Major Development in Glenfield

Wilson Bowden has submitted a planning application for major development in Glenfield. In brief, the application is for 250 new homes with 20% being affordable homes, 30 hectares of industrial units and a commercial centre. The plan proposes the realignment of the road into the Mill Lane industrial site so that it is closer to existing homes. The outline plan of the industrial units shows 56 units of varying sizes, that stretch beyond the islands to the M1 and then the island to Kirby Muxloe and onwards nearly to the Scudamore Road industrial units. The commercial centre, described as small, is in fact 1400 square metres, which equates to just under half the size of the Co-op Superstore (including its warehousing, cafe, etc.). Wilson Bowden has listed several types of usages for the commercial centre and these include the possibility of fast food outlets.

The planning application runs to just under 3,400 pages and because of the volume Blaby District Council will have some issues with handling the application. It took 3 weeks to log and process the application, which has eaten into the public response time. The published date for responses is 25 March 2010, although an article in the Leicester Mercury stated 24 March 2010.

Glenfield Parish Council has obtained an extension of the date to 1 April 2010. The parish council is also putting on display details of the application between the hours of 1:30 pm and 6:30 pm on 29 March 2010 at Park House. An extra meeting of the Parish Council has been called on 29 March 2010 at 7:30 pm with the sole purpose of hearing comments from residents. A second extra meeting of the council has been called on 12 April 2010 when council will confirm its response to the application. We have specifically asked for and been given an extension to the 13 April 2010 for the parish council’s response.

Glenfield Parish Council does not make any decisions regarding the application. Whilst Glenfield Parish Council will be listening to residents views those residents who wish to pass comment to the planning authority must write to:
Development Control
Blaby District Council
Desford Road
Narborough
Leicester
LE19 2EP
quoting reference
10/0118/1/OX.

Comments can also be submitted on line. Go to our web site and click on the Blaby District Council link at the top right of this screen. A new window will open with the Blaby District Council web site. At the bottom of our home page is guidance on navigating the Blaby District
Council site so that you can
submit your comments.
Full copies of the application, because of the size and complexity, have been priced at £400 by Blaby District Council. However, much of the key information is available on line. We have taken copies of the documents that Blaby District Council has been able to put on line and made these available on our web site.

They are:
Site Location Plan 1
Site Location Plan 2
Site Location Plan 3
Illustrative Master Plan 1
Highway Access Points
Design & Access Statement Pt 1
Design & Access Statement Pt 2
Planning Statement
Economic Need & Benefits Report
Planning Application Form
Planning Statement
Application Covering Letter
Pre Application Statement on Public Consultation
Landowner Tenant Notice
Marketing Report

When viewing the plans please note that they do not include the old sewerage works, still owned by the gypsy/travellers, or the small farm to the south side of Kirby Road.

The application is for the new access points and outline for the rest of the development. If you respond to the application please try to keep to matters relating to the development. Whilst Wilson Bowden has openly stated that this proposal will have already had an impact upon the value of nearby homes this is not a planning matter.

Blaby District Council has already discounted Glenfield when they created their Local Development Framework, the master plan and strategy for major development until 2026. However, Wilson Bowden, in their application, states that Blaby District Council has got it wrong. Wilson Bowden is also trying to get Glenfield included in “search areas” for major development in the Leicester City Local Development Framework.

The Leicester City Council strategy document already includes the provision of a park and ride in Glenfield, at the junction of the A50 andA46. The Wilson Bowden proposal also states that the industrial units should create 2,500 jobs and links these to the unemployment levels in New Parks. They propose to subsidise the bus service into Glenfield to enable the existing frequency to be maintained whilst re-routing the bus service around the new development. The effect on Glenfield should employees wish to travel by private motor vehicle is not dealt with.

Return of the Village Fete

Despite the proposals that might remove Glenfield’s claim to be a village, Glenfield Parish Council is proposing to reintroduce a village fete.
We are working closely with volunteers from Glenfield United Football Club to create a fete on 11 September 2010. The fete will be on Ellis Park and run from 1:00 pm to 4:00 pm.

We have invited many of the Glenfield based organisations to join us on the day and the response has been very positive. Sixteen organisations have already come forward, quite a few wishing to put on more than one stall. Traditional competitions are being looked into and we hope that some of the organisations will also put on displays. There is a small charge to the organisations to put on a stall, between £5 and £10 to assist with communal costs, but any profit made by the stall holders can be retained by the organisation or donated to a charity of their choice.

It is not too late to join in, so if you belong to a Glenfield based group or organisation please write to Glenfield Parish Council providing details about your organisation, contact details and what stall(s) you would like. You can also use the “contact us” form on our web site for this purpose.

Your Parish Council

Parish councillors represent the whole of the village. All councillors have equal voting rights on all items that the council makes decisions about. The Chair of Council and the Chairs of the Committees manage meetings and do, if required, have a casting vote on evenly split decisions.

Although all councillors represent the whole of the village, Glenfield is split into six wards. This allows councillors to become even more conversant with specific areas of the village and advise council accordingly.
Councillors are:
Central Ward –
Mrs L Adlam, Mr P Cheeseman, Ms J Sexton and Mr P Lowe.
Faire Ward –
Mrs T Abbott, Mr R Boby and Mr J Garratt.
Manor FarmWard –
Mr L Beckon (Chair of Council), Mr J Peachey and Mr J Walton.
Stone Ward –
Mr N Cox, Mr M Neal, Mr K Russell and Mrs H Evans.
North Ward –
Mr H Eppel and Mr J Springthorpe.
Glenfrith Ward –
Mr R Denney and Mrs E Hudson.

Contact for all councillors is, in the first instance, by calling Leicester 231 2498 or by email to This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

The parish council officers are:
Mr A Robotham, Clerk to the Parish Council,
Mrs J Kneafsey, Administrative Assistant,
Mr T Furnival, Head Groundsman.

There are three other members of staff providing ground and property maintenance services.

Contact for all officers is, in the first instance, by calling Leicester 231 2498 or by email to This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it or This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it