Historic Shepshed Watermill featured in Domesday Book at risk if …

An historic watermill could have to close if plans to create a new road opposite go ahead, a local council has been warned. The privately-owned and restored Shepshed Watermill dates back to at least the year 1080 when it was featured in the Domesday Book and was once part of the old Garendon Estate.

The site hosts a number of open days each year, but its owners now fear for its future as Charnwood Borough Council looks set to approve a new road leading to the huge Garendon Park housing development. Access to the new road would be via a junction on Harthern Road opposite the driveway of the mill, planning documents show.

The existing junction, which provides access to the Shepshed Recycling and Household Waste site, would be remodelled and the access road extended to meet the housing estate. And Neil McHugh, owner of the historic building, posted on Facebook to say if the scheme goes ahead in its current form it “will close the watermill for good”.

The new junction would “make it too dangerous to have vehicles pulling on and off the drive” due to the additional traffic, he added. Leicestershire County Council has raised no objections on the grounds of highways safety in its capacity as the highways authority.

Planning officers at Charnwood Borough Council also said open days are “not a permitted use of the property”, nor is there evidence of permission for the tearoom that also operates during these days. The impact of the proposed new road “is based on the consented use of the site as a residential property”, they said.

Concerns were also raised about the safety of horses and riders in the area. The watermill has active stables for up to ten horses and other equestrians hack in the surrounding countryside.

A Pegasus crossing, a traffic light system designed with horse riders in mind, was proposed for the road to mitigate any risks to riders and their mounts. However, this was withdrawn after the county council objected, saying the need for such a crossing “was not justified by the scale of equestrian use in the area” and that “its infrequent use” would lead to drivers “not being prepared to stop on the limited occasions that it is needed”.

Mr McHugh, who is also a town councillor for Shepshed, said in a statement submitted to the borough council: “I dispute [the statement there are not many horses riding out], but I also fail to see how the safety of one horse is any less important than the safety of 10 horses. The safety of the junction is what is in question not the number of horses.

“The proposed junction will introduce increased dangers to horses, riders and other road users who will be put at considerable risk due to an increase in vehicle traffic size and numbers. The visibility from the livery yard on this fast bend is limited with very little time to assess if the road is safe to ride onto or cross without the added complication of additional traffic from the junction to contend with.

"Should horses get spooked and a rider thrown, a loose horse on this junction could lead to serious injury or fatality. Horses crossing Hathern Road will now have to run the gauntlet of not only the traffic on Hathern Road but also of that from the junction,” he added. The traffic from the junction would also make open days at the mill too dangerous, Mr McHugh fears.

The amount of traffic would “considerably increase” from currently levels as “the current track access is only open to limited Severn Trent and Recycle Centre traffic three days a week during the daytime,” he said. “At at our last open day we had between 400–500 visitors attend the Mill over a six hour period and it is therefore considered that the introduction of a new junction in its current format would not only create a safety risk for visitors to the Mill but also restrict the flow of the junction,” he added.

Planning officers for the borough council have recommended the scheme be given the go ahead, however. The new access road was always intended as part of the 3,200 home Garendon Park development and was granted outline permission – where something is approved in principle with the specifics to be ironed out later – at the same time as the rest of the scheme. A school and a registered park and garden are also included in the wider plans for the area.

The road would not require any physical changes to the mill, they said, and any impact it would have would be less than substantial. The benefits of the scheme would outweigh any harm, they said. Charnwood Borough Council’s planning committee will meet to vote on the scheme next Thursday, July 27.

References

1. ^{^} Christian Travellers’ festival to take place in Market Harborough this weekend (www.leicestermercury.co.uk)