Some 460 acres of north Leicestershire countryside have been sold to pave the way for a new village in what has been called one of the region’s “largest and most complex land deals”.
Agents Wells McFarlane, APB and Newton LDP – acting on behalf of two private landowning families – secured the sale to housebuilders Davidsons Homes and Barwood Homes for an undisclosed sum.
The land sits between the villages of Birstall and Rothley, next to the A6 and A46, part way between Loughborough and Leicester.
A hybrid planning application for the site, which will create 1,950 new homes, was agreed back in 2020, with new variation plans submitted to Charnwood Borough Council in the spring.
On the LeicestershireLive website some readers had raised concerns about the loss of green fields and wildlife, with others saying that homeowners moving onto the site would be reliant on cars to get about.
The developers say that as well as houses, there will be employment land, a new centre with supermarket and community facilities, a primary school and assisted living retirement village – with 175 homes and a 70-bed care home – as well as sports facilities and open spaces.
There will also be play areas, allotments, cycle routes and footpaths.
The agents said the development has backed by funding from Homes England to support infrastructure improvements and the developers will also be obliged to provide substantial Section 106 contributions.
A spokeswoman for the agents said the scheme was included in Charnwood Borough Council’s local plan.
She said: “This sale has been a decade in the making, requiring extensive collaboration and local knowledge to navigate the complexities associated with a scheme of this scale.
“From the outset, the project was encumbered with significant and numerous challenges including a demanding planning background and highly technical design and infrastructure requirements.
“However, the team addressed the various hurdles to bring forward this substantial new community that will provide much-needed housing together with employment land, education and a new district centre.
“Broadnook Garden Village has been designed and planned as a self-supporting entity of exceptional quality.
“Strategic sites like this require continuity, so it was important to assemble a team with widespread understanding of the local market to complete a transaction of this size and scale.
“By uniting three independent, specialist firms, this landmark project has benefitted from multiple resources and a broad range of expertise in rural matters, estate management, planning and development needed to finalise one of the most significant land sales within the region.”
James Wilson, group managing director at Davidsons Homes, which is based in Ibstock, north west Leicestershire, said: “We have been working on this project for a very long time and, as with any big transaction, there have been many problems to overcome and the agents have acted with fantastic professionalism to help us problem solve in order to make this transaction happen.
“We look forward to seeing Broadnook become a wonderful place and an asset to the area, and we take with great responsibility the task to deliver this over the coming years and potentially decades.”
Construction work is expected to begin later this year.
Wells McFarlane is a chartered surveyors and property consultancy based in Lutterworth, in south Leicestershire, and was established in 2004 by Trevor Wells and Andrew McFarlane Holt.
Newton LDP is a land, development, property agency and consultancy based in Southam, Warwickshire, which was set up last July by Richard Foxon and Piers Beeton.
APB (Leicester) LLP is an independent commercial property consultants.
