These bullet points can be helpful in writing your response. Then send to:

Director of Development, Charnwood Borough Council, Southfields Road, Loughborough LE11 2TN

The green wedge would be irretrievably lost for future generations (identified by the Council itself as essential as recently as 2000). The wedge would no longer separate the 3 communities of west Loughborough, Hathern and Shepshed and continue to provide essential breathing and recreation space for those communities and other residents.

Today there are 3 well used traffic-free public rights of way, including a bridleway and National cycle way within the area.

Flooding risks will be increased along local watercourses, over and above historical levels and current climate change predictions, as surface drainage is reduced by building over very large areas of agricultural land.

The proposals would add traffic, air and noise pollution to the area. Leicestershire CC studies have projected "unsustainably highV"increases in traffic volumes from this development option and the adjoining Science Park intended development. This has led to a projected need for a further system of link roads through open countryside around the Loughborough conurbation to help the flow of increased traffic. All this in addition to the planned widening of the adjacent M1 motorway.

We would lose more grade 2 agricultural land, existing wildlife corridors and environmental conditions for biodiversity. The area has a density of badger sets, bat colonies, great crested newts, 3 species of breeding raptors and over 90-recorded species of other breeding birds.

The link road and housing development would be of great detriment to the historic park and garden, forever changing its landscape setting.

The 2003 Charnwood Housing Survey demonstrated a need for denser town centre housing with people walking and cycling to work and not a proliferation of commuter belts. (The term "sustainable urban extension" or ÒSUEÓ has yet to prove its credibility.) The Council has made much recent progress with brownfield site developments in Loughborough but much of it given over to rented student accommodation. Now that, at last, the University has started building an additional 1,300 student places on campus, this should release central urban housing stock.

If the ongoing need for more housing is proven, there needs to be a thorough examination of other brownfield site opportunities, including the take-up of vacant housing, plus the option of a large brownfield development at Wymeswold Airfield, a short bus ride from Loughborough. (Already, the recent Strategic Flood Risk Assessment has classified this site as "Band 3" (high risk) because the A60 enroute passes over the River Soar.) Our perspective is that the airfield site is well-placed on an elevated redundant site, close to the A46 main trunk route, and circled by 5 existing village communities who would all benefit from their new neighbour in a truly sustainable way.