Lutterworth East ‘Call-In’ Request Denied

The government will not review a controversial decision to cut the number of affordable homes on a major development near Lutterworth.

The multi-million pound Lutterworth East scheme adjacent to the M1 was approved in 2020 to create 2,750 homes, 40% of which were to be ‘affordable’.

However, Harborough District Council approved plans last year to reduce the number to as low as 10%, which angered South Leicestershire MP Alberto Costa who demanded the matter be ‘called-in’.

Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government and Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner has this week turned down that request.

Mr Costa says the reduction could mean the number of affordable homes built on the site dropping from over 1,000 to as few as 275.

Leicestershire County Council is behind the scheme and the Conservative MP is calling on the authority to have a re-think:

The area set for the Lutterworth East development

Another change approved last year will allow the business part of the development be built first and larger warehousing units to be included on the 550-acre site.

The County Council said the changes to the original plans were needed amid rising construction costs and a stagnant housing market and without them the project would become ‘unviable’.

At the time of the decision, HDC planning officers said the affordable homes target would also be subject to review as the development was built and if the scheme was abandoned, the district would face having to find new locations for the housing and industrial space.

Cllr Phil Knowles, leader of Harborough District Council said: “It is pleasing to receive this letter from the Secretary of State, which clearly states that planning decisions like this should be made by the local planning authority. I wish this had been the case with Gartree Prison, but that decision was taken out of our hands by the then Secretary of State.

“We, as the local planning authority, have to work within the planning regulations and in so doing we are continually trying to do our very best for our communities. We will never stop in this aim and our communities can be assured that Harborough District Council will always seek the very best outcomes for our communities within the constraints imposed by national planning rules and regulations”.