MP calls for urgent meeting over 10,000 homes plan

A MP has called for an urgent meeting with the government over plans to accelerate the building of 10,000 new homes in Leicestershire.

Stretton Hall, in Great Glen, is one of three "stalled housing sites" earmarked for development as part of the government's New Homes Accelerator scheme.

Neil O'Brien, MP for Harborough, Oadby and Wigston, said the announcement was made "without talking to a single local person".

The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government said the scheme would "get Britain building again, in turn driving local and economic growth".

Stretton Hall, located about six miles (9.7km) south of Leicester, was previously earmarked for the development of 15,000 homes as part of an eco-town.

The project was one of 15 announced across England by the government in 2008 but the schemes were later abandoned.

The latest announcement to accelerate work at Stretton Hall was made on 29 August.

At the time, Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner said the scheme would "quickly identify blockages, fix problems and support local authorities and developers to get shovels in the ground".

Harborough District Council confirmed it "has had no conversations about a new town in this location".

O'Brien said Stretton Hall could be part of wider proposals now being considered, but so far not publicised, as the authority creates a new Local Plan.

"I think that residents ought to be brought into the process and allowed to actually see some of what is planned," he said.

The district council said Stretton Hall was an example of a stalled site, one of many previously put forward by landowners as sites for potential development under the council’s "Call for Sites" process.

The authority said no decisions had been made in relation to the Stretton Hall.

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