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13 November 2025 At it's Planning Meeting today members of Charnwood Borough Council approved the Davisons proposal to build new homes on land behind Leicester Road at Field Head. Members voted 3 for, 3 against, 4 abstained. The Chair's casting vote in favour tipped the balance.
Read these Leicester Mercury reports
Planning Application ref : 25/00676/OUT
August 2025 Both Groby Parish Council and Markfield Parish Council have met recently to discuss and listen to the concerns of residents about the the planning application by Taylor Wimpey to build 135 homes off Ratby Lane in Field Head, an application received at a time of year when many may be on holiday. There is a limited time to comment and some were critical with regards delays in the way the application had been publicised.
Hinckley and Bosworth Borough Council (HBBC) believe that everything was done in accordance with the Council’s statement of community involvement for consulting on planning applications. Their records indicate this timeline -
14th July consultation started with letters out to consultees, including Markfield Parish Council.
18th July Groby Parish Council were notified
23rd July letters were sent to residents is to 36 addresses, including all residents of Jacqueline Road that border the site.
23rd July advertised in the Leicester Mercury.
“In all cases of the above, there are 21 days to respond after the letters were received, so for the neighbour letters this is 13th August. Further there will be a site notice erected to the site, with 21 days for comments from publication of this site notice,” added a spokesperson for HBBC.
But some residents might disagree, reporting that they had received notifications but their neighbours were still waiting for theirs. Even Groby Parish Council was concerned about the delay in receiving their notification. The normal public notices which appear on or near the site had still not appeared at the time of writing on 6 August.
The Groby meeting
The meeting at Groby was told that there was more to this than just a housing development on an autonomous piece of land in the Parish – an essential part of the development is a pumping house servicing the sustainable drainage scheme. The planned access to this feature requires the permission of Groby Parish Council, as it crosses Parish land. Ten years ago Taylor Wimpey made an application to build on the same land, but the application failed as Groby Parish Council refused access and will refuse again.
The meeting Chair asked for everyone to act with respect and listen to other contributors to the discussion. The strategy for opposing the development was discussed, and after considering the funding available, and the different views expressed, members were able to reach a consensus which provided not only a budget for professional help in ‘commenting’ on the application to HBBC, but also one for protecting the right of way for agricultural use over Council land from Ratby Lane.
The Markfield meeting
Markfield Parish Council met on 5 August and is concerned because, although not in the parish, the only exit from the site is into the village of Markfield. More houses means, more traffic and congestion, more healthcare needs, more educational requirements, more use of the recreational facilities and the loss of open space. Any additional residents would place further strain on Markfield’s infrastructure, traffic and services, but it is the highways issue is which is of the most concern for a village on the southern end of the A511 (A50) growth corridor.
The meeting was told that traffic volumes had meant road crossing had become more difficult for pedestrians and access to the A50 at peak times from the village continues to worsen. Leicestershire County Council transport studies concluded that the route experiences notable levels of congestion and peak hour delays at several key junctions. Housing and economic growth in the Coalville area would be severely restricted without investment in the A511 corridor. With thousands of new homes between Markfield and the A42, and what seems to the layman as the proliferation of business parks and warehouses, clearly traffic problems could only worsen.
And it must be tempting for some drivers to leave the M1 at junction 22 in the morning rush hour when they find a 70mph motorway is reduced to 15 to 20 mph because of congestion. Plans for the A511/A50 road include improvements to 5 roundabouts, including Field Head, where part time signals would control the A50 approaches to the roundabout. A two-lane exit was proposed on Launde Road.
Without any action the Council estimated that the morning queue length at the roundabout of 68 in 2017 would increase by 300% by 2031. The increase forecast for Launde Road was even worse, rising from 3 to 183.
The meeting was told that millions of pounds had been contributed by developers through ‘section 106’ infrastructure payments, but still communities are waiting for the improvements to be provided. Markfield’s new County Councillor, also a Markfield resident, was urged to investigate as a matter of urgency. The Council has asked HBBC not to determine the application before the LCC has had “the opportunity to establish whether the residual cumulative impact of development can be mitigated.” They will be able to provide a further response by 26th August 2025.
Should Groby residents object?
