Plans to build bungalows in conservation area submitted to Harborough District Council

Applicant Derrick Hicks of D.W. Hicks Holding Ltd has put forward the bid to redevelop the site in Thurnby in the north of the Harborough district.

Mr Hicks has submitted the plans to Harborough District Council (HDC) for Manor Field next to 126 Grange Lane in the village.

If approved, the scheme would be made up of four semi-detached and five detached bungalows, with three, three-beds and six, two-bed properties in place.

Alongside the single storey homes, there are plans for a 16 space car park. The site is currently described as vacant, undeveloped and overgrown, and not accessible to the public. Mr Hicks said development would tidy up and create spaces that would benefit the local community.

The site is located within the Thurnby and Bushby conservation area, with plans acknowledging this put constraints on the application – especially as it is located close by to a number of listed buildings. To the south-east of the site are 10 listed buildings, with one south located on nearby Lakeside Court.

Entrance to the homes, which would be developed in an existing residential area, would be via Grange Lane, which runs parallel to the site. Grange Lane is off the main Uppingham Road (A47), and south of Manor Field Play Park. There is housing to the west and south of the site, while the developer says further car parking for the community could be available as well as an increase in recreational space to “enhance the area”.

There have been various planning applications submitted for the land in previous years, with the most recent including a 16-homes plan in 2014 and one in 2015 for 18 homes. Both of these were for a mixture of terraced, semi detached and detached homes but were later withdrawn.

In response to these, Mr Hicks said his plan had been split into three sections; the housing in the centre; a green area double the size of previous applications to the east; and a car park for the community to the west. The car park would act as additional parking for the pavilion and manor fields to the north of the site, and the public footpath, plans add.

Mr Hicks said a consultation on the proposal which was launched last year had gained an overall “positive” response so far, claiming many said there was a “need for bungalows in the area”. The consultation runs until Wednesday, April 16, with a decision by HDC due by Monday, May 12.