Details unveiled for scores of homes for village 'built for horse and carts'

Julia Breens
·2-min read
Up to 75 new homes will be built off Markfield Road in Ratby
-Credit: (Image: Google Maps)


The full details of 75 homes being built on fields in a Leicestershire village have been announced. Developer Lagan Homes has revealed the size of homes that will be built on land south of Markfield Road in Ratby, as well as information about landscaping and green spaces.

The estate will include four one-bed maisonettes, 16 two-bedroom townhouses, 36 three-bed houses and 19 four-beds. A main street will run through the 13.5-acre site, and the main access will be from Markfield Road.

When initial approval was given for the scheme in February last year by Hinckley and Bosworth Borough Council, Councillor Ozzy O’Shea said Ratby was "getting growth beyond its means”, and claimed almost 270 homes had been approved for the village. Coun O’Shea added: "We can’t continue to take it, the infrastructure is not there. The main street was built for horse and carts. We cannot widen the main street.”

READ MORE: 1,500 houses approved despite claims warehouses will loom over homes

The council received 12 objections to the original application, with one resident pleading with the authority to "stop the continuous development". "At this rate, we’ll have no green spaces left, once it’s gone, it’s gone forever," they added. "No more destruction to our beautiful countryside.”

Ratby Parish Council also opposed the plan, saying the houses would have a "significant, adverse impact on the intrinsic value, beauty and open character of the area". But council leader Councillor Stuart Bray said that due to Leicestershire County Council not objecting, "It’s going to be another application that, should we refuse it, we just wouldn’t stand a chance at appeal".

West of the land, 90 homes are under construction after being approved in 2021. The site is also next to two woods, Martinshaw Wood and Pear Tree Wood, as well as pasture land.

Planning documents for the 75 homes read: “Similar to the housing east of the site, the built development is to be situated away from Markfield Road. This allows the field adjacent to Markfield Road along with Martinshaw Wood to be designed as a green space area for habitat creation which includes introducing blocks of new broadleaved woodland and tree planting.”

The developer has also promised a play area. The application documents can be found on the council’s planning portal, and comments and objections can be made until Friday (June 14).

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