Thousands of homes had been earmarked for the Oadby site
06:00, 11 May 2026
Peter said it is ‘vital’ to maintain the area’s green spaces(Image: Leicester Mercury)
A Leicestershire community is “ecstatic” after green spaces earmarked for housing were excluded from council plans.
Land at the former Manor Road athletics track and the Stoughton Road playing fields, in Oadby, had been mooted for major developments of thousands of homes.
Both green spaces have now been excluded from the plans, with the Manor Road land being designated as a conservation area and the playing fields being classified as green wedge.
The former athletics field in Manor Road(Image: Leicester Mercury)
Peter Ntow, who lives in Oadby, said: “It’s vital that we keep these places for recreational use but I guess it all depends on perspective.
“For someone who is struggling to find housing, they would be sad to hear more places are not being built here, but for us, we are ecstatic to hear they are staying as green spaces.”
Looking at both sides of the argument, the 19-year-old added: “Obviously we need more housing because the current house prices are out of proportion in the UK, so building more affordable houses would be amazing.
“On the other hand, it is a big green space and it is always good to keep our greenery safe so people can enjoy it.”
For those living across the former Manor Road athletics track, the decision was music to their ears.
Jay Takha, 44, said: “It is hugely important that we keep green spaces as they are because they are the most valued spaces in our community.
“People use them for keeping healthy, mental health breaks and for some, these fields are a big part of their childhood and it would be a great shame to let them get covered by houses.”
For Jay, it would “make more sense” to build more houses closer to the city centre. He said: “We have a city centre that is dying, so why are we not utilising that by taking down derelict buildings and putting housing there.
“Doing that would also help with so many other issues, as building houses in Oadby would mean more weight on the infrastructure towards the city as that is where most people would work.
“If you put the new housing in the city then there would be no added pressure on our buses or roads. It just makes more sense to do that.
“Plus it could even revitalise the city centre.”
Despite the plans no longer including the two green spaces in Oadby, Jay said he fears another planning application will take up the land in the future.
He said: “Even though they are no longer going to build here I am afraid that with Labour being in charge another plan that hasn’t been thought through will come up.
“All they want is to build without any consideration as to what they are building, there needs to be better planning behind these projects.”
Jay’s neighbour Minesh Patel, 61, shared a similar view on any future plans for the green spaces. He said: “For many of us that field is the closest piece of green that we can walk too, so it is vital for our community.
“If they try to bring in new plans then we’ll just oppose those too.”
Conservative MP for Harborough, Oadby and Wigston, Neil O’Brien, hailed the exclusion of the land as a “victory”.
MP Neil O’Brien in front of the former athletics track(Image: Neil O’Brien)
He said: “This is a welcome victory and a real relief for many residents who were rightly concerned about these proposals. These are areas of open space that are valued by the community.
“But we shouldn’t kid ourselves – the Labour Government has doubled the housing target for Oadby and Wigston. That means other areas in the borough are now in line for major development and there is no guarantee these sites won’t be considered in the future.
“Unsurprisingly, there isn’t enough space to accommodate these extra houses. The Council will now have to offload those onto other areas in the county. It’s not clear where they will go yet.”
