Asfordby Parish Profile 1. Overview 1.1. Asfordby Parish consists of three villages, Asfordby, Asfordby Valley and Asfordby Hill, which are situated to the north of the River Wreake near to the market town of Melton Mowbray in Leicestershire. The parish is in Melton Borough and covers 1,066Ha. 1.2. The population of the parish in 2011 was 3,286 and there were 1,454 households. Most of these people live in Asfordby which has a good range of services and facilities. Asfordby Valley is a small village of about 50 houses to the east of the main village. Asfordby Hill lies on the eastern edge of the parish to the south of Holwell Works. 2. Context 2.1. Asfordby is mentioned in the Domesday Book, while the villages of Asfordby Valley and Asfordby Hill developed around the iron works that were founded in 1875 following the discovery of ironstone in that area. Land to the south of Asfordby is characterised by water meadows and washland areas while the valley setting is emphasised by rising, mainly pasture, land to the north. 2.2. The parish is bisected by the A6006 which links Melton Mowbray to the A46 near Six Hills and the A6 at Hathern. To the south of Asfordby is the A607 which links Leicester and Grantham. As a consequence the parish has good road access to Melton Mowbray, Loughborough, Leicester, Nottingham, East Midlands Airport and the M1. There is no passenger rail station in the parish. 2.3. Asfordby lies to the north of the River Wreake which is a tributary of the River Soar. The Wreake flows southwest, passing through Melton Mowbray, Asfordby, Frisby on the Wreake, Brooksby, Thrussington and Ratcliffe on the Wreake, before meeting the Soar near Syston. 3. People 3.1. Over the period 2001 to 2011 the parish population increased from 3,107 to 3,286. In 2011, there were 587 children aged under-16 representing 17.9% of the population. There were 554 people over 65 (16.9%) and 22%, but by 2031 it is estimated that a third of the parish’s population could be over that age. Within this total, the number of very old people grows even faster. 3.2. The ageing population is partly a consequence of the age structure of the population alive today, in particular the ageing of the large number of people born during the 1960s baby boom. It also stems from longer life expectancy. 3.3. The ageing population will place increasing pressure on healthcare and social services, while the number of people of working, taxable age will shrink. This could result in gaps in the jobs market, with businesses and public services lacking the workforce required. 4. Housing 4.1. The 2011 Census shows that there were 1,454 households within the parish with an average household size of 2.26. The number of households is projected to increase by 2031. 4.2. Population growth is the main driver of household growth. Growth is also accounted for by an increase in one person households as the classic four person household- a mum, a dad and two children- looks set to become less common. This is due to people having children later in life, Dwelling Types: Asfordby high divorce rates and Parish people living longer. Detached 4.3. In 2011 there were 76 322 364 1,490 dwellings. Semi-Detached Asfordby has a high proportion of terraced Terraced 728 and semi-detached houses (22% and 49% Flat, Maisonette or respectively) Apartment compared with Melton (16% and 36%), but Source: 2011 Census relatively few detached properties. The tenure profile is much the same as the district average with 75% of properties being owned, either outright or with a mortgage/loan compared with 72% in Melton. 4.4. In 2012/13 the average house price in Melton overall was £192,750 on 607 sales, while in Asfordby it was £171,000 on 38 sales – 11% lower. 4.5. Within the parish there is considerable variation in house prices. Zoopla.co.uk is a comprehensive property website and its estimated average home value for properties in Asfordby Hill is £126,785 (August 2013), £122,704 in Asfordby Valley and £152,448 in Asfordby. 