The land is in Groby Field Head, but the main impact will be felt by the village of Markfield. But no parish is an island, and who knows, what happens across the border could impact on Groby village. Ratby, for example, has insufficient school places and Martinshaw School has to deal with their overflow who arrive by car up Forest Rise. The A50 at Groby has to cope with traffic originating from Markfield and beyond, and may ultimately also have a trading estate on Anstey Lane adding to our problems.
If Groby Parish owns land which is essential for access in order for the development to take place then it is for Groby to decide whether access is granted.
Should Markfield residents object?
Although the land to be developed at Field Head is in Groby parish, the only exit from the site is to the village of Markfield. Even if the schools and other services can cope with an increase, the traffic implications cannot be avoided. The view of Markfield Parish Council is that this is the main reason for not supporting the application. It could be argued that the roundabout project will not resolve the traffic issues at peak times, it will just spread the misery a little more evenly.
Residents who would like to object to the application need to act as soon as possible.
Comments can be made :
in writing to Development Services at the Hinckley Hub, Rugby Road, Hinckley, Leicestershire LE10 0FR. Make sure to state the application number (25/00676/OUT), site address, your name, address and email address.
online at https://pa.hinckley-bosworth.gov.uk. You may have a lot to say and HBBC warns that you will be timed out online after 20 minutes of non-activity and will lose your text. They recommend that if you are submitting a lengthy comment it is better to type it into a word processing document and then copy and paste it into the comment box in the online form.
March 2025 Housebuilders Taylor Wimpey would like to build 130 new homes on land at Field Head to the east of Ratby Lane and south of Jacqueline Road. Although administratively within Groby Parish the development would for practical purposes look to Markfield for services, as the company describes it as being roughly 10 minutes walking distance from Markfield Village Centre, “which offers key services including a school, shops, a GP practice and community facilities.”
The proposal
Approximately 130 new homes, in a mix of types and tenures, with affordable housing provision.
Energy efficient homes, with a range of sustainability features.
New open spaces, including green corridors and equipped play areas.
Biodiversity enhancements, achieving at least a 10% Biodiversity Net Gain.
New walking and cycling routes to improve connections into Markfield and the surrounding area.
The site and the draft Local Plan
They add that the site “is now allocated for development of around 130 homes in the draft Hinckley and Bosworth Local Plan 2020 – 2041.”
A spokesperson for Hinckley and Bosworth Borough Council clarified the significance of this statement : “The Taylor Wimpey site was included as a draft allocation in the Regulation 18 draft Local Plan consulted on in summer 2024. This carries limited planning weight at present, however should the proposed allocation remain in future iterations of the Local Plan for consultation (Regulation 19 and then submission to the Government) then the proposed allocation will gain further weight as it goes through the process”
Feedback from the public consultation
As part of its consultation the company held a public exhibition of the proposal at the Field Head Hotel on 3rd March, and provided an opportunity to share thoughts with them by March 10th either in person or by using the online response form at taylorwimpeymarkfield.co.uk. The first two hours enabled councillors to have a preview.
The Field Head event coincided with the monthly meeting of Groby Parish Council, so feedback at the Council meeting was limited. Nevertheless members were disturbed by some of the comments that a borough councillor had heard were circulating.
The first was that no Councillors had attended, but both Groby and Markfield councils were represented, and at least seven councillors and a parish clerk are known to have been at the exhibition. Nichola Willder, Senior Strategic Land & Planning Manager at Taylor Wimpey, said: “We were delighted to welcome local elected representatives from Hinckley and Bosworth Borough Council, Groby Parish Council, and Markfield Parish Council to an exhibition preview session on Monday 3rd March, ahead of opening the exhibition to members of the public. Both sessions were well-attended.”
The second issue raised was that some residents were told that apparently the Councillors were only interested in the roundabout being sorted out and that "they were quite happy for the development to go ahead." This comment was greeted with dismay. Whilst it is true that Councillors have great concerns over the traffic issues, they raised all sorts of issues regarding the proposal and Nichola Willder added that both sessions “provided a constructive environment for wide ranging discussions with both residents and other local stakeholders on a variety of topics related to our proposal.”
At this stage there has been no opportunity for the two councils to discuss this outline proposal, but the early indications are that the initial reaction is that the environmental impact and pressure on local services are unacceptable. These are issues they will have to consider in due course.
