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£1.5m aim for tourist hotspot

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The National Trust has submitted its plans for a £1.5 million visitor attraction near Markfield to the borough council.

Planning officers at Charnwood will decide whether or not to grant permission to the organisation which wants to transform the 19th century Stoneywell Cottage into a tourist hotspot.

It hopes to convert stables at the site into an office, tearooms and toilet; build a 60-space car park and restore other degraded parts of the grade II- listed cottage.

A public consultation is now open and will run until May 14.

A residents' meeting is also taking place at Newtown Linford village hall at 7pm tonight for people to discuss the proposals.

Steve Perry, chairman of Ulverscroft Residents' Committee, said: "There's nothing surprising in the plans, it's exactly what we were expecting.

"It's a very emotive subject for people here and we're expecting a lot of people at the meeting."

Mr Perry is one of more than 170 who have signed an online petition, concerned about the level of extra traffic expected to be generated by the attraction.

The National Trust estimated the site would attract about 75 cars a day during peak times – which it said would be 20 to 30 days a year.

Mr Perry said: "The most contentious issue is the car park and the shuttle bus, which will encourage hundreds of visitors on to the roads and we will continue our efforts to make sure they don't get their way."

The National Trust has said it is aware of the concerns surrounding the scheme.

The cottage will also have some cosmetic repairs, decoration and rewiring before it opens to the public, possibly in 2014.

Plans are to employ one full-time and eight part-time members of staff.

A spokeswoman for the organisation said: "The trust is very aware of the potential impact that opening Stoneywell to the public may have.

"From the outset, we have tried to keep residents informed of our plans, listening to views and concerns and addressing these as far as reasonably possible.

"This included the opportunity for residents to attend a series of drop-in sessions in January and February 2013 to learn more about our plans for Stoneywell.

"Our aim is to maintain the tranquil setting of Stoneywell, while also allowing access on a limited level to those who wish to visit this special place."

To view the plans, visit the Charnwood Borough Council website and search its planning page for P/13/0607/2.

£1.5m aim for tourist hotspot


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