North West Leicestershire Local Plan
Local planning authorities must prepare a Local Plan which sets out planning policies to guide future land use and development in their authority area. Local planning authorities are legally required by the Government to update their Local Plans every five years.
North West Leicestershire District Council’s Local Plan was adopted more than five years ago so therefore requires updating in accordance with national policy. As the Plan is currently out of date, in accordance with the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) the presumption in favour of sustainable development applies whereby planning permission may be granted should the benefits of the proposal outweigh any adverse impacts.
The recently adopted 2026 National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) introduces a permanent presumption in favour of sustainability located development when this falls either within or outside of settlements. Policy S5 would apply to development that lies outside of but adjoins settlement boundaries (such is the case with Meadow Lane, Whitwick). This decision-making policy details the principle of development outside settlements should apply the presumption in favour of sustainable development, where the development would address an evidenced unmet housing need, so long as the development is of an appropriate scale and is physically well related to an existing settlement (S5(j)(i)).
The Council is in the process of updating its Local Plan, with the final Regulation 19 Consultation currently open for responses. It is targeted the New Local Plan will be adopted in Autumn/Winter 2027. As part of the evidence base to support the Local Plan preparation, this site was identified as a deliverable, available and suitable site for residential development to support housing growth.
Increased Housing Targets for North West Leicestershire
In December 2024, the Government published a new National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) which introduced a new method to calculate housing requirement figures. This new method to calculate housing requirement figures has been carried forward from the 2024 NPPF to the new NPPF (published 17th August 2026). As a result of needing to apply this new method,, North West Leicestershire’s housing requirement figure has significantly increased, from 481 to 635 dwellings per year. As well as meeting its own housing needs, North West Leicestershire District is also required to take on a proportion of Leicester City’s unmet housing need, as agreed via the Statement of Common Ground signed by all Leicestershire Authorities. Therefore, this brings their overall housing requirement to 690 dwellings per year.
To help address this increased requirement in North West Leicestershire’s housing delivery target, Barratt Redrow proposes the delivery of up to 400 dwellings at Meadow Lane, Whitwick.
The NPPF of December 2024, significantly increased North West Leicestershire District Council’s housing requirements from 481 to 635 new homes per year. These targets have been carried over in the latest version of the NPPF published in August 2026.
Outline Planning Application
Barratt Redrow are progressing an outline planning application. This will support the development proposal for the site which seeks to deliver high-quality new homes in a sustainable settlement within the district, as well as providing a range of onsite new public open spaces for recreation purposes. The planning application will be supported by a range of technical reports which will demonstrate that any potential impacts of the proposed development can be appropriately mitigated and addressed in line with local and national planning policy.