RESIDENTS say their lives will soon be ruined when their tiny village is swallowed by a massive estate – and the council won't listen to their pleas.

The historic Leicestershire village of Cossington is set to be soon "engulfed" by new homes, which will see it triple in size.

At the moment, there are just 180 properties in the town, but planners have just signed off three schemes that will add another 357 homes.

Council bosses have also given the green light for plans to build a 98-acre solar farm, and four huge industrial units.

Locals fear the massive projects will "drown" their picturesque rural village, which has no shop, doctors’ surgery, dentist or bus route.

And Charnwood Borough Council's move has also seen residents rush to put their homes, which average £560,000, on the market.

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Parish Council chair Penny Weston-Webb, 83, told The Sun Online: “I walked around and I counted 16 for sale signs up in one day.

“That’s unheard of around here. Usually the only way homes come up for sale is when someone has passed away.

“But the community is really anxious about what will happen to the village when all these new houses are built.

“There’s no support here for these housing schemes. Eight in ten homes sent in objections to the council but clearly they’ve not listened to us."

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The council had already approved plans to build 170 homes on green belt land, and 130 on a farmer’s field, and last week agreed on another 57 houses at the other end of the only road through the village.

The solar farm and the Amazon-style industrial depots will be constructed just outside Cossington.

Locals are also concerned their village – which is known for its 13th century church – will not be able to handle the increased population.

'ENGULFED'

Penny, who was born in Cossington, added: “We have no facilities here.

“We have a church that desperately needs a lot of money spending on it.

“We have a primary school that is at its maximum capacity and we have a little pub.

"There is a recreation field but that’s been let out to the rugby club for 25 years and we have no buses anymore.

"Everyone feels that we will lose the feel of the village if these houses are built. We will just be engulfed."

Villagers tried in vain to halt the planning applications by submitting letters and sticking up posters in their windows expressing opposition.

'NEVER BE THE SAME'

But, it made no difference, Emma Crowe, 51, said.

Emma has lived in Cossington with her husband Peter, 51, for 14 years, and said: “We have just been ignored by the council.

"We’ve put so many objections forward and they haven’t considered any of them.

“None of the planning committee have been out to the village to look for themselves.

“The council have absolutely let us down.

“The village will never be the same. I know things need to change but to go from the little village we are to then tripling its size is scary.

“If you sit outside the school at 3pm now and watch the kids come out, it’s already chaotic with all the cars parked on the bend. It’s just mayhem – and that’s now.

“So what will it be like with all these houses? We haven’t got the infrastructure to cope.”

Council planning inspectors approved the new homes on the basis that a “shortfall of supply outweighed any identified harms”.

'DEATH TRAP'

The 130-home development is to be built on a field next to the home of Simon Cobley, 56, with the proposed estate entrance situated on a blind bend.

He has spent £7,000 on a six-foot fence to shield the impending building work.

Simon said: “We’ve thought about moving and we had the house valued but we’ve been here for 22 years and we’ve got friends here.

“I understand that we’ve got to build houses – people need to live somewhere – but we’ve got to put them in the right places.

“These 130 homes are going to be built on a field that is notorious for flooding and it’ll be a death trap going in and out of the estate.

“The developers have said there’s going to be a good cycle route and walking route to the neighbouring primary school and shops.

"The shop they mention is in Thurmaston, which is about three or four dual carriageways away.

“And the school in Barrow upon Soar is about six miles away.”

'RIGOROUS PLANNING'

A spokesperson for Charnwood Borough Council told The Sun Online: “All planning applications for development are considered against a set of national and local planning policies.

“The rigorous planning process also includes the consideration of views from residents, various organisations and stakeholders plus statutory consultees such as the agencies responsible for the provision of health and education.

"Agencies responsible for highways and transport are also consulted. Where there are identified impacts on infrastructure including roads, surgeries and schools, these are required to be addressed by the applicant.

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“Applications are then considered against these policies and consultation responses before a decision is made.

"We appreciate people will have differing views about new development but this Council is committed to sustainable growth which delivers for the local economy and limits the impact on the local environment.”

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