Tens of millions 'will be needed to pay for roads' as new homes built in Leicestershire
Tens of millions of pounds will need to be spent on building new roads and improving existing ones to cope with the impact of thousands of new homes being built in Leicestershire, experts have revealed.
Charnwood Borough Council is trying to decide on which sites should be earmarked for construction over the next 15 years so it can meet Government-set house building targets.
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Babtag chairman Owen Bentley
It needs to find space for about 11,000 homes, as well as 276 acres of employment land, by 2028. It is anticipated there will be a large increase in traffic resulting from the developments and a new report by transport consultants MVA said nearly £80 million will have to invested so the roads can handle it.
The suggested improvements include dualling Troon Way and building a £17 million road from Barkby Thorpe Lane to Hamilton Lane.
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Developers will be expected to meet those costs and opponents of the proposed house-building, which will be largely on farmland, say the vast expense could deter builders.
The Barkby and Barkby Thorpe Parishes Action Group (Babtag) is fighting plans to build 4,500 properties on the edge of Thurmaston.
Babtag chairman Owen Bentley said: "The sheer cost of the road improvements needed is a concern. Developers will need to pay millions up front before they have built a single home.
"There are also some very contentious roads that will need to be built.
"Also, these measures start from the basis that the traffic is at acceptable levels at the moment. Roads around us are already congested."
Mr Bentley said Babtag had asked its own traffic consultants to challenge the findings of the council's experts and he is expecting their response later this month.
The council's cabinet is set to discuss the report when it meets in April, ahead of a public consultation in May.
Council leader David Slater said the cost of the road improvements would not put off developers.
He said: "It works out to be £7,100 per dwelling. If you assume each house will be £200,000 on average, I don't think it will be prohibitive.
"So much major infrastructure is needed and the building can't go ahead without it."
7 Comments
by gtnewparks
Tuesday, February 19 2013, 7:48PM
“you can not keep taking farm land forever or where will we get our food from”
by telephone7
Tuesday, February 19 2013, 5:49PM
“I dont like traffic lights”
by llamalamb
Tuesday, February 19 2013, 5:36PM
“Why on earth would anybody wish to give the comment made by f007e a red arrow.
It was just a statement of fact.
There are some really weird people voting on these posts.”
by f007e
Tuesday, February 19 2013, 12:30PM
“Perhaps these are overestimates.
As more and more people get supermarket deliveries to their houses that will reduce traffic (instead of 10 cars driving to and from the supermarket it's just one truck). Also where I work most people work from home most of the time, thus massively reducing the amount of cars on the road.”
by Hamilton_Paul
Tuesday, February 19 2013, 11:23AM
“4500 homes there will cause chaos.
The dualling of Troon Way? - Are we talking about from the roundabout at Barkby Road to the lights on Melton Road? as from the roundabout up to Marshall's is already dualled. All you will do is create the bottle neck at the lights at Troon Way/ Melton Road. With a new supermarket been planned to build there it will be even worse. (Look at the traffic this morning? there was just one queue nose to tail from Glenfield roundabout to Hamilton). The traffic really needs to be directed towards the A46 or the A563 needs to be dualled all the way to the M1, M69 junction with slip roads onto the M1/ M69 without all the lights/ reduced traffic lights blocking the traffic.
Also very clever of Charnwood to build on the edge of their council area as they will use the city services. Charnwood are already planning to build on the other side of Hamilton 500 homes (This I would have no problem if 1) They built a road out to Hamilton Lane rather than just through Maidenwell Avenue 2) They changed the City/ Charnwood Boarder so all houses in Hamilton came under Leicester City).
This means 50% of Charnwood's new homes are being built on the Leicester fringe, will use Leicester services but Charnwood will get the developers money!”
by karinfall1955
Tuesday, February 19 2013, 11:12AM
“@llamalamb. Accept your point but I do loathe the term NIMBY,it is pretty much out of date and an irrelevance. I felt dismay when the Newbury Bypass was created destroying ancient woodland in the process (certainly not in my backyard), I feel dismay whenever green space is threatened by development, whether it is nearby or far away. How about NIABY (not in anyones back yard).”
by llamalamb
Tuesday, February 19 2013, 8:02AM
“Well, if the developers are expected to pay then what's the problem? If the market is poor, the developers won't be interested and the houses won't get built. If the houses don't get built, the roads won't be needed. The NIMBYS will be happy all round.
A bit of a non- story really.”