BABTAG Update –
Site visit 27th June by Liaison Group
On a wet morning the liaison group members were given a tour of part of phase one of Thorpebury and were able to see the scale of the building and landscape work on site. The foundations are in for at least 20 houses and the show homes and sales offices for David Wilson Homes and for William Davis are on their way to being completed.
(See photos and note the fibreglass chimney stack as an example of ‘period’ detail). The first show houses will be open to the public in September and the first occupancy should take place before the end of the year.
Barkbythorpe Road re-opening
The expectation is that Barkbythorpe Road will reopen to through traffic on 21st August. By that time two road accesses to the Phase one estate and the new pinch south of Barkby Thorpe will have been completed. Because of the need to widen Barkbythorpe Road near the access roads, an additional length of hedge to that originally agreed has recently been taken out but only after the end of the nesting season for hedgerow birds.
Southern Access Road
Progress on this vital road that will provide the main access to Thorpebury from the Leicester ring road is still painfully slow but the city were expecting to receive quotes for the road-building work in July. Until the road is completed and operational no further houses beyond 575 can be built. Only when the uncertainty over this road has been lifted will planning applications be lodged with Charnwood council for phase two of Thorpebury. This will almost certainly begin with house building on the opposite (the western) side of Barkbythorpe Road to Phase 1.
Charges per house for the upkeep of the green spaces
In addition to the council tax and the parish precept, the new house owners will pay a charge to the Land Trust for the upkeep of the green spaces. Fears that this charge could get out of hand have been allayed by the reassurance that there will be a cap on what the Land Trust can charge.
Traffic Mitigation Measures in Barkby and Barkby Thorpe
The developers have again reminded the County Council of the pressing need to get on with the public consultation over the traffic mitigation measures for Barkby and Barkby Thorpe but have had no response. As these measures have to have been in place around the time of the occupation of the first houses in Phase one it is vital that the County Council’s highways department rouses itself and meets the deadline.
Thorpebury Website
BABTAG has pointed out that the “news” section of the developer’s website for Thorpebury is displaying minutes from the liaison group from a year ago and this is no advertisement for the developer’s stated aim of wanting to provide the best up to date information for local residents. A promise has now been given for the more recent and up to date minutes to be placed on the website.
BABTAG AGM
The BABTAG AGM was held on 31st May in Barkby village hall. The commitments to holding the developers to their agreements and to keep local residents informed on housing developments around the villages was reaffirmed. All officers and committee members were re-elected to serve a further year.
Owen Bentley
Chairman BABTAG