New Melton housing scheme to include Polish Nissen hut heritage centre

One of the former Nissen huts which stood on the Sandy Lane site which is now earmarked for housing

A visitor centre showcasing a former settlement for Polish people displaced by the Second World War is to be included in a new housing development on the outskirts of Melton.

Thirty new homes are planned on a site, off Sandy Lane, which was formerly occupied by Nissen huts to house RAF officers based at the nearby Dalby airfield during the war and which were later used to house Polish people who came to the town after fleeing the Nazi occupation of their country.

The semi-circular shaped corrugated iron Nissen huts were occupied by the Polish community there until the resettlement camp was disbanded in 1964 and the inhabitants moved into homes in the town.

The huts remained an iconic historical feature for many years until they were demolished to make way for a poultry farm on the land.

The site for the new housing scheme with Sandy Lane running down the west of the site

The site is now vacant and Springbourne Homes has outline planning permission for the new housing, which would include a mix of three, four and five-bedroom properties.

Melton Borough Council’s planning committee will be recommended to approve details of the reserved matters of the scheme at a meeting on Thursday.

They include provision of a Nissen Hut Interpretation Centre in which a hut will be restored on the land and used as a community centre to reflect the heritage of the site.

A total of 16 letters of objection were received by the council from 11 addresses plus one letter of support.

A closer view of the planned development site off Sandy Lane

Some were concerned the planned access off Sandy Lane would be inadequate but county highways do not object.

Some objectors to the scheme were unhappy that remaining Nissen huts there had already been demolished ahead of any planning permission being given.

The developer will supply details of the planned Polish heritage centre and the restored hut to the council at a later time.

The plans also include landscaping plans to protect views of the nearby site of the St Mary and St Lazarus Hospital, moated site and two fishponds together form a Scheduled Ancient Monument (SAM) to mitigate objections from Historic England.

None of the new properties will be designated as ‘affordable units’ but the developer has agreed to pay £880,000 as a Section 106 agreement to pay for low cost housing elsewhere in the borough.