Developers target Harborough district village once again as new housing application is submitted

Plans have been submitted to build 24 social and affordable homes in Houghton on the Hill

Developers are once again looking at plans to build more homes in a Harborough district village.

A plan for 24 'affordable' homes with private drives and 46 car parking spaces is being considered by Harborough District Council.

If approved, they will be built on land north of Stretton Lane and west of existing residential development along Freer Close in the village of Houghton on the Hill, which has already had three new housing estates added to its outskirts in recent years which have ‘significantly’ increased its population size.

Village in Harborough district eyed up once again by developers as location for ...

Developers Minster property group have put the application forward for the plot on former agricultural land for a mixture of one, two, three and four-bedroom homes. The planning statement said plans have been put in place to address the housing needs in the area.

Plans note an application for the site was refused some years ago and an appeal in relation to that decision was dismissed on Tuesday March 22, 2016 for a development of 32 homes. At that time, the planning inspector said the larger development proposed “would result in unacceptable impacts on the character of the area and the rural setting of the village, making particular reference to loss of openness and the impact on views of the village from the west and north.”

The developer said they put forward a pre-application for the affordable homes plan for the area last year. Harborough District council indicated in June 2023 that the overall change on the landscape was acceptable, and set out a detailed list of design recommendations, which the new application seeks to address, they added.

Plans note this advice has been taken on board and the proposals “are now considered to achieve an excellent standard of design.” The scheme will provide a mix of rented and bought affordable homes, and how that would be made up would be in agreement with the council’s housing department, it said.

Development plans include widening of Stretton Lane near to the development site, providing a two metre wide footpath which would connect to the existing footpath on the north side of Stretton Lane, and adding a pedestrian crossing to the existing footpath on the south side of Stretton Lane.