“Luxury” Housing Project Approved for Bosworth Battlefield Site

Permission has been granted to a developer for the construction of “luxury” residences at the Bosworth Battlefield site. Karl Maughan’s proposal, which involved demolishing existing farm buildings to erect 25 homes on land at Mulberry Farm in Stoke Golding, situated near Hinckley, had been postponed in September. Planners from Hinckley and Bosworth Borough Council initially delayed their decision, citing a partial concern regarding the absence of affordable housing. However, independent consultants engaged by the council determined that altering the scheme would render it financially unviable, leading to its approval on Tuesday. Stuart Bray, the council leader, expressed that it was “unfortunate” that the development could not satisfy the council’s affordable housing policy requirements. Nevertheless, he stated that the site was classified as brownfield and designated for development within the local plan, thus warranting permission. He remarked: “It is a farm where the buildings have seen better days, and it could do with something doing with it. Part of the battlefield is already built on with existing structures on the farm. The actual area that is battlefield will only be people’s gardens. Do we stamp our feet and say it’s not our policy and chuck it out? It is part of the process that applicants can come forward and challenge it. We have independently tested this, and we would be acting unreasonably if we argued with that process.” The proposal had undergone “significant amendments” in collaboration with planning officers prior to its presentation to the council’s planning committee in September. Original plans to demolish the farmhouse and construct a pond in ridge and furrow land, an area containing archaeological remnants of Medieval farming methods, were abandoned. Instead, the farmhouse will be preserved, while other farm structures on brownfield land will be razed to make way for a variety of two- to five-bedroom residences, in addition to a village green and a community orchard.