A planning application is sure to come, followed no doubt by an expensive appeal even it is refused by the Borough Council. The developer and the cash strapped councils will be unevenly matched, as at 31 December 2024 Taylor Wimpey had a cash balance of £647,000,000.
Most people agree we need more houses and it’s the housebuilders that need to deliver them. The dilemma is where to put them that meets the need but does not put a strain on services, cause environmental damage, or materially reduce the quality of life for others. Residents of both Groby and Markfield may well decide that this proposal does not pass these tests.
April 2024 When Borough Council members went against the advice of planning officers, and refused an outline planning application for a development of 225 houses in Ratby, they hoped that any planning appeal would support their decision. But the Planning Inspector has reversed the decision, and the new homes can be built on Desford Lane, between the sports ground and the Stonecraft Paving site, despite the application being widely opposed. In addition to Ratby Parish Council and many residents, objections were received from Kirby Muxloe Parish Council and Blaby District Council.
The development is likely to have an adverse impact on Groby, with increased traffic on Sacheverell Way. But worse will be the impact on homes in the Martinshaw Lane and Forest Rise area, as Ratby Primary School cannot be extended. Some or all of the additional pupils resulting from the new homes on Desford Lane may need to enrol at Martinshaw School in Groby.
Ratby a Key Rural Centre
Guy Davies, the Planning Inspector appointed by the Secretary of State, considered all the issues raised and noted that Ratby is classed as a Key Rural Centre because it contains a primary school, other services and a 6 day a week bus service. “This makes it a place where residents can fulfil their daily needs without having to travel long distances into urban areas,” he said. However, the projected shortfall in primary school places will increase traffic levels and impact adversely on Groby, as more parents travel from Ratby to drop children off in the morning and sit and wait in their cars at the end of the school day. Public transport links are inconvenient and walking from Ratby is not practical for many parents.
“I heard evidence from interested parties that Ratby has expanded rapidly in recent decades and that has put strain on local facilities, in particular the primary school and increased traffic on the roads,” Guy Davies said in his decision notice. He went on to say that it is up to service providers such as the County Council to make appropriate provision, rather than restraints being put on new housing.
No objection from County Council
“In this case, no objection to the scheme has been raised by service providers, including the County Council in its roles as Highway Authority and Education Authority.” He also said that it is a matter for service providers to respond to new development “by providing improvements or additional capacity where necessary, rather than existing capacity being seen as a limiting factor on development, unless such improvements or additional capacity are not possible.”
Developers wanting permission to build may be expected to make a contribution towards the financial impact on local infrastructure and in this case a very large sum will be payable towards education costs. However, no contribution is required from the developer for Ratby Primary School.
Davidsons Developments has updated its planning application in respect of land behind Leicester Road at Field Head. It has tried to persuade the planners at Charnwood Borough Council to approve the application, by responding to some of the objections raised against their proposal. But many of those who will be adversely affected by the development will not be convinced by their efforts, and do not believe there is anything they can do to make it acceptable. In addition they believe that the updated application includes factual errors and misrepresentations which they will raise in their objections.
The revisions include
a reduction in the number of houses on the proposed site to 115
an amended Transport Statement responding to the comments raised by the Highway Authority and National Highways
a report by Hoare Lea considering the noise impacts to the closest dwellings
an Ecological Impact Assessment and a layout amendment to retain what it describes as the areas of higher value grassland on site to the east and north east.
Three parishes affected
Groby Parish residents living on Leicester Road at Field Head, and Newtown Linford Parish residents living on Markfielfd Lane are affected directly as the site is at the rear of their gardens. Markfield Parish Council residents are affected because of the strain the development will put on the already overstretched village infrastructure and service. All three will be affected to some extent by the extra traffic which 115 new homes will create.
Objections are arriving
Objections to the updated plan are already starting to arrive at Charnwood Borough Council.
“The locality cannot provide adequate facilities to service up to 115 properties or any number of new build properties, this is due to over subscribed primary and secondary schools with local feeder pupils put on waiting lists, doctor’s surgeries, dental surgeries,” commented a local resident who lives in Newtown Linford. “There are no services or local shops within a safe walking distance, the bus service is very poor and does not serve the needs of local people including school children, this makes the need to travel by car the only option. Newtown Linford is a conservation village, and is already suffering the overwhelming amount of traffic is sees everyday, visiting the park and using Bradgate Road, Main Street and Markfield Lane as a rat run for A50 & M1 links.”
