grange Lane, Thurnby for residential development. We are concerned that the Draft Local Plan proposes to locate all new development in the Leicester PUA within a single Strategic Development Area. Given the level of infrastructure provision required at developments of this scale, there can often be substantial delays between their initial identification and the first delivery of housing. As such, we believe in would be beneficial for the plan to identify a number of smaller sites, such as Grange Lane, Thurnby, which can come forward in the short-term to assist in the immediate need for housing delivery in the PUA.
4.3. In this light, we are strongly opposed to the identification of our site as part of the Thurnby/Leicester/Oadby Green Wedge. We consider that the proposed development site does not perform the function of a Green Wedge that are clearly set out within Policy GD7 of the Draft Local Plan.

4.4. We consider that the site represents an opportunity to deliver a sustainable, available, achievable and viable source of housing that can be developed now.

4.5. Andrew Granger & Co. would like to remain involved throughout the preparation of the Harborough Local Plan 2011-2031 and therefore request to be informed of any future consultation opportunities and when the document is submitted for Examination.

WE just wanted to say to say that we wholeheartedly support the proposed green wedges for Thurnby, Bushby and Scraptoft. We found the consultation at the White House helpful.