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Vistry East Midlands is given permission for 75 homes in Ketton




A housing development granted on appeal by the government has now had its finer details approved.

The Vistry Homes development for 75 homes at Bartles Hollow, Ketton was approved by the government’s Planning Inspectorate in 2022 after an initial knockback by Rutland County Council’s planning committee on the grounds of being ‘outside the planned limits of development’.

The plan for the homes in Ketton
The plan for the homes in Ketton

The finer details of the 5.52 hectare scheme including the layout, appearance and landscaping were approved on Tuesday last week (February 18) but concerns were voiced by the planning committee members about their lack of options to make changes to the scheme relating to issues raised by the parish council about construction access and traffic. Access to the site was part of the outline planning permission granted by the Planning Inspectorate and therefore cannot be changed.

Coun Raymond Payne (Lib Dem) said: “I recognise when this committee is in a bind and it does feel to me that we missed a trick at an earlier stage in the process. I do wonder whether we need to sharpen up our act at an earlier stage.”

But planning officer Justin Jones said rather than the authority being at fault, the situation was being dictated by the appeal decision

He said: “I don't think it is a question of the council sharpening up. I think it is unfortunate that the Planning Inspectorate has come to a different conclusion than members had done.”

Vice chairperson of the committee Kevin Corby (Ind) said the situation showed the consequences of what happens when developers win planning permission on appeal.

The scheme will have 30 per cent affordable housing and altogether there will be two one bedroom homes; 14 two beds; 27 three beds and 32 four beds. There will also be five bungalows.

The meeting heard that the local authority has been in discussions with the developer for many months about changes, which included more homes with period features, increased parking spaces and an improved drainage scheme. Altogether there will be 189 parking spaces for the homes and 11 visitor spaces.

But chairperson of Ketton Parish Council Nigel Roberts said the development is not wanted as residents ‘believe we have enough new housing in the village as it is'.

He said: “We have had two new developments in the village, 71 homes [in total] and 68 homes are standing empty still - they cannot sell them. One of the reasons for this is because there are a lot of four bedroom properties. This proposal again has a large percentage of four bedroom homes, 47 per cent.”

He said the village’s neighbourhood plan had wanted more homes of between one and three bedrooms in the village and that there are further proposals for another 51 houses in the area.

He said: “How are the roads going to cope? How is the school going to cope?”

He said if construction traffic comes through the village ‘it is going to be chaos’.

Jack Gandy, who works for Vistry East Midlands said the company had been considering construction access behind the homes on Park Road, but this would need consultation beforehand.

He said the lead local flood authority and the highways department had no objections to the development, after lifting their objections following changes to the plan.



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