Edward has responded to the Labour Mayor of Leicester's draft 'Local Plan', setting out his strong opposition to the Mayor's proposal to build over the old Western Park Golf Course in Glenfield.
Responding to the consultation Edward wrote: "I, like local residents and local councillors, strongly oppose proposals to redevelop the former Western Park Golf Course site in Glenfield, reducing around 52ha of valuable open space, to just 3.48ha of open space under what is proposed [by the Mayor]. This open space is not only a haven for wildlife, important to local biodiversity, and the site of large numbers of mature trees - all things that the City Council argues are extremely important in the context of its environmental, sustainability, and well-being objectives - but it is extensively used by local people to walk, for exercise and access to outside space, and for children.
While the golf course may not be a formal part of the green wedge, it is certainly in practical terms a part of it. The proposed approach would massively reduce the amount of precious green space, and do so to provide 466 dwellings which...could potentially be provided in the Central Development Area [of Leicester] if the City Council was more ambitious in its plans for the city itself. I share the very strong concerns of my constituents in Glenfield for whom this space is hugely valuable, and which, once built upon, can never be restored, and they are clear that the environmental cost of what is proposed would be hugely significant. This, of course, is before any transport and traffic impacts of the proposed development are considered. My Glenfield constituents who have contacted me are clear in their view that a development of this scale is wholly unsuitable for this location."
As well as highlighting local residents' concerns about the Mayor's further proposals to designate land north of the A46 bypass near Thurcaston for development, Edward has pressed the Mayor to be more ambitious in his plans for the city centre, seeking to deliver more of the city's designated housing targets on brownfield sites in the city, and by considering higher buildings, and more mixed residential/ commercial buildings in the city centre, rather than arguing the city cannot meet its housing targets and seeking to pass that unmet need on to the county.
