More than 1,200 homes to form town extension

Three estates totalling more than 1,200 new homes have been given the go-ahead after an extension of a Leicestershire town was approved.

The Melton North Sustainable Neighbourhood will include new community facilities in Melton Mowbray including a sports pitch, allotments and land set aside for a new school.

Local services are set to get almost £30m investment as part of the deal, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

Melton Borough Council has been working with three developers - Taylor Wimpey, Barwood Land and William Davis – to bring the scheme to fruition since 2019 and the authority's planning committee approved it on 10 December.

Site A will see up to 480 homes built by Taylor Wimpey on fields south of Spinney Farm, off Melton Spinney Road.

Land there has also been set aside for a primary school which would be built by Leicestershire County Council should the authority decide it is needed.

Barwood Land brought forward the proposals for Site B, comprising fields off Scalford Road, where up to 575 homes will be built, along with either a shop, community venue or health centre.

There will also be a sports pitch and children's play areas.

The final plot, known as Site C, is also on fields off Scalford Road, and is in the hands of William Davis, which was given permission to build up to 175 homes.

The estate will also feature allotments and a community orchard, as well as play spaces for children and other open space for residents.

Up to 7.5% of the homes in all three schemes will be classed as "affordable".

There were almost 90 letters of objection to the Taylor Wimpey scheme, with road safety and the impact on the town's public services among the concerns raised.

The Barwood and William Davis schemes received four and two objections respectively.

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