She added that the loss of green space and trees will have a detrimental effect on the wildlife habitats it is already a home to, and it should be protected.
An expensive business
Objections to the revised proposal need to be submitted by 20th October. The details arrived just in time to be discussed at the October meeting of Groby Parish Council, at which members agreed to release £1500, representing the second tranche of cash to enable the barrister to update the Council’s objection to the developer’s revised planning application. A measure of the opposition is how quickly a Crowdfunder appeal raised funds last year. Thirty one people contributed a total of £2290 in just 42 days.
Groby Parish Council Members were warned that if this application is refused it is likely to go to appeal, a much more costly process. When seen in the context of a likely planning application from I M Properties for its huge trading estate off Anstey Lane, and the possibility that Bloors may prepare a new planning application for land near Groby Cemetery, the parish might need to be thinking of putting more funds aside in order to cover all eventualities. Agreeing priorities, and the setting of a precept budget for 2024, may be very challenging.
November 2022 Earlier this year the Borough Council carried out a community governance review of the whole borough area to ensure that the parish electoral arrangements are appropriate and relevant. Following an initial consultation, proposals were put forward which included the transfer of Field Head from Groby to Markfield Parish Council, together with an appropriate adjustment to the number of elected members for each parish.
The Borough Council has decided, after further public consultation, that based upon the evidence currently available a community governance change “would not help to better reflect the local identities and interests of the community, or help to secure more effective and convenient governance of the area.”
The final report says that the overall response of 57% against the proposal to amend the boundary “shows a lack of appetite for change, and the evidence that residents from Field Head are generally not in favour of the proposed change shows their feeling of identity with Groby parish. There were conflicting views about whether Field Head residents used facilities in Markfield or Groby.”
Some residents of Groby feel that the parish suffers from being on the eastern border of the borough, distant from Hinckley. Similarly, some Field Head residents share the same thoughts when considering their relationship with the central Groby village area, and this year a Newtown Linford parish housing development proposal adjoining the Field Head boundary resulted in angry scenes at Groby Parish Council as residents felt they had been abandoned. The Parish Council has committed funds and commissioned professional help to construct a robust objection to the plan, despite the fact that is outside the Parish Council area.
It isn't the first time that parish councillors have been shouted at, or the police have had to attend a meeting, as it seems to take controversy to motivate residents to express an interest in what unpaid councillors give up their time to do for them. Even during lockdown, when residents could attend parish council meetings on Zoom from the comfort of their own homes, less than 1 in 1000 residents attended.
Although the Borough Council believes that Field Head ward is over-represented in terms of the elector-to-councillor ratio, this is not something that residents have taken advantage of over the years. As a result there has been an absence of the voice of residents of the ward. The recent election of a Field Head elector to the Parish Council has helped in this respect and has strengthened the Council, which in essence is the sum of the diverse skills which members bring to the role. Perhaps, at the forthcoming parish elections next May, more of the Field Head residents who wish to maintain the link to Groby will exercise their electoral right to participate in the governance of the village.
Some residents expressed concern about a lack of consultation about the Governance Review, but the Borough says it was advertised in several places including the Borough Bulletin delivered to every home. Draft recommendations were based on the comments received and subsequently consultation has taken place on the draft recommendations. “Community governance reviews are a statutory process and there is no provision for a parish poll as part of this process.”
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£3000 to help opposition to Field Head housing proposal
August 2022 The three Parish Councils affected by the proposal to build new homes between Markfield Lane and Leicester Road in Field Head have all had the opportunity to listen to residents and consider what to do next.
Residents opposed to the planning application for 150 houses feel that professional help is essential, and Groby Parish Council has set aside £3000 to help fund any payments to an appropriate planning expert.
Newtown Linford has also discussed similar funding, following an approach from Groby to share any legal costs. Around 20 residents attended their Council meeting on 13 July. Councillors agreed in principle to consider sharing the cost of a Planning Lawyer should it be felt necessary, but the amount involved would need agreeing by Council at a later date. The developers would like to have the Draft Charnwood Local plan amended to enable development of this site. Charnwood Councillor David Snarrt told the meeting that if the site was added to the Local Plan, planning permission would be more likely to be granted, however, as Charnwood cannot currently demonstrate a 5 year housing supply, they are left open to more piecemeal development. He said previous historic applications on adjacent land had been refused.
