Opposing the 1100 Houses South East of Syston

Barkby and Barkby Thorpe Parish Council has consistently opposed the originally 960 now 1100 housing development since 2021 when the scheme was first included in Charnwood’s emerging Local Plan.
When Taylor Wimpey went public with it in 2022 and in the years since the parish council has told the developers and the borough council that the scheme is not welcome.
Why? Barkby and Barkby Thorpe are both already having to cope with the impact of Thorpebury’s 4500 houses and should not have to deal with another 1100 on their doorstep which will further erode the identity and integrity of rural villages that have been labelled “the jewel in Charnwood’s crown”.
The builders, Taylor Wimpey, are currently engaged in in a charm offensive to ‘sell’ the scheme locally and have employed a top PR firm, Grasshopper, to engage with the community offering presentations to local groups and councils. Barkby parish council decided that before agreeing to any such one-sided meeting it needed to probe further and asked a series of questions to which to date no answers have been forthcoming. They are summarised below.
– Strategic need and Justification
– Provide the evidence base showing why this particular site is required in light of the adjacent massive Thorpebury development and how it aligns or conflicts with the adopted and emerging Local Plan housing strategy.
– Landscape and settlement identity 
A full assessment to evidence how the development would manage to preserve the distinct identity of Barkby and maintain meaningful separation between existing settlements.
– Traffic impact and phasing 
Quantified analysis of cumulative traffic increases with Thorpebury and other committed sites on the local road system.
– Flood risk and drainage
Updated modelling to take into account changing weather patterns and confirmation that no development is proposed on the floodplain.
– Biodiversity.
– Justification of the claim that the scheme will “protect and preserve the natural environment” and deliver “a minimum 10% net gain in biodiversity.” Biodiversity cannot be increased by first destroying the very habitat that sustains it.
– Agricultural land loss 
The results of any site specific Agricultural Land Classification survey, together with justification for the permanent loss of productive Grade 2 farmland.
– Infrastructure and services 
A clear commitment and delivery plan for education, healthcare and community facilities, demonstrating that cumulative impacts have been properly considered.
An outline planning application to the borough council for the 1100 houses is expected imminently and the public will then be able to have its say on this scheme which the parish council believes will turn much loved countryside into crowded suburbia.
Barkby and Barkby Thorpe Parish Council