Fosse Villages Neighbourhood Plan

The 2011 Localism Act has given communities the right to draw up a Neighbourhood Plan. This right is aimed at giving local communities genuine opportunities to influence the future of the places where they live. Decisions on planning applications must take account of neighbourhood plans.

The Fosse Villages Neighbourhood Plan area comprises the following 10 Parishes which are situated in the south-west part of Blaby District, Leicestershire:

Parish Councils: Croft, Huncote, Sapcote, Sharnford, Stoney Stanton and Thurlaston;

Parish Meetings: Aston Flamville, Leicester Forest West, Potters Marston and Wigston Parva.

The Fosse Villages area amounts to 5,311 hectares, representing 41% of the District of Blaby. In administrative terms, the area shares a common boundary with parts of both Hinckley & Bosworth Borough Council and Harborough District Council in Leicestershire and with Rugby Borough Council in Warwickshire along a short length of its south-western boundary.

The Fosse Villages include lively, highly active communities which share common concerns which provide a cohesive basis for neighbourhood planning. The ten settlements within the area each have their own character, although they are generally small to medium scale communities, ranging from hamlets such as Potters Marston (population 30) to Stoney Stanton (population 3,460). The total population of the area amounts to an estimated 11,663, giving an overall population density of 2.2 persons per hectare. It is, therefore, predominantly a rural area.

The Fosse Villages were designated as a Neighbourhood Area on 13 January 2016.

The plan period covers the period to 2029.

The Plan has been prepared by the parish councils and meetings through the Fosse Villages Neighbourhood Plan Joint Working Board. Sapcote Parish Council is the qualifying body.

Each parish is represented on the Joint Board.

Following a positive referendum result (on Thursday 6 May 2021), on 15 June 2021 Blaby District Council 'made' the Fosse Villages Neighbourhood Plan part of Blaby District's Development Plan in accordance with Regulation 19 of The Neighbourhood Planning (General) Regulations 2012.

During the process of preparing the Neighbourhood Plan, several Local Green Spaces were deleted by the independent Examiner primarily due to a lack of supporting evidence. The evidence has now been reviewed and Local Green Spaces have been restored and added in the parishes of Huncote, Stoney Stanton and Sharnford. The updated Plan forms part of the Development Plan for the Fosse Villages Neighbourhood Plan Area. The updated version of the Neighbourhood Plan and the District Council's Decision Statement are available for download below.