4.6. The Melton Strategic Housing Land Assessment (SHLAA) is a survey of land that is potentially available for house building on large sites (10 dwelling or more). The 2011 SHLAA identified the Hawthorns at Loughborough Road, Asfordby as a site being developed by Jelsons for 66 homes. This development has now been completed. The SHLAA also identified the Asfordby Storage and Haulage site on Main Street as a potential housing site although it wasn’t thought to be available for development before 2015. The list of sites in Asfordby that were rejected are as follows: Ref No Address Reasons for exclusion 0315 Land east of Crompton Road, Asfordby Hill Planning policy 0316 Holwell Works, Welby Road, Asfordby Hill Planning policy 0345 Land at Station Road, Asfordby Planning policy & flood risk 0346 Land rear of Regency Road, Asfordby Planning policy 0408 Asfordby Business Park, Asfordby Planning policy, access & ownership 4.7. In addition to these sites, there are a number of sites with planning permission which have yet to be built (as at 31 March 2012): Settlement Site Address Planning Dwellings Permission Remaining to be built 31/03/12 Asfordby 7 Regency Road 10/00283/FUL 1 Asfordby White Farm, 144 10/00177/EXT 1 Main St Asfordby Methodist Church 10/00801/FUL 2 Asfordby The Grange Garden 06/00302/FUL 1 Hill Centre, Melton Rd Asfordby 24 Glebe Road 11/00208/FUL 1 Hill Asfordby 39 Melton Road 11/00082/FUL 1 Hill 5. Jobs 5.1. In March 2011, 84% of the parish’s population aged 16-64 was economically active, compared with a borough average of 74%. Of the 1,871 economically active, 1,820 were in employment. In June 2013 there were 50 Job Seekers Allowance claimants from Asfordby- 2.5% of the workforce. The national rate was 3.5%. 5.2. The 2011Census shows that 18% of residents in employment work in manufacturing compared to the national average of 9%. Relatively few local people work in professional, scientific and technical activities (4%) or education (8%). 5.3. There were relatively few people employed in managerial and professional occupations in Asfordby (21%) compared with Melton (27%) and England (28%). However, a higher proportion of the parish’s workers are in skilled trades (16%), plant and machinery operative jobs (12%) and elementary occupations (12%). 5.4. At the time of writing, 2011 Census travel to work data had not been released. The previous, 2001 Census showed that 1,278 people travelled out of the ward for work and just 421 commuted into the ward from outside. Despite there being a number of employment areas in the ward, Asfordby had the second highest net outflow of workers in the district. The following diagram shows that many residents travel to work in Melton Mowbray. There is some longer distance commuting to Leicester. 5.5. Notwithstanding the net outflow of workers, Asfordby was reasonably self-contained with 65% of residents employed in the borough and 22% working in the ward. 5.6. The 2011 Census show that Asfordby ward had the highest number (122) of people travelling to work by bus, minivan or coach in the borough. About 7% residents travel to work by bus compared to a borough average of 3%. Only 5% work from home. 5.7. The principal employment sites in Asfordby are: Asfordby Business Park 5.8. Located to the North of Asfordby Hill Village and 1 mile to the west of Melton Mowbray, Asfordby Business Park is the site of the former Asfordby mine. The site measures some 28ha in total and is owned and managed by Harworth Estates, the property arm of UK Coal plc. Coal mining at Asfordby ceased in 1997 due to adverse geological conditions. In the three years following the closure of the mine, some of the buildings and plant on the site were cleared. Planning permissions were granted for employment use of the remaining buildings. The owners marketed space in these buildings, which businesses began to occupy. Now most of the coal storage sheds, offices and other buildings have been re-used to provide 250,000 sq. ft. of building space. The partial clearance of the site left behind some 16ha of open area, around and between existing buildings, on which infill development could take place. 5.9. The park accommodates around 30 businesses in a wide variety of unit sizes; from 12m2 to almost 5,000m2. The main activity on the site appears to be transport and distribution. Occupiers include haulage firms and suppliers of a wide variety of goods, mostly bulky goods including vehicles, plant and machinery, scaffolding, pallets and industrial chemicals. About 200 people work at the site. All the occupiers are tenants, since UK Coal’s company policy is not to sell land and property. 5.10. The site also includes the former coal railway, which is in use as test track for London Underground. 5.11. In 2000 Melton Borough Council issued a development brief aiming to secure development of the open parts of the site for ‘employment-generating and leisure uses’, together with re-use of the existing buildings of the site. 5.12. In 2009, Melton Borough Council commissioned a Study that looked at the potential use of the business park. As part of this study, Harworth Estates were asked about their plans and aspirations for the future of the site.