Planning Application ref : 25/00676/OUT

Do you want 135 new homes to be built at Field Head?

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 -

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.