Adherence to Local Plan

The Local Plan mandates a mix of B1, B2, and B8 uses, conserving the tranquillity of South Northamptonshire’s natural and built environment. The Supplementary Planning Document (SPD) calls for small and medium-sized proposals, capping unit size at 80k sq ft to avoid overdevelopment and maintain the area’s character.

Despite this, the proposed site will be 48%-90% B8 use, with the largest unit at 350k sq ft, causing serious harm to rural communities. An independent Environmental Consultant labeled the development “extraordinarily incongruous,” posing significant landscape impacts. WNC has inexplicably allowed the application to proceed contrary to its own requirements.

Additionally, the emerging local plan allocates 58 hectares for commercial development, but only 9 hectares are needed. Reallocating the 16 hectares earmarked for Furtho avoids building on greenfield sites, like the part identified as Open Mosaic. The Furtho Pit development is unnecessary, with space 8 kilometers away having better motorway access.

WNC stipulated roundabout access in the Local Plan. To accommodate the oversized Unit 1, developers changed the access point to a T junction with a ghost island, compromising site access safety.

The development fails AL5’s goal to offer diverse employment opportunities, crucial for economic resilience. It's dominated by warehouses, lacking the required mix of B1, B2, and B8 uses. Claims of “office spaces within warehouses” are misleading, as end users dictate usage.

The SPD emphasises respecting existing residential properties, heritage assets, biodiversity, and environmental character. The development will cause a greater than 10db noise increase, harming residents’ mental and physical health. WNC Environmental Health insists on "no" impact rather than "low" impact. This proposal fails to protect or enhance the natural environment or built heritage.

Peter Frampton, representing the developer, thinