GARTREE Division of Leicestershire County Council

Glen Ward - District Councillors: Geoff Hallam and Graham Spendlove-Mason

Published on the Internet by Dr Kevin Feltham, Carlton House, Kibworth Harcourt, Leicestershire. LE8 0PE  (updated July, 2007 )

Glen Ward comprises the 5 parishes of: Great Glen, Newton Harcourt with Wistow, Burton Overy, Carlton Curlieu and Little Stretton 
and all lie currently in Harborough Constituency

1. Election Results 2007    
2. Developments in Great Glen  (Stretton Hall farmland, Stretton Road GG/2 houses, Leicester Grammar School) 
3. Bus Service 45 withdrawn   
4. Traffic calming measures:  Great Glen, Church Road   Newton Harcourt 
5. Great Glen bypass opened
6. Rural bus services (Burton Overy and Newton Harcourt) 
7. New parish office opened  
8. Link to Great Glen Parish Council website  & Link to Burton Overy Parish Council website

Election 2007 Results for Glen Ward  - Harborough District (3rd May 2007)

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Developments in Great Glen (July, 2007)

Stretton Hall farmland (owned by NHS/Government) - latest news: July, 2007

English Partnerships (EP) on behalf of the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister has acquired 95 plots of land across the country which were formerly NHS property.  One such plot is 120 ha (300 acres) of green farmland close to Stretton Hall in Great Glen.  EP have met with Leicestershire County Council and are meeting with Harborough District Council with a view to discussing including this site in the Local Development Framework that will be used as the master plan for housing supply over the next 11 years to 2016.  Based on a density of 35 houses per hectare, this could support between 2,000 and 4,200 houses.  A large part of the green wedge between Great Glen and Oadby will disappear.  I am collaborating with District Councillor Graham Spendlove-Mason and organising a petition stating:

" I am against the proposal to build thousands of houses between Great Glen and Oadby on a greenfield site "

If you would like to support our petition, then please contact us..

You can also let me have your views through my on-line surgery or via e-mail.

Stretton Road (John Littlejohn Designer Homes) (05/00088/FUL resubmission 04/00120/FUL) - REFUSED

Detailed plans for 37 individual cottages and village houses have been proposed by John Littlejohn Designer Homes on land adjacent to the existing Garfield Park development on Stretton Road.  To date the Leicestershire County Council have argued that developments at GG/2 (HDC Local Plan designation for potential development off Stretton Road) are not supported by the new Joint Structure Plan, and HDC recently voted (November 2004) against the Supplementary Planning Guidance where officers recommended release of the KB/1 site in Kibworth.  A subsequent emergency Planning Committee meeting on 24th March 2005, and to which Dr Kevin Feltham spoke in opposition to development plans on greenfield sites, refused the Stretton Road application.  A Planning Inquiry started on 10th May 2005 to discuss developments on both the KB/1 and GG/2 sites before an Inspector.  The Inspector's report was published on 25 October 2005.

The Inspector has recommended to the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (ODPM), and the First Secretary of State has agreed, that the appeal by John Littlejohn Ltd for a development off Stretton Road (GG/2) be dismissed.

Leicester Grammar School (04/01777/FUL) - PLANNING INQUIRY TO BE HELD

Construction of and change of use to educational campus including erection of buildings, demolition of existing buildings rebuilding and conversion with ancillary parking, landscaping, playing fields and residential use, associated works and creation of a new access.

A detailed planning application has been made by LGS Trust to HDC with regard to moving the present school from its city centre sites to a single site on Mount Farm, London Road.  The County Council Development & Regulatory Board and Cabinet have objected on the grounds that the site is outside the village envelope and the plans would mean development inconsistent with the emerging Structure Plan.  The application was considered by the HDC Planning Committee on 12th April 2005, and was approved by a majority of the Committee but with a series of conditions including annual updates of the Travel Plan, restrictions on numbers of pupils and recommendations that alternative means be found for transporting pupils into the school campus than individual vehicles.  The school has agreed to allow access to facilities (both sporting and academic) by organised clubs/societies from the parish.  A decision on the application now has to be made by the Secretary of State because the decision by HDC is against the strategic guidance by the County Council.  One thing became clear at the Planning Committee meeting:- development planning guidance is intended for housing and businesses but may not be directly applicable to educational establishments.

LATEST NEWS (July, 2007 ):  Government Office of the East Midlands has responded (August 2005) on behalf of the First Secretary of State and recommended that a Public Inquiry be held on 4th April 2006.  The result from that Inquiry was that the appeal by the Grammar School was successful so the school will be built on the site, with an expected initial occupation date of autumn 2007.

Erringtons Motel and Service Station, Glen Rise LE2 4RG (05/00313/OUT)

Erection of hotel, restaurant, service station and motor dealership with ancillary workshop plus associated car parking and landscaping (means of access to be approved) (resubmission of 04/00111/OUT)

An application has been received by HDC for development on the property just off the northern by-pass roundabout (leading up to Oadby) by Erringtons of Evington. This has not yet been officially considered by the Leicestershire County Council, but traffic issues and concern about closing up the remaining green belt between Oadby and Great Glen are considerations.

If you have any comments you would like to bring to my attention on these developments then please contact me through the on-line surgery or via e-mail.

