The site will contribute to the delivery of new housing in the District. The settlement of Desford lies within Hinckley and Bosworth Borough Council. The Council is unable to demonstrate a five-year supply of housing. This means that they currently cannot identify sufficient sites to meet housing need over the next 5 years. Desford is identified as a Key Rural Centre in the Council’s current Local Plan, suitable for accommodating new residential development.
Desford has a Neighbourhood Plan, which was made in 2021. Desford Parish Council, through the Neighbourhood Plan Working Group, is currently working on revising their Neighbourhood Plan. A consultation event on proposed changes to the Neighbourhood Plan was held in April 2023 and included the proposed allocation of the site for 102 dwellings. The proposed housing allocations received a response of 46 in support and only 1 opposed.
Miller Homes has regularly engaged with the Parish Council and Neighbourhood Plan Group since the April 2023 consultation and will continue to participate in the Neighbourhood Plan process.
The proposal will deliver housing to meet identified local need in a location supported by the Parish Council and the Neighbourhood Plan Review. The site will boost the supply of housing in the District in an appropriate location that has been identified through the early stages of the Neighbourhood Plan Review.
As part of our planning application, we will submit detailed design of the proposed access arrangements. The application will also be supported by a Transport Assessment which will assess the impact of our proposed development on the local road network and accessibility to sustainable transport modes. Our Transport Consultant has been in discussion with Leicestershire County Council Highways Team to agree the scope of that assessment.
We recognise local concerns around the volume of traffic flows through the village. The results of traffic modelling of key junctions, as agreed with Leicestershire County Council, will be set out within the Transport Assessment. The Transport Assessment will contain details of predicted traffic flows on local roads from the proposed development and will assess capacity at appropriate junctions.
The proposed drainage strategy will assess all sources of flooding including the impact of climate change and will demonstrate that the proposed drainage strategy will not result in increased flood risk within or downstream of the proposed development. Our drainage strategy with utilise Sustainable Drainage Systems (SuDS), such as ponds – which will mitigate any impact arising from the development by facilitating natural drainage and water collection and ensuring that water runoff rates do not exceed those typical of the site’s previous agricultural use.
A central focus of the scheme is to deliver open green space to meet the needs of residents. The majority of open space will be created to the east of the site, featuring open grassland and SuDS features, with retained hedgerows around the site perimeter. This space will be interconnected with the rest of the development via footpaths. Convenient access to the adjacent existing play area will be provided.
During the course of the application an assessment will be undertaken to understand the impact of the proposed development on local infrastructure, for example education and health facilities. Where justified, financial contributions to mitigate the impact of the proposed development may be secured through a Section 106 Agreement.
The application will be supported by a suite of other documents that will demonstrate that the site is suitable for development. This will include a Landscape and Visual Assessment, an Arboricultural Survey and Ecology Reports. The proposed development will need to demonstrate a minimum of 10% Biodiversity Net Gain.