Sites in strategic locations

The Leicester and Leicestershire Strategic Growth Plan (SGP) sets out a spatial vision for the area out to 2050. It proposed to shift the focus of future development, placing more in major strategic locations and reducing the amount that takes place in existing towns, villages and rural areas, thus allowing, amongst other matters, planning for new housing and employment together. These strategic locations include: 

  • The Priority Growth Corridor around the east and south of the City of Leicester;
  • The Leicestershire International Gateway, in the north of Leicestershire and centred around East Midlands Airport; and
  • The A5 Improvement Corridor.

Progressing development at strategic locations

Therefore, where it is proposed to bring forward development proposals in these strategic locations, in addition to following the other guidance set out in this part of the Leicestershire Highway Design Guide (LHDG), it will be particularly important to engage at the earliest opportunity with the council and relevant local planning authority(ies) to discuss and understand the wider strategic context and the vision. In essence, this is so that in advance of progressing any detailed, technical work (including site masterplanning) an agreed position is reached between all parties as to how a particular development proposal – or jigsaw piece – aligns with and will help to deliver the SGP spatial vision – or fits into the overall jigsaw puzzle picture.  

It is important that an agreed position is reached in advance of progressing any detailed work because the wider strategic context could, for example:

  • Require there to be coordination with other development proposals coming forward in these strategic locations (especially where such development proposals are on adjacent or adjoining land to that of the applicant/promoter), including in some cases coordination across different Local Planning Authority boundaries;
  • Require measures to futureproof (including reserving land) for the provision of transport infrastructure needed to facilitate wider and potentially longer-term planned growth than that proposed by the applicant/promoter;
  • Have implications for the overall methodology for assessing the development’s transport impacts – a bespoke approach could be required.

Consequently, this would affect the data requirements and the ‘tools’ (for example transport models) needed to undertake the assessment; which might impact on the choice of transport consultants and influence the considerations of transport infrastructure and measures required to enable the development and mitigate its transport impacts.
 

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Highway Development Management