Fresh attempt to build houses on grassland behind Leicester homes

A developer is seeking permission for the second time to demolish a city home and build new properties on land behind it. Shardman UK Ltd has designs on the currently vacant home at 15 Gleneagles Avenue, Rushey Mead, and a parcel of grassland behind it.

The developer wants to build five three-bed houses on the site and use the space where No. 15 now sits as the access route to the land by Melton Brook. This is not the first attempt by the applicant to bring the area into use.

Last year, a bid to build six three-bed homes on the site was submitted to Leicester City Council. This was later withdrawn after the council advised Shardman that six houses would not fit the proposed area.

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The city council also raised concerns over the height of the buildings, saying the proposed dormers would make them appear as though they were three-storeys, resulting in “issues of privacy and overlooking” for neighbouring homes and gardens. The 10 parking spaces proposed in the 2023 plan was not suitable for six three-bed homes, council officers added.

Shardman has now reworked its plan, reducing both the number and height of the buildings while keeping the 10 parking spaces. Documents show the homes would be set out over two blocks of terraces and each would have a private garden.

The developer said the principle of using the site for homes has been confirmed as acceptable both through previously approved applications dating back to 2005 and through pre-application advise ahead of the 2023 bid.

In 2005, outline permission was granted for the demolition of the house and the building of five new homes to the rear, with full permission granted in 2008. A separate plan for five houses was later approved in 2013; work did not begin on any of these schemes.

This latest application is for outline permission only. Outline planning permission approves a scheme in principle, with the full details to be settled through a later application.

A public consultation is currently underway and will run until Wednesday, May 22. A target decision date has been set for Wednesday, June 6.