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Great Glen Parish Office

The Great Glen Parish Office was officially opened on 16th January by Cllr David Parsons, leader of Leicestershire County Council.

CLERK TO THE PARISH COUNCIL

Margaret Osborne (Temp. Clerk)
Parish Office, Glendale House, 1 Church Road
Great Glen, Leics. LE8 9FE Tel: 0116 259 3004
E-mail clerk@greatglenpc.org.uk

Office opening
Monday 11:00-15:00 Tuesday 14:00-18:00 Thursday 14:00-18:00

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Great Glen bypass opened on 19th February 2003

David Jamieson, Under Secretary of State for Transport, officially cut the ribbon on the northbound carriageway of the bypass at 1.40pm on a very cold but sunny 19th February 2003.  The occasion started in the Village Hall from 11.30am with invited guests meeting Mr Jamieson and staff from Highways Agency and Skanska, Babtie and Mott Macdonald, the main contractors.  

Although not finished completely until the end of March, the main part of the £12m 5.63km long dual carriageway that is ready does now mean through traffic can miss going through Great Glen.  At peak periods some 22,000 vehicles pass along this stretch of the A6 every day including almost 2,000 Heavy Goods Vehicles.  The bypass should remove at least 80% of this traffic from the village - over a 30 year period this will prevent over 600 accidents including 18 fatalities.

The section still to be completed is the southern stretch from Burton Brook to Kibworth Harcourt.  This has been the subject of controversy as there are no physical measures provided in the plan to slow traffic before it reaches the 30 mph gateway into Kibworth Harcourt, some 400m from the end of the dual carriageway where traffic will be travelling at speeds up to 70 mph.  A roundabout had been proposed for the junction with Wistow Road as a condition of a successful planning application for 300+ houses on Warwick Road, but when that development was only included as an unlikely optional site in the Harborough District Plan, plans for this roundabout vanished also. A "slow down" electronic flashing sign is proposed together with an improved and more visible gateway and improved signage.  The Minister told Dr Kevin Feltham (County Councillor for East Gartree) and Bruce Jamieson (Director of Highways & Transportation at LCC) that "Money could be made available for alterations to improve the safety features but that Leicestershire County Council would need to apply to central Government, rather than the Highways Agency, as the A6 is due to be de-trunked this summer".  The Minister also stated that strong consideration would be given to any proposals from the Leicestershire County Council for a Kibworth bypass.  Great Glen's bypass took 11 years from Public Inquiry to final opening.  The A6 was eventually detrunked from October 2004.

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Traffic calming measures

The Traffic Calming measures through Great Glen, funded by the 2002/3 budget, are complete.  There has been some comment made that the measures on Stretton Road are not slowing traffic sufficiently.  Engineers from the County carries out a survey of traffic and speeds and the results demonstrated clear slowing down for the majority of vehicles.  Some of the speed cushions on Oaks Road have not yet been implemented. If residents would like to contact me I can ensure their views are taken into account by the relevant officers.

NEWS: Speed limits ratified on old A6  (May 2005)
The temporary 40 mph speed limit on the old A6 from the Glen Gorse Roundabout to the 30 mph limit is to be formalised and made permanent.  Cllr Kevin Feltham has confirmed with the County Council that this is necessary.

Newton Harcourt
Residents of Newton Harcourt have for a long time, been concerned and worried by the speed of some traffic travelling through the village, using it as a short cut between the A6 and Wigston.  Despite the 30mph limit a great number of vehicles still travel too fast.  The village is popular for walkers and horse riders and these speeding vehicles pose a serious hazard to them as well as to the residents.  The drivers seem totally unaware that people actually live beside the road and wish to be safe in their village.  There are three exit roads onto the main street and pulling out of these can be extremely hazardous, particularly from Post Office Lane which is narrow, difficult to see and exits onto a bend.  Traffic going too fast through the village increases the danger of these manoeuvres.  This is an ongoing problem and needs addressing in order to slow down or, better still, restrict the through traffic passing through.  I have organised a series of meetings between members of the Parish Council and the Director of Highways, Transportation and Waste and these have concluded that there are some traffic calming initiatives that might be considered.

A Parish Council Meeting was held on 31st October 2005 to discuss options with Mike Hay, one of the senior officers from the County Council's Highways, Transportation and Waste Department.  As a result LCC has agreed to install road markings and vehicle activated signs in the village with some financial support from the parish precept.

What do you think? If you have any comments then please contact me through the on-line surgery or via e-mail.  You could also contact your Glen Ward District Councillors: Geoff Hallam (0116 259 2205) and Grahame Spendlove-Mason (0116 259 2965).

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Bus Service 45 withdrawn  (January, 2005)

Notice was issued (26th January 2005) by County Hall's Department of Highways, Transportation & Waste that the Centrebus 45 service (Great Glen to Wigston Magna) in Great Glen was to be withdrawn from 29th March 2005.

Service 45 provided an hourly service from 6.22 until 17.22 but was withdrawn as it was used very little, or not at all, by Great Glen residents and the bus company are finding it difficult to meet the hourly schedule by including Great Glen on the run.  Great Glen is still be served by the regular 30 minute X61 Arriva bus service between Leicester and Market Harborough.

If you have any comments then please contact me through the on-line surgery or via e-mail.

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