Markfield Parish Council has asked for guidance before it considers the shared funding request from Groby, so it could be September before a decision is made.
Local residents have a created a Crowdfunder.com page and by the 25th July had raised £2290 towards the funds needed to oppose the development. Follow this link to donate - www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/say-no-to-field-head-developments
June 2022 A proposal to build up to 150 new homes has not found favour with any of the Parish Councils with an interest in it. Although the land lies within Newtown Linford parish, any development will be at the rear of houses on Leicester Road, which is part of the parish of Groby and Field Head. The residents of Markfield have an interest as their village will be the centre that any new home owners will look to for services such as schools, doctors and shops. The result is a situation where all three parishes are committed to opposing the suggested development. No planning aplication has been submitted, and the proposal is at the ‘consultation’ stage.
Charnwood Borough Councillor Snartt told Newtown Linford ParishCouncil (NLPC), at a recent meeting, that although the land concerned was not included in the Draft Charnwood Local Plan, which is now at the formal examination stage, representations have been made by Pegasus Group on behalf of Davidsons Developments to get this changed. To the layman this will sound very familiar to the situation that Groby may find itself in with regard to site of a suggested trading estate on land off Anstey Lane.
The Chair of NLPC said how vitally important it is for as many people as possible to submit comments once a planning application is registered, adding that the council could not declare their position until an application had been submitted and plans had been thoroughly considered by Councillors. To do so, the Chair said, would be considered predetermination before an application is formally lodged. Residents who addressed the meeting expressed their concerns about environmental and traffic issues, adding that since December 2021, a mature hedgerow had been flailed, a pond was now dry and trees had been removed. There was a loss of habitats and species including frogs and newts and it was felt this work had been undertaken to make the planning process easier for the developers.
Markfield Parish Council members are concerned about the impact any development might have on the village, and decided that their response to the consultation should indicate their opposition to the proposal. As reported last month Markfield Councillor Matthew Lay has written comprehensively about the consultation and Markfield Borough Council fully supported his comments.
Members of the public also attended the May meeting of Groby Parish Council and voiced their concerns, and the fact that initial works to trees and hedgerows had already been carried out. It was unanimously resolved for Groby Parish Council to oppose the proposed development. They also decided to engage with the two neighbouring Parish Councils of Markfield and Newtown Linford, to request that the Parishes work together and to ask whether consideration could be given to sharing the costs of the services of a Planning Lawyer should a formal planning application be submitted. The Field Head residents in attendance were assured that they had the full support of the three Field Head Councillors and the Parish Council.
May 2022 Although Parish boundaries result in Field Head falling within Groby Parish Council for administrative purposes, for the infrastructure which affects day to day life it is essentially part of Markfield. The nearest schools, medical facilities, shops, and employment are all in Markfield. Any development in Field Head inevitably has consequences for the village, but residents of this development will never contribute to the Markfield community because they will pay local taxes to Charnwood and Newtown Linford Councils. They will also have no democratic say on how the community operates or how resources are allocated.
The news that Davidsons Builders are consulting on the provision of between 100 and 150 new homes on a land locked wedge of land between Leicester Road and Markfield Lane, near the Fieldhead Hotel, has been met with dismay from Field Head and Markfield residents already alarmed by the attractiveness of the area to speculative development.
Davidsons Homes has put together proposals for the site, and would like to build on their 15.9 acre site. Harvey Singh, 45, who lives off Leicester Road in Field Head told the Leicester Mercury that the company has bought two properties, presumably to connect the development to local roads. The access location suggested is on a bend in Markfield Lane, where the limit is 40mph but the traffic often goes much faster.
"It's going to be dangerous for traffic turning out on Leicester Road” he said. “Most people will be turning to go onto the A50 and that roundabout is already very busy at times and dangerous because of the speed of traffic crossing the roundabout from the M1 direction towards Leicester. There will be more queues and more accidents." Mr Singh added that although a 13ft-wide lane joining the site with Leicester Road had been suggested, this would be a pedestrian route for children walking to school, and would be dangerous as it is a right-of-way for vehicles.
