Plans to build the first homes in a huge 4,500 development on the edge of Leicester have been approved.
Developers are set to build new homes, schools, parks, shops and roads to the north east of the city.
Some 900 acres of farmland north of Hamilton and east of Thurmaston has been earmarked for the new community, which will be called Thorpebury, and will cost around £450 million to build over the next 15 years.
Charnwood Borough Council’s planning committee has approved the construction of an initial 584 homes which will be built by David Wilson, William Davis and Davidsons.
Residents in the area fought a long campaign against the wider development arguing it would swallow up swathes of attractive countryside and clog the surrounding roads with traffic.
However, council officials chose the area as one of the strategic development areas where new home would be built to help meet Government house building targets based on projections for how Leicester’s population would grow in the coming dcades.
Master developer CEG is overseeing the first phase, known as Thorpebury-in-the-Limes, which will include parks, sports pitches, play areas, and new walking and cycling routes alongside a mixture of two to five bedroom homes.
The wider development will see a north-west link road between Barkby Lane/the A607 with a bridge across the railway line intended to reduce vehicle movements in nearby villages and a southern link road with an extension and improvements to Hamilton Park.
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CEG’s area manager Will Martin said Thorpebury would be a ‘regionally significant development’.
He said: “The decision means work will shortly commence to deliver a wide range of much-needed new homes in the area, as well as opening up around 30 acres of new green spaces for sports and informal recreation.”
The first phase of the scheme will be accessed from Barkbythorpe Road and Hamilton Lane and financial contributions will be made for new education provision and transport improvements.
What is the Thorpebury wider plan?
– Approximately 4,500 homes, including family, first time buyer, affordable and Extra Care accommodation for the elderly
–Approximately 32 acres of employment land
–Shops and services, healthcare facilities and new primary schools, within the main district and two local centres and a site for a secondary school
–20 acres of parks, 153 acres of green space including allotments, parks, play areas and open space.
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–72 acres outdoor sports activities, including playing pitches and tennis courts
–New footpaths/cycleways, including connections to existing communities such as Thurmaston
The developers say the scheme will create 3,500 construction jobs and 3,200 permanent jobs generating £35million in spending from new residents who will live and work in the area.