Decision deferred on controversial 170-home development in Harborough district

But unimpressed villagers say the council knows it’s made a misjudgement in allowing the scheme at all.

A Planning Inspector turned down the scheme, off Oaks Road, after a five-day hearing in October, 2017.

He said the Miller Homes estate would cause “significant harm to the local landscape”.

The trouble was, Harborough District Council had not been able to wait for the result of the Planning Appeal, and had already said “yes” to the controversial plan in July.

“The council now knows they’ve messed this one up” said Jane Jones of the campaign group Hands Off Great Glen. “And there wasn’t enough detail at the outline planning stage.”

“After a five-day hearing, the Planning Inspector actually said this wasn’t a suitable site” said Great Glen parish council chairman Bill Glasper.

“I would absolutely say there was insufficient attention to detail by the council at the outline planning stage. They needed to be more robust.”

At Tuesday night’s meeting, villagers said that Miller Homes’ detailed plan was now even more “overbearing” then its outline plan, with land levels raised by a metre.

The slope of the land meant downstairs windows of the new homes would look into upstairs windows of existing Great Glen properties, said village objector Paula Jenney.

Councillors agreed to ask Miller Homes to look again at land levels and drainage.