The group formed to oppose the proposal also intends to draw attention to the impact on wildlife. “There has been work already carried out to the site,” explained local resident Linda Allen. “Mature trees have been removed, and a hedgerow has been flailed to virtually nothing. This time last year and in previous years it has been home to an array of birds and wildlife.”
The challenge the residents face is not to be underestimated, and they are appealing for support from the wider community. The site does not have planning permission, but it is reported that the land is earmarked as being suitable for a residential development of up to 150 homes. The Charnwood Borough Council view is said to be that the site is in a suitable location in terms of its access to Markfield, a sustainable location in the Hinckley and Bosworth Core Strategy.
But it is this proximity to Markfield which gives weight to the argument that any development of the site should be considered in the context of the overall vision for the village. Matthew Lay, Borough Councillor for Markfield, has written a comprehensive letter to the agents for the developer, explaining that Markfield has taken steps to provide for its housing requirements, and has a Neighbourhood Plan which has allocated land to the south of the village. This is a significant allocation that is underway and will lead to 284 houses being built over the next 10 years, providing 112 affordable housing units. The Neighbourhood Plan, Cllr Lay explained, ensures that the settlement of Markfield benefits from enhanced protection in national planning policy.
This enhanced protection includes a variation of the requirement for a Planning Authority to maintain a 5 year supply of deliverable housing sites. For communities with a Neighbourhood Plan this is reduced to 3 years supply, which the Borough Council currently satisfies. The Plan also delivers its housing requirement up to 2039 in full.
We will have to see whether Charnwood Borough Council, who will be responsible for determining any planning application in due course, will take all these factors into account. Some residents may feel that the boundary issue provides the potential developer with a back door into Markfield. What is clear to most, however, is that neither developers nor planning authorities should be allowed to cherry pick the rules in boundary situations like this.
October 2015 Field Head residents concerned about the planning application by Taylor Wimpey for 140 houses on land south of Jacqueline Drive at Field Head may be encouraged by the decision in a recent planning appeal in another parish in the Hinckley and Bosworth Borough Council area.
The site of the proposed housing which was the subject of the Appeal is on land south of Bullfurlong Lane in Burbage. Originally the proposal was for 32 houses but this was later reduced to 14. The main issues in this appeal were the effect of the proposed development on the character and appearance of the area, whether the proposal would be a sustainable development, and the extent of the housing land supply in the Borough.
Andrew Milne, the Inspector, thought that the proposed development would urbanise the site and result in the loss of this area of countryside to development and said “I therefore conclude that the proposed development would cause demonstrable harm to the character and appearance of the countryside and the landscape setting of Burbage.” In addition he didn't think it would be a sustainable development as the social and economic benefits of the scheme would not overcome the significant harm that would be caused by the loss of countryside and the poor accessibility to and from the site for pedestrians.
Local Planning Authorities should have sufficient deliverable sites to provide five years of housing against their housing requirements, and the good news is that at last the position of the Council is that as of April 2015 it has a 5.69 year supply. Even if there is not such a supply the Inspector thought the Appeal should fail, as the contribution of the fourteen dwellings proposed towards addressing this issue would not outweigh the harm to the character and appearance of the area and the fact that the proposal would not be a sustainable development.
There are elements of the decision, including the five year housing supply, which may be helpful in stopping the Taylor Wimpey development, one which residents feel is clearly unwelcome. Groby and Markfield Parish Councils are working together in responding to the planning application and plan to share the cost of legal representation between the two parish councils in the same way that Ratby and Groby co-operated over the Bloors Homes application next to Groby cemetery.
The developer has shown on the plans submitted that access to the site is over land which is owned by Groby Parish Council. The Chairman told members that if this is the only access available then the Parish Council has control over whether or not the development takes place or not. The terms of the current agricultural access will need clarification as the developer has indicated that they would use this as access to the pumping station for the Sustainable Urban Drainage Scheme(SUDS) for the site.
The National Forest has expressed disappointment that the application fails to acknowledge the requirement to incorporate 1.08ha of National Forest woodland planting and landscaping. If the application is approved they want a landscaping condition imposed.