A "death trap" junction near a Leicestershire village will not be tackled after highway bosses reportedly said "not enough people are being killed" in the area.

North West Leicestershire District Council's (NWLDC) planning committee sat to consider permission in principle for two self-build houses off Church Lane in Ravenstone, near Coalville.

Despite not objecting to the plan, Conservative councillor Nigel Smith said he wanted to use the opportunity to highlight the major traffic issues facing the top of Church Lane, which connects to the A447 or Wash Lane.

He said: "It's an absolute death trap up there trying to get across that junction. I came up this evening and cars are turning into the top of Church Lane and having to stop with cars parked way across the A447.

"Is it not possible for us to use this as a reason to improve that junction and provide some kind of mitigation on the A447? When I've spoken to highways before, they said 'We can't do anything, there aren't enough people being killed'.

"To me, it's a crazy situation that we're relying on fatalities before we actually alter the road layout.

"Everyone who is local knows this needs altering. We could easily provide either a roundabout or a set of traffic lights.

"To me, it's inconceivable that we turn around and say "No we've not killed enough people" not to spend some money on a set of traffic lights".

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Officers said they didn't know that the proposed homes would increase the amount of traffic on Church Lane due to it being early planning proposals and "was not possible to secure … contributions either through planning conditions or Section 106 contributions".

The two-home plan saw objectors argue that Church Lane is "narrow due to parked cars on the highway" and that the proposal had "unsafe access due to poor visibility and the speed of vehicles using Church Lane".

Residents also argued that the planned use of an adjacent agricultural track would cause "noise and vibration issues for future residents" and the loss of the horse grazing would have "negative impacts on the mental health of the community".

Speaking on behalf of the applicant, agent Andrew Large told the committee he "understood why residents enjoy seeing it" and that it was a "lovely countryside scene".

Despite this, he argued that the loss of the land was no reason to refuse permission, as it was private land and not designated for community use. He also said that the council had a shortfall in self-build plots and that Leicestershire County Council highways did not object to the plan.

Independent Councillor Rachel Canny said she believed that the application didn't "look too bad" and added that the council needed "to permit" some self-build homes.

Labour councillor John Legrys said he looked at the site and said the junction was "difficult" and a "nuisance" and that it was "heavily parked up". However he said that he had "no problem" with the application and it was "one of the better ones [the council] had".

The plan saw councillors unanimously approve the application.

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