Sunday, July 12, 2009
First published : Leicester Mercury
One of these three visions could be the shape of things to come for Leicestershire`s fiercely-contested eco-town.
Campaigners will not want to see any of the designs outlined on these pages become reality for what is currently a swathe of green land between the outskirts of Evington and Houghton on the Hill, Oadby and Great Glen.
However, Co-operative Estates, the developer behind the plans for the ecotown, is laying out its options to the public and asking them to choose which one they like best.
One of the biggest selling points in all three designs is a proposal for the county`s largest park.
Called the Great Park, it would be 500 acres larger than 1,000-acre Bradgate Park.
It would include cycle paths, bridleways, fruit and vegetable plots and spaces for livestock.
Lynda Shillaw, managing director of The Co-operative Estates, said these options replaced initial layouts developed after talks with technical planners.
She said: "As we have delved deeper into the potential of the site and talked to people about their preferences for future development, we have been able to introduce new ideas into our approach and these are captured in the designs.
"We are now working to take these options to the next stage and will consult again later this summer."
People will be asked to give their views on the designs in the coming months in more public consultation events and via a new website to be launched next week.
The three designs have been named Network, Archipelago, and Compact.
Network is a central town with surrounding linked villages with different types of housing and communities.
This could mean having a farming community, business community and other distinct themes.
Archipelago is a central town core with development on the eastern fringes of Leicester.
Compact is a single and central town surrounded by countryside, which is similar to the Government`s vision for a separate and distinct town.
The coloured grids are not solid blocks of development but are made up of open space and buildings.
Planners say a typical grid square contains more than 30 per cent public open space, on top of private back gardens.
They are confident these designs will complement plans for transport, homes, schools and create a community where people will want to live.
These would be built in three phases of 5,000 homes. Phase one would run from 2011 to 2016, phase two from 2016 to 2021 and phase three from 2021 to 2026.
County council planning expert Peter Williams said: "Two of these designs are clearly not separate developments, and we already have areas of the county better suited to urban extensions."
The plans are part of a 700-page dossier of technical reports and data which was handed to the Government last month.
Thousands of campaigners have marched and signed petitions against the eco-town plan.
Dr Kevin Feltham, chairman of protest group Cascet, said: "Having three options is simply not good enough at this stage.
"The Co-op has to decide its preferred option, now we are going to be asked more questions about something which still is without the necessary detail.
"They held all these consultations but two weeks later they have produced all these documents. Clearly you don`t produce something like this in five minutes and they have wasted everybody`s time."
Designers say it will help provide affordable housing in expensive areas such as Oadby and south-east Leicester.