Blaby DC has placed diffusion tubes around Glenfield to monitor nitrous oxide levels. The Parish Council will press for more monitoring to take place, One at Overdale Avenue has steadily risen from 19 parts in 2015 to 26 in 2018. Another at the corner of the Balk and Station Road also reads 26 as does one at Birch Lane but one down on Kirby Road within the area where heavy vehicles are not permitted reads 30. Of much more concern, one in the centre of Glenfield on Stamford Street has a mean annual count of just under 42. At a local level the Parish Council will encourage the planting of trees to capture some of this particulate matter and will support the endeavours of the Highways Agency in improving traffic flow along the motorway. The layout of Stamford Street however does not provide any possible location for such mitigation, although the Parish Council has planted some evergreen shrubs on the island itself. Highways England has a published Strategy for the M1 to be upgraded to a smart motorway between Junction 19 and junction 23A including improvements to Junction 21. If and when this happens this should lead to smoother traffic flow which in turn leads to less pollution and less intrusive noise, another form of pollution. The issue of light pollution was considered but discarded as while some residents wanted to have dark skies also thought of benefit to wildlife, many residents also decried what they considered an inadequate regime of street lighting. There are also discussions about a possible additional motorway junction to the south of that junction which would relieve the pressure on that exit point. An eastern distributor road around Leicester would also reduce traffic levels coming up the motorway, at least in the short term, although this looks an unlikely development. POLICY ENV 2: AIR QUALITY - Planning decisions should take account of the impact on air quality in the Plan Area, supporting proposals which will result in the improvement of air quality or minimise reliance upon less sustainable forms of transport.
Important Open Spaces Creation of an environment for residents that provides as much open, green space as possible, with opportunities for outdoor recreation, sports, fresh air, and appreciation of the natural world and historic assets, is a priority for the community represented by Glenfield Parish Council. As far as possible, standards for the provision of such spaces in new development are required, with land acquired by the Council or otherwise secured for the community, and management designed to maintain the functions and benefits of individual open space sites. The result is that there are (currently) 38 open spaces in Glenfield with the formal or effective status of Open Space, Sport & Recreation site. Their protection, either for their function and amenity, or as coherent green open spaces in particular locations relative to residential areas of the settlement, is provided in this policy at the highest appropriate level available in the planning system. The policy is in conformity with and supported by NPPF (2021) paragraphs 92(c), 97 and 98, and Blaby District Council Local Plan Delivery DPD (updated and adopted 2019) Policy CS 15. The sites are classified under Blaby DC Open Space typologies (2015), and all those allocated to the natural 34
