A 500-home development proposed for land in Barleythorpe will not go ahead.

Following objections from Rutland residents and intervention from the Secretary of State, Rutland County Council have confirmed that a controversial development will not be going ahead.

A planning application for a 500-home development in Barleythorpe was submitted by De Merke Estates in July 2022. This was met with frustration from Rutland residents, who shared their concern about the strain that a large development may place on infrastructure, roads and more across the county.

Despite being accepted by Rutland County Council, the initial application was not accompanied by an Environmental Impact Assessment, which prompted a group of local people to fight the proposal, who argued that it would risk the local environment.

The group, Oakham Action, contacted the Secretary of State for Levelling up, Housing and communities, arguing that the proposal would likely cause significant environmental impact and therefore required a full environmental impact assessment.

A Direction issued on behalf of the Secretary of State in February 2023 stated that the development proposed is classed as 'EIA development' within the meaning of The Town and Country Planning (Environmental Impact Assessment) Regulations 2017.

As such, the build was 'postponed indefinitely'.

Oakham Action said: "After detailed analysis, the Secretary of State agreed with our request and overturned a previous decision by Rutland County Council that environmental issues could be addressed as part of the standard application process."

De Merke Estates requested clarifications and a further explanation from the Secretary of State on the EIA direction, and subsequently appealed the decision to indefinitely postpone the build.

This appeal has been withdrawn.

Rutland County Council have confirmed that this means that the build will not go ahead, stating: "We can confirm that the planning appeal by De Merke was formally withdrawn by the appellant last week. This means the application will not be going ahead."

This has come as a relief to many Oakham locals, who shared concerns throughout the process that the build may put a strain on local services and infrastructure.

In response to the news that the build would not go ahead, one Rutland resident commented: "It took a lot of people, some significant donations, lawyers, planning, transport and landscape consultants and a year of work to make this happen. 

"But it does show (like keeping Catmose sports Centre open) that if the community engages around something we can make a difference!"

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