Concerns over major Bottesford housing plan

That is the feeling of villagers who are opposing the outline scheme which is due to be considered soon by Melton Borough Council’s planning committee.

Rectory Land Company has applied to build the development on fields off Normanton Lane with a new access proposed via a road along the former railway line connecting to Orston Lane.

Dozens of residents have written to the council to object, citing a variety of reasons with many voicing concerns that there would be too many new people in the village and local services such as schools, shops and the health centre could not accommodate them.

And Bottesford Forum, which was formed to engage with local developers, is concerned the existing infrastructure will not support the hundreds of new residents and that the community will lose its identity as a village.

Dermot Daly, one of the lead members of the forum, told the Melton Times: “When you take into account the other new housing developments, this one, if it goes ahead, and the smaller windfall sites, we will be looking at an extra 860 properties in Bottesford and Easthorpe.

“That mean an increase of about 30 per cent in this area in just a few years.

“There have been a significant number of objections and a lot of ill feeling about all this development.

“Local people want it to stay as a nice country village, it is slowly being converted into a small town.”

Julie Moss, another leading forum member, pointed out that Bottesford was designated as a major flood risk and she said local people were worried that the issue would be exacerbated by hundreds of new homes near the River Devon.

She said: “This site would generate hundreds of extra cars and we all already have a gridlock at peak times and not enough car parking space.

“We don’t have the infrastructure to support this, the bus service is appalling and you can’t even get a bus direct to Nottingham.”

Parish councillors are unhappy householders on the site would pass through the village centre and the volume of new traffic would increase the risk of accidents at the junction with the busy A52.

They are also concerned proposals for a large development will be decided during a global pandemic when locals have other priorities.

The applicant, which pledges to give more details on the planned layout and mix of houses at a later stage when full permission is sought, points out in the application that the site is on land earmarked for housing development in the local plan.

A planning statement from the developers states that there is good infrastructure to support the development and that the new householders would have the option of being able to walk or cycle to amenities in the village centre rather than drive.

It reads: “Bottesford is well-served in terms of employment, retail, education and health services.

“It also has good access to transport choice, with an hourly bus service from the village to Grantham and Melton Mowbray, train services to Nottingham and Grantham, and a network of footpaths connecting the village to its facilities and to the countryside beyond.

“In Melton borough, the village has the only secondary school outside of Melton Mowbray and therefore acts as an important hub for surrounding communities.”

The applicant says a flood risk assessment and sustainable drainage strategy has been prepared and measures will be put in to alleviate flooding.