MP for South Leicestershire, Alberto Costa, has welcomed the decision by the Planning Inspectorate to refuse an appeal to overturn a planning application for a new gypsy site in Blaby that was previously refused by Blaby District Council in 2020.
An application to construct two residential gypsy pitches, alongside room for mobile homes, touring caravans and a utility block on land off Sycamore Street in Blaby was submitted to Blaby District Council in 2020.
The application attracted over 500 objections from local people before it was refused; the applicants however appealed the decision, and the case was heard at a public hearing by the Planning Inspectorate in September 2022.
Alberto previously wrote to Blaby District Council on behalf of residents to ask them to refuse the application, and he has since backed the District Council against the appeal.
Alberto said, “This is a fantastic outcome for constituents in Blaby who I have know have been hugely concerned at the prospect of this application and the potential impact this would for the local area. I was very pleased to support residents in making representations to both Blaby District Council and the Planning Inspectorate, and I am really delighted that the Planning Inspectorate have agreed with the Blaby community in rightly refusing this appeal”.
Alberto added, “Blaby District Council listened to my constituents in the first instance by refusing this application, and I am pleased that the Planning Inspectorate have also recognised the detrimental impact this site would have had should it have been approved. The site’s placement within the Blaby Conservation Area and its close proximity to Bouskell Park and the historic Blaby Hall have always caused a degree of concern, so I do hope residents will be happy that their views have been listened to and that the correct decision has ultimately been made”.
