The 12.76 hectare (ha) site is located on the southern edge of Oadby, on the south-eastern side of the wider Leicester urban area. The site is identified for residential development in Oadby and Wigston Borough Council’s (OWBC) emerging Local Plan.
The site lies to the immediate south-west of the Cottage Farm development that is being delivered by Bloor Homes and has been very popular locally. The proposed development would form the third phase of the wider Cottage Farm development.
Glen Gorse Golf Club lies immediately south of the site, with the western and northern boundaries of the site defined existing hedgerows.
Oadby & Wigston Borough Council is preparing a New Local Plan. The council has identified the site in the Regulation 19 draft of the new Plan under Allocations Policy 3 (APC3) as a proposed development site to contribute to meeting the Borough’s housing need.
In December 2024 the government published an updated National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF). This has increased Oadby and Wigston Borough Council’s housing need figure and the number of homes that need to be delivered Borough from 240 homes per year to 389.
The NPPF also requires that local authorities are able demonstrate a five-year housing land supply. This is the amount of land that the Council must identify to ensure there are sufficient deliverable sites for residential development over the next five years. Oadby and Wigston Borough Council cannot currently demonstrate this requirement.
The new Local Plan is required as the extant development plan for Oadby and Wigston is out of date, and it needs to take account of recent changes to national planning policy, notably reflecting the Government’s clear policy objective to boost the delivery of housing in response to the national housing crisis. In doing so, the Council has identified allocation sites, including the proposed development site at Phase 3 of Cottage Farm, to meet its housing needs.
Alongside the ongoing process of preparing the Local Plan, Bloor Homes is preparing an outline planning application for the site, which will enable the delivery of new homes to contribute to addressing the council’s housing needs early in the plan period, at a site identified by the council to fulfil that purpose.
Bloor Homes’ consultation on emerging proposals for Phase 3 of Cottage Farm, Oadby, is separate from the Council’s Local Plan consultation, and residents are able to contribute to both processes.
Informed by the site’s proposed allocation in the emerging new Oadby and Wigston Local Plan, Bloor Homes is preparing an outline planning application for sustainable residential development, which would provide:
- Up to 190 high-quality homes in a range of styles and tenures.
- Affordable housing provided in line with local planning policy requirements, in a mix likely to include homes for social rent as well as shared ownership properties that would appeal to first-time buyers.
- Energy-efficient homes built to be Net Zero Carbon-ready, incorporating air source heat pumps, solar panels, uprated insulation and EV charging points.
- Vehicular, pedestrian and cycle access into the site provided from Phase 2 of the Cottage Farm development, via an extension of Jamie Marcus Way.
- Access designed to accommodate a potential bus route.
- Development set back from the site’s southern boundary to provide landscaped open space with tree and woodland planting, creating a strong and defensible new Green Wedge boundary.
- The provision of outdoor recreational facilities including a play area and community orchard.
- The retention of an existing Public Right of Way connection at the site’s southern boundary, complemented by new pedestrian links, providing connections to Glen Gorse Golf Club, the retained Green Wedge and Brocks Hill County Park, as well as the wider countryside.
- Active travel links through to the adjacent Phase 2 development, and onwards to nearby key uses (including the schools to the north).
- A sustainable drainage system to manage surface water and provide biodiversity enhancement.
The number of homes proposed in the Local Plan is based on a broad estimate which has not been informed by in depth technical studies to assess the capacity of the site. It is our view that a higher number of homes could potentially be accommodated by the site, and will be undertaking technical studies to inform an outline planning application and demonstrate the capacity of the site. Whilst a maximum of 190 homes is proposed at this stage, it may be that this number will reduce slightly as technical studies progress and when detailed proposals for the site are advanced at the Reserved Matters stage.
The site is identified as a proposed allocation in the emerging new Oadby and Wigston Local Plan which is undergoing Regulation 19 Consultation prior to being submitted to the Government.
It is not uncommon to start progressing planning applications for allocated sites once a Local Plan has been published for Regulation 19 consultation, which the new Oadby and Wigston Local Plan Review has. The emerging planning application will ensure housing delivery on a site allocated for that purpose at an early stage in the plan period. This will be critical in ensuring that the Council can maintain a robust housing supply position and protect unallocated sites from speculative developments that may seek to take advantage of a housing supply shortfall.
The Environment Agency’s Flood Map for Planning confirms that the whole site is located within flood zone 1 and is therefore at the lowest risk of flooding from rivers or streams. There are some very minor, localised areas of surface water flooding in the wider area which will be taken into account as part of a drainage strategy for the site.
A sustainable drainage system (SuDS) will attenuate surface water runoff from the new neighbourhood, ensuring that surface water discharge rates do not exceed existing levels and where possible provide betterment over the existing surface water drainage on the site and in the surrounding area. This will divert surface water to attenuation basins that are proposed to the north of the site. The proposed attenuation area will also deliver biodiversity benefits through the provision of additional wetland habitat.
Foul water will be discharged from the site via a new pumping station, with a connection expected to an existing manhole at Sutton Close.
Vehicular access to the site will be provided via extensions to the internal highway network provided as part of the Phase 2 Cottage Farm site, with all phases being served via the A6 / Jamie Marcus Way signal-controlled T-junction.
The site is sustainably located within walking and cycling distance of local facilities and services in Oadby, and the development proposals accommodate pedestrian and cycle links to earlier phases of the Cottage Farm development, surrounding areas including local schools, and the existing public right of way network.
The potential for public transport provision is currently being explored, and the proposed layout will ensure that there is sufficient room to facilitate a bus route if it is feasible.
Assessments will be taken at key junctions along the A6 corridor, and a Transport Assessment will form part of the outline planning application. This will assess highway safety and capacity of the surrounding highway network to ensure that the development can be safely accommodated.
No, the existing public right of way close to the site will be retained and new connections will be provided within the site.
Affordable housing will provide opportunities for those on lower incomes to secure a home of their own. Affordable housing is anticipated to be provided in a mix of affordable rent and shared ownership homes, however this will be determined in consultation with Oadby and Wigston Borough Council’s Housing Team.
We are happy to work with the Borough Council to explore the potential for Local Occupancy Criteria to be applied to the affordable housing provision, ensuring that it is prioritised for people with local connections.
The neighbourhood will be gas-free, with all homes provided with air source heat pumps as standard. PV cells (solar panels) will also be incorporated, which along with the use of the latest materials and technique to maximise insultation, air tightness and heat recovery, will create an uplift in energy efficiency of 75-80%.
The new homes will incorporate sanitaryware and appliances that meet the highest water efficiency standards.
Electric vehicle (EV) charging points will be provided for all homes with on plot parking, together with access to communal EV charging points for the whole neighbourhood.
Existing mature trees and hedgerows are limited to the site boundaries, and there are no trees located within the site itself. This boundary vegetation will be retained as part of the open space proposals, save for limited loss of small sections to facilitate the site access. These will be enhanced with extensive additional planting of trees and woodland areas throughout the development, significantly increasing tree cover across the site.
We are preparing an outline planning application. This is the first stage in the planning process which sets out broad principles of the development. If the outline planning application is approved by Oadby and Wigston Borough Council, we will then need to prepare a more detailed planning application called a Reserved Matters application, which looks at finer details such as architecture, layout, materials etc. Depending on the time taken in the planning process, we envisage that construction could start at some point in 2028, with development being delivered over circa three to four subsequent years.