October 2026 - Our Month In Review
Matthew Pennycook - Labour Housing Minister
National Scheme of Delegation
The Labour government are bringing in yet more legislation to erode local democracy. Blaby District councillors had no choice but to approve changes to the BDC Constitution at the last District Council meeting to protect us from legal action.
The changes divide planning applications into two categories:
Schedule1 applications must be determined by a planning officer.
Schedule 2 applications may be determined by a planning officer or may be referred up to the Planning Committee in certain circumstances. The decision on what goes to the Planning Committee will be decided by just two people, namely, the Chair of the Planning Committee and the Assistant Director of Planning. If these two disagree then the application will be decided by a planning officer. The previous system allowed for your Ward Councillor(s) to ‘call-in’ an application to the planning committee. That democratic ability has now been removed by the government. Without any local democratic mandate for their decisions, planning officers will find themselves under intense pressure from communities whose minimal rights to be heard at a planning committee have effectively been removed.
These changes which will be effective from 31st October 2026 have been brought in by the government to ‘improve’ the planning process and speed up approval of planning applications.
We must emphasise that these changes are being forced on your district council, officers and councillors by central government. Yet another nail in the coffin of local democratic accountability with planning.
Another U Turn by Labour Government
Cllr Ben Taylor, Leader of Blaby District Council reacts to pause in council reform
On Monday 7 September, BDC received confirmation from government that it is undertaking a review of a number of Local Government Reorganisation (LGR) decisions, including the Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland proposal.
For the moment councils have been told to stop all work around LGR while the review takes place. We have no timeline yet for when the review will be completed but we have been assured decisions will be set out as soon as possible. Next year’s local elections in May will now take place as scheduled on existing council boundaries
Responding to the announcement, Councillor Ben Taylor, Leader of Blaby District Council said: “While I welcome the news the government has pressed pause on LGR and will review the decisions made in July, I am deeply frustrated by how this process has been handled.
“For almost two years, councils, residents, businesses and our dedicated officers have invested significant time, effort and resources in a process that was imposed on local government. We engaged constructively throughout, listening to our communities, attending countless meetings and providing detailed evidence on how local government reform could best serve residents.
“When the decision was announced in July, many people felt their views had been ignored. The proposal to expand Leicester City’s boundary and split Blaby District never had the support of our residents.
“This review is a welcome opportunity to correct that. While local government reform can bring benefits, changes of this scale must be shaped by the communities they affect. Local people and local councils are best placed to determine what works for their areas. Any future decisions must be built on evidence, genuine local support and respect for local identity.
“Throughout this process, we have stood up for the people of Blaby District and we will continue to do so.
“Of course, it is frustrating that so much time and effort has already been invested in LGR, but we are a responsive and resilient authority, well equipped to deal with change. Our focus remains on providing the best possible services to our residents and that commitment will continue, whatever changes and challenges lie ahead.”
Blaby News
- · Planning Committee Changes
- · Paperless ticket machines coming to Blaby District car parks
- · Leicestershire councils come together to challenge plans for Local Government Reorganisation
- · New purpose-built Medical Centre for Enderby approved.
Councillor Activities
Ben and Mike are now back to a full diary of cabinet meetings, local functions and meetings with Blaby managers and, most importantly, meetings with residents.
· Planning Committee – 1st
· Sapcote Parish Council – 1st
· Portfolio Holder meeting with Executive Director (Place) – 6th
· Training – Planning – 6th
· Portfolio Holder meeting with Assistant Director (Environment) – 13th
· Local Plan Development Group meeting – 13th
· Sharnford Parish Council – 15th
· Planning Obligations Meeting (S106) – 22nd
· Sharnford Bacon Buttie – 24th
· Portfolio Holder meeting with Assistant Director (Planning) – 29th
· Planning Committee – 29th
LOCAL PLAN
The regulation 19 consultation on our proposed Local Plan ended at 12 noon on Monday 7 September. The Development Strategy Team will now move to reviewing the responses we have received at this final consultation phase.
The Local Plan is proposed to be presented to Full Council on 24 November, for a decision on whether to submit the Plan to the government for review by an independent planning inspector by 31 December.
Should the plan be submitted, all responses from the consultation will be provided in full to the Planning Inspectorate.
Hinckley & Bosworth Local Plan
Hinckley & Bosworth Borough Council is our nearest neighbour and, like us, is currently updating their Local Plan. So what you may ask, well H&BBC have added additions to their Local Plan which are not required and have not informed Blaby District Council, which is a statutory requirement. Again, you may ask, what is it to do with us? Well, the map below shows the cross-hatched area in blue which starts at the DPD warehouse (solid blue) on the A5 and fills the fields up to the Smockington Hollow junction with the B4114.
The cross-hatched area is designated to be B8 warehousing, similar to the buildings at Magna Park!
We all know about the ongoing traffic problems at Smockington Hollow with serious injuries and fatalities. Ben and I produced a video highlighting the issues in February 2025. The area just behind Ben in the picture will become warehousing if Hinckley have their way.
Please see our latest video from Saturday 26th September 2026, available on our Facebook page Fosse Highcross.
PLANNING
Major Planning Applications
25/0489/OUT – Land off Broughton Road, Cosby
Outline application for the erection of 180 dwellings and offsite highway improvements.
Application deferred on 30th July 2026 will now be decided by Planning Committee on 1st October 2026
25/0927/FUL – West Field Road and Park Road, Sapcote
Residential development of 180 dwellings
Application awaiting decision by Planning Committee on 1st October 2026
26/0713/HH – 222 Leicester Road, Enderby
Erection of two storey side and rear extension.
Application awaiting decision by Planning Committee on 1st October 2026
25/0818/HYB – Keepers Farm, Winchester Road, Blaby
Hybrid planning application comprising: Full application for demolition of Keepers Farm House with construction of 77 dwellings. Outline application for 268 dwellings.
Application awaiting decision by Planning Committee on 1st October 2026
26/0205/VAR – Unit 10/11 Fosse Park West, Grove Way, Leicester
Variation of conditions 1 & 2 od planning permission 24/0117/VAR to facilitate subdivision of the unit to create 2 separate retail units and increase number of units in the retail terrace from 8 to 9.
Approved by Planning Committee on 3rd September 2026
25/0758/FUL – Adult Education Centre, Townsend Road, Enderby
Change of use of land and erection of Primary Care Building (Health Centre) with pharmacy.
Approved by Planning Committee on 3rd September 2026
26/0361/OUT – Land to the North of Leicester Road, Sharnford.
Outline application for development of up to 120 affordable dwellings and a shop.
Application awaiting date for consideration by Planning Committee
Local Planning Applications
26/0729/HH – 2 Spring Gardens, Sapcote
Erection of a single storey side extension
26/0723/FUL – Elmesgate House, Station Road, Elmesthorpe
Change of use from haulage to residential including demolition of two existing buildings and the construction of single dwelling and double garage.
26/0773/FUL – 3 Station Road, Elmesthorpe
Retention of existing shipping containers and erection of timber fencing and gates.
Approvals under Delegated Powers
26/0548/HH – 4 Hinckley Road, Sapcote
Erection of two storey side extension and single storey rear extension.
26/0055/FUL – Manor Farm, Sharnford Road, Aston Flamville
Relocation of soil blending and storage facility including erection of a steel framed building and change of use of agricultural to Sui Generis to facilitate development.
A PDF version of this newsletter can be downloaded from the link below.
