Welcome to our virtual exhibition for our proposal for the Land at Three Ways Farm Poplars, Queniborough.
We hope you find this website informative and useful, and we invite you to provide any feedback and comments through the feedback page.
Below is a short video introducing our proposals that we hope to bring forward.
Please also navigate our website where we have further information about the application, its benefits and the details of the homes we want to deliver in Queniborough.
Background
Poplars at Queniborough is a site that has been identified in the emerging Charnwood Local Plan and suitable for development.
An original application was proposed for this land for 220 homes, however there have been significant changes to the plans. The 220 new homes has decreased in number, firstly to 200 and now to the current proposal of 160 new homes.
The Charnwood Local Plan has identified this part of Queniborough as suitable for development, and we believe that with the changes we have made from the previous applications we believe that this application will be able to deliver on the housing needs and retain the area of separation between East Goscote and Queniborough
Site Location and Context
Poplars Three Ways Farm is located on Melton Road in Queniborough, to the west of the village, with Syston village to the southwest and the A607 to the north of the site. The land has residential development to its South and Western borders along Melton Road and New Zealand Lane.
The entire site area covers 10.27 hectares of greenfield land, and has been identified as suitable for residential development in the emerging Charnwood Local Plan. With this allocation within the local plan we hope that our proposals will work well in conjunction with the local plan and deliver the housing both Queniborough and Charnwood need. You can read more about Charnwood’s Local Plan here: Charnwood Local Plan
As identified in the Local Plan this site also provides a clear separation between Queniborough and East Goscote. Hallam Land supports this aim and will ensure that our proposals are sensitive to the surrounding area and maintain a clear separation from East Goscote.
View west across the site towards Poplars Three Ways Farm from Melton Road
View south towards the site from the A607
View from Melton Road towards the site, near Queniborough Industrial Estate
Aerial view of the area
Our Proposal
We are proposing to build up to 160 new homes that will be guided by the principle to create a sustainable, high quality residential development for modern living. Our designs are informed by the local character of Queniborough and have gone through multiple stages to ensure our designs are sensible and sensitive to the surrounding area.
At an early stage of developing our proposals we ensured that we established a green infrastructure framework that conserves and protects existing mature trees, encourages biodiversity and maintains a clear separation between Queniborough and East Goscote.
This will include:
- 5.17ha of green infrastructure, equating to 53% of the total site area.
- A portion of the site in the northeast where we will conserve the existing habitats and deliver ecological and recreational enhancements through new landscape habitats and areas of open space.
- Publicly accessible “Pocket parks”, providing healthy quality of life benefits for the local community.
- Recreational walking and cycling routes throughout the site providing linkages with the main route into the wider village as well as Syston and Wreake Valley Academy.
- A new children’s play area alongside allotment space.
- The retention of existing trees and hedgerows (aside from where their removal is required to accommodate access points.)
- The provision of new trees and planting as part of a landscaping scheme.
To the north of the site we are proposing to enhance the greenspace with an equipped play area, walking routes and a new pond that will be a vital part of the planned sustainable urban drainage scheme.
Vehicular access has been agreed in principle with Leicestershire County Council. This will take the form of a single T-junction on the Melton Road.
The Design Process
The design process we have taken has been guided by a bottom-up approach. Our design team first considered the terrain of the site as it is important for design to be guided by the natural constraints of the land. Fortunately, the land at Poplars Three Ways Farms is relatively flat with only slight sloping to the North northern boundary of the site.
From that point our design team looked at the green site features in order to establish a green infrastructure framework to ensure that the impact of the development on the surrounding area is minimised. This included the existing hedgerows, trees and vegetation being retained and new planting along Melton Road of mature oak, lime and horse chesnut trees. We are also proposing woodland planting across the site to mirror the woodlands around the edges of Queniborough.
These design aspects informed the positioning of the proposed development area, and in conjunction with the policies set out in Charnwood’s emerging local plan the development proposed is set to the south of the site, ensuring a clear separation of Queniborough from East Goscote. The development areas will be shaped by the existing site features, such as the field patterns. This will guide the layout of houses that are set away from the boundaries of the site and are surrounded by the green infrastructure we are proposing.
Ensuring good movement and connectivity has been essential to the design process. Through consultation with Leicestershire County Council the principle of a single access has been agreed. The t-junction access off Melton Road has been positioned so that it avoids impacting upon any mature trees. Throughout the development we have also designed in walking and cycling routes that provide further access alongside pedestrian-friendly streets.
Building for a healthy life
Our plans have been heavily guided by the Building for a Healthy life guidance from Homes England. This sets out 12 considerations set out below:
Benefits
- Green Infrastructure:
- Based upon delivering functional and well-designed green spaces that enhances biodiversity for the new community and provides play and recreational benefits.
- Conserving all the existing green site features, which comprises the boundary hedgerows and mature trees on Melton Road.
- Enhancing the landscape with new habitats such as woodland, trees and hedgerows to provide biodiversity and landscape benefits, such as the northern area and provision of over half of the site’s total space to greenspace and landscaping.
- 160 new homes, meeting the local housing need designed to complement the surrounding character of Queniborough and deliver a sustainable, high quality place to live.
- 30% affordable homes across the development meeting the affordbale housing policy of Charnwood Borough Council
- Practical parking provision across the site ensuring that cars do not dominate the streetscene.
- A new play area for children and open green spaces that account for over half of the development site’s area.
Frequently Asked Questions
- Sustainable transport
- Local schools
- Local healthcare
- Queniborough Church of England Primary School
- Wreake Valley Academy
- South Charnwood Leisure Centre
- Peberday Newsagents
- An M&S Simply Food
- Queniborough Post Office
- Queniborough Village Hall
- Syston Health Centre
- A Boots Pharmacy
- The Britannia pub
- Syston Rubgy Football Club
- Queniborough Scout Hall (as well as the Syston group’s hall)
- Two churches in Queniborough
- Queniborough industrial estate
And there are more services, including supermarkets and Syston Train station along or close to Melton Road and several regular bus routes. This isn’t counting East Goscote, which is separate and will remain separated from Queniborough by the A607 and green fields on either side but is connected by pavements with a split cycle path to safely bypass the Queniborough Roundabout.
No housing will be built in this area. Instead, there will be an attenuation basin, linked to a swale from the south of the site.
More habitats will be created by planting trees and hedgerows, and ephemeral wetlands in form of a swale and attenuation basin. There is also potential for residents to improve biodiversity from simple grassland in their own gardens and allotments.
This Area of Separation includes:
- Bourden Farm, between New Zealand Lane and Syston
- Homestead Farm, between Queniborough Industrial Estate and Wallace Healey Close, in Syston
- The fields between Queniborough Brook, which forms the boundary of East Goscote and the western boundary of this site.
By allowing development within its Allocation Site, Charnwood Borough Council can get closer to meeting its housing targets, thereby doing the housing shortage nationally and giving denying other developers the opportunity to gain planning permission outside normally permitted boundaries.
Feedback Form
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Have Your Say
Name the new park
As part of this development, we plan to build a new park for all residents of Queniborough to enjoy. But, we need your help. Please enter your suggestion for the park’s name in the box below.
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New flora & fauna
We are passionate about increasing biodiversity everywhere we go. Please indicate below which types of trees you would like to see planted throughout this development.
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