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Plans have been announced for six self-build homes in a Leicestershire village in a field where an earlier attempt to build there was rejected. Applicants Chris and Ian Carr have asked

Melton Borough Council for planning permission for the homes, ranging from two- to five-bed properties, on land off Wartnaby Road, in Ab Kettleby. The pair previously submitted a planning

application to build 10 homes on the same site in 2017 which was refused by the council’s planning committee in 2018. A report by planning officers at the time called it “an unwarranted

extension” into the countryside. Planning documents for the new proposals argue that the situation has changed in the eight years since the first scheme was turned down. The land in question

is included as a reserve site for up to 12 new homes in the Ab Kettleby Parish Neighbourhood Plan 2018-2036, which says it will be considered for development if there is "a substantial

shortfall" in the number of homes expected to be delivered on a separate piece of land, dubbed Site A. Site A, off the A606, had been earmarked for 10 new homes in the neighbourhood

plan, but has since had only eight properties built on it. READ MORE: NEW LEICESTERSHIRE COUNTRY PARK A POSSIBILITY – ALONGSIDE 506 HOMES The applicants also claim there is an “identified

need” for self-build homes in the village. The process of building a self-build home is overseen by the future homeowner, rather than by a developer who would build the home in order to sell

it on. Planning documents read: “The Melton borough self-build register shows interest from five individuals for a range of housing tenure in Ab Kettleby, with no delivered, consented, or

proposal under consideration in the local area.” There were three objections to the 2017 application, with one resident calling the scheme an “unwarranted, prominent, visual intrusion of

built development into open countryside”. Another resident said: “Development of the agricultural land would totally change the character of the village”. Objectors also had concerns about

highway safety, particularly in relation to nearby Ab Kettleby Primary School. But Ab Kettleby Parish Council said the proposals were “relatively sympathetic”, although agreed traffic issues

were “a concern”. The new plans say the proposed development would have a “farmyard character”, which would include two, two-bed properties, two, three-bed bungalows, a four-bedroom home

and a five-bed house. The five-bed home would be built in brick and be “designed to reflect the character of a traditional Leicester Wolds farmhouse”. The rest of the homes would be either

designed to resemble an extension of the five-bed “farmhouse”, or to appear to be “part of the wider barn complex to the main farmhouse”. Planning documents for the latest scheme read: “This

application is focused on the delivery of self-build/custom-build housing development, for which there is an identified need, both within the borough, and local expression of interest in Ab

Kettleby.” Of the decision to include a four- and a five-bed house in the development, the documents argue: “The policy is clear that the inclusion of larger houses will be supported where

they are subservient in number to smaller tenure.” The application documents can be viewed on the council's planning portal, and comments and objections can be made until Thursday, June

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