Blaby District Council

Overview

Blaby District faces significant housing pressures, including addressing unmet needs from Leicester, leading to a significant increase in the notional housing requirement between 2011 and 2031. Additionally, the Council has long-term financial challenges and a growing deficit. Laura was commissioned to develop a business case to declare the Council-owned municipal golf course as surplus to requirements, enabling its future use for housing development to meet local targets.

The 14.6-hectare Leisure and Golf Centre site had formed the basis of an early asset review in 2022. Laura led a team of development advisors and residential valuers to determine the potential of the golf course asset in terms of its capacity to deliver housing development given its connectivity, pre-existing green credentials and policies impacting density and housing typologies. Early viability analysis was undertaken which, subject to the assumptions made, identified a viable opportunity.

The site was therefore identified as a prime opportunity to deliver sustainable housing, address financial shortfalls, and provide broader socio-economic benefits. The Council agreed to fund an early masterplan for the site to test the early viability analysis and to enable engagement with local communities and stakeholders.

Given the existing use of the site, and as a key Council-owned strategic asset, Laura recommended that a comprehensive business case be prepared for members, asking for approval to pursue a site allocation in the emerging Local Plan. Following 5-Case methodology, Laura demonstrated the rationale for unlocking the site for housing-led development, explored the opportunity cost of not unlocking the site, reviewed marketplace conditions to confirm developer interest in the site, set out the financial benefits of bringing the site forward, and prepared an account of next steps and the resource necessary to achieve those.

The business case was approved by the Council in 2023, thereby officially declaring the site surplus to requirements. The site is now being taken through the Local Plan site promotion process.