Plan for 80 homes on 'site of archaeological interest' in Leicestershire set for approval

Eighty new homes on a Leicestershire site described as "an area of archaeological interest" are set to be approved. Applicant Rosconn Group has submitted the proposal for land on the eastern side of the village of Sapcote, north of Leicester Road.

When the plan was first submitted, archaeologists wrote to Blaby District Council's planning department to say that the site was in an area of archaeological interest. At the time, they said: "In view of the evidence from the surrounding area the site is considered to have good potential for the presence of archaeological remains relating to Roman activity, including settlement and occupation."

Archaeologists at Leicestershire County Council asked for further investigation in the area to establish the date and nature of any remains that might be found, and recommended that a programme of trial trenching - a method of evaluation used to estimate the archaeological potential of a location - be carried out. They made a recommendation, based on the possibility that "archaeological remains may be adversely affected by this proposal", that the applicant should complete an archaeological impact assessment before any decisions on the application were made.

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However, since then, planning officers have advised councillors to approve the plans after the archaeology team said it had no objection to building going ahead, as the trial trenching report was "satisfactory" and no additional archaeological involvement would be required.

Some 28 objections were made to the application, with two submissions supporting it. Sapcote Parish Council said in its objection to the plan: "Overall, the parish council feels that the main issue with this scheme is the overall ethos of creating an introspective development that does not interact with the wider area. We would argue that this amounts to a scheme which fails to integrate within its surroundings, or even attempt it."

The site includes two agricultural fields with access directly from Leicester Road. Sapcote is to the east of the proposed development and to the north is a holiday home, farm buildings and a granite quarry. A single farm house with farm buildings and the former Sapcote quarry are to the east, and Leicester Road is on the south side.

The developer has said its proposed homes would be 25 per cent 'affordable' housing, with a mix of one, two, three and four bedroom houses. The site would include new planting, including trees and hedgerows to the south and east. It would also include additional walkways through the site and into the village, with public open space, landscaping and a play area, the developer said.

The plans are due to be discussed at Blaby District Council's planning committee meeting tomorrow, Thursday, November 28.

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