Sir Peter Soulsby City Mayor City Hall
115 Charles Street Leicester, LE1 1FZ
RE: City of Leicester Local Plan (2020 to 2026)
I write to you in my capacity as the Member of Parliament for Leicester East, with regards to the City of Leicester Local Plan. While the Local Plan is an exciting opportunity to develop our city and its surrounding areas in ways that prioritise the wellbeing of its residents and contribute to sustainability of its green spaces and environment, I have reservations about some of its proposals, which I have outlined in the sections below.
Additionally, I am concerned that conducting this essential consultation in the midst of a pandemic, with ongoing national and local lockdown, may have hindered people’s ability to participate. Specifically, face-to-face meetings have been impossible for some time now and, since November, libraries have only been able to provide a click and collect service, making it difficult for people to see hardcopies of the document Consequently, the majority of those wishing to engage will have had to do so online. As not everybody has readily available access to the internet or a reliable home connection, I worry that a large number of people will have been unintentionally prevented from having their say. This consultation is of considerable importance to the future of Leicester; I hope you will consider extending the deadline, so that more people and as wide a range of perspectives possible can be heard.
Housing
I am grateful that Leicester City Council is committed to achieving an affordable housing mix. However, I am concerned that the affordable housing target is too low in light of the considerable increases in Leicester house prices over the past 15 years. A target of 30% affordable housing means that the numbers of real social housing (council housing) units will represent only a small fraction of the total numbers built. A commitment to 30% on all major schemes also implies a majority of units will be developed in partnership with private property companies, which is not always the
For casework please email: claudia.webbe.mp@parliament.uk Twitter: @claudiawebbe www.facebook.com/claudiaforLE www.claudiawebbe.org
Member of Parliament for Leicester East House of Commons, London SW1A 0AA Tel: 07973816885Tel: 07973816885
most efficient or cost-effective means of financing truly affordable housing. Although a housing mix is important, there are, at present, 6000 households on Leicester’s housing waiting list, whose needs should be prioritised in the Local Plan. I hope that, before the Council commits to private development or selling of valuable public land for private sector development, it prioritises the people on the waiting list.
I am also concerned that there may be a tension between the economic benefits and employment opportunities provided by student accommodation and the need to preserve space for residential dwellings. I hope that the Council will ensure that any additional student accommodation does not detract from the provision of social housing in particular.
Transport
I welcome the Local Plan’s commitment to high quality segregated cycleways on key commuter radial routes, as well as a bike share scheme for the city centre area. This should be expanded to cover the whole of Leicester and including Leicester East. That people travelling to Leicester may have the opportunity to do so safely by bicycle has the potential to transform Leicester’s connectivity with its surrounding areas, while reducing carbon emissions and improving air quality in the long term. However, if Leicester’s central city status is to be cemented, it needs improved bus services to better connect the city with outlying towns. The concept of a Bus Alliance is encouraging but its true test will be whether it results in a proper Bus Strategy to facilitate greater coordination between bus companies and a more joined up network connecting Leicester City centre to the rest of the county. The current patchwork of services must be improved if Leicester is to become the economic, cultural and transport hub we want it to be.
Environment and climate change
It is encouraging that the Local Plan recognises that we face a climate emergency and has committed to encouraging greener methods of transportation to cut carbon dioxide emissions. I also welcome the commitment to providing allotments, community gardens, orchards and green roofs, even as I note with concern the small sites proposals to build on school playing fields and greenfield land formally allocated to allotments (Site nos. 190 and 219).
I am also concerned about the possible biodiversity loss resulting from development, which cannot be easily offset. When destroyed, ecosystems that develop around individual trees cannot be revived. This is particularly true when ancient woodland and veteran trees are lost. If ancient woodland is destroyed, the ecosystems that it has developed will be gone forever and this cannot be mitigated by additional tree planting or new green spaces.
Business, culture and town centre development
For casework please email: claudia.webbe.mp@parliament.uk Twitter: @claudiawebbe
www.facebook.com/claudiaforLE
www.claudiawebbe.org
Claudia Webbe MP Member of Parliament for Leicester East House of Commons, London SW1A 0AATel: 07973816885
Leicester is already a thriving cultural hub and the further development of Leicester’s beautiful town centre through the Local Plan offers many exciting possibilities Unfortunately, the COVID-19 pandemic has done immense harm to the retail sector, so it is essential that Leicester continues to diversify its town centre. A local economy that encourages a diversity of career paths in the creative industries, manufacturing, retail and academia will contribute to a thriving, healthy and happy community. The Local Plan’s proposal to give greater encouragement to development that protects and promotes this unique mix is therefore exciting and I hope it will become a priority.
While I think it is sensible to concentrate density in the already comparatively built-up town centre, it is important that the cultural heart of the city is protected, so I expect that the Council will not deviate from its intention to conserve and enhance Leicester’s historic old town. I am also concerned that that the priority afforded to office space development in the proposals is potentially risky. Office space may no longer be in such high demand following the changes to working practices during the recent COVID-19 pandemic and the increase in home working that has resulted from it.
The plan needs to reflect the importance of continuous investment for local business hubs including Belgrave Road along the ‘Golden Mile and Evington Road, with its diverse array of local businesses; these are important assets to local communities and of huge significance to Leicester’s diversity and cultural offer
Health and wellbeing of residents
With regard to business development elsewhere in the city, I am concerned that the Local Plan appears to be silent on the problems centring upon Leicester’s garment industry and worker exploitation in the sector. Any industrial strategy and related development must address this issue and seek to contribute to greater regulation of the sector, for the wellbeing of Leicester’s workers and the reputation of the city as an economic and industrial hub in the East Midlands. In particular, greater scrutiny of planning applications and stronger planning intervention must play a role in ensuring that Leicester’s garment industry is properly regulated.
It is also worth noting that, although the Plan references changing shopping habits, with more people making purchases online, nowhere is there a reflection on internet provision in the city. With home-working becoming more popular, and in many cases necessary following the emergence of COVID-19, access to high quality broadband is an essential feature of any industrial strategy. I hope this will be taken into account as the Local Plan develops in more detail.
Finally, although the Local Plan aspires to increase the wellbeing of Leicester’s residents, this is unlikely to be successful if development detracts from the provision of local amenities. I have already mentioned the loss of school playing fields, which could make it harder for children to engage in sport. Equally worrying, is the possible downgrading of Leicester’s General Hospital (Site 1044) and the potential loss of many of essential services it provides, which will be more in demand than ever, as Leicester’s population increases.
For casework please email: claudia.webbe.mp@parliament.uk Twitter: @claudiawebbe
www.facebook.com/claudiaforLE www.claudiawebbe.org
Claudia Webbe MP Member of Parliament for Leicester East House of Commons, London SW1A 0AA Tel: 07973816885
I hope you consider this submission as you continue to develop the City of Leicester Plan and I look forward to your response and working with you to build a prosperous future for our city and its people.
Yours sincerely,
Claudia Webbe MP Member of Parliament for Leicester East
For casework please email: claudia.webbe.mp@parliament.uk Twitter: @claudiawebbe www.facebook.com/claudiaforLE www.claudiawebbe.org