New homes plan derailed by HS2 despite future of rail project …
Plans for 15 new homes have been rejected over fears they could get in the way of HS2. The Burton Road scheme on vacant land in Measham was rejected after attracting a series of objections, including from the HS2 bosses.
Applicant Barbara Cotton said the properties would be “widely welcomed” in the area to help meet demand. It was stated that the scheme could increase the cost of the long-touted high-speed rail line.
A number of objections focused on the homes’ planned location at The Paddock, Burton Road, which is just feet away from the A42 running overhead. Officials at North West Leicestershire District Council (NWLDC) said they were concerned about pollution from the highway and its impacts on residents, LeicestershireLive reports[1].
Concerns were also voiced about the scheme’s impacts on HS2’s phase 2b, which is set to run through Measham. If it goes ahead, 2b, the second leg of the multi-billion project, could run through the likes of Kegworth, Ashby and Measham from Birmingham before heading onto London.
However, latest reports suggest phase 2b is being scaled back to run only as far as East Midlands Parkway, just north of the county, near Ratcliffe-on-Soar. Despite that, HS2 Ltd’s town planning team said the homes fell within the “safeguarding zone” of potential work on the line, with a viaduct proposed to carry trains over the River Mease.
The firm, which said the applicant had not considered HS2 in the development, said it had “no alternative” but to oppose the homes. Details of the homes were limited in the application documents submitted to the council, with the mix of properties unclear, but they would form a cul-de-sac off existing access from Burton Road.
Information on parking provisions was also not included. In its rejection of the proposal, NWLDC said allowing the homes to be built could lead to “excessive additional costs” to HS2 and could put the project in doubt.
The council said the new railway was of “national importance” and it could not let the homes get in its way.
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References
- ^ LeicestershireLive reports (www.leicestermercury.co.uk)
- ^ Police called to village shop after customer ‘becomes aggressive’ (www.staffordshire-live.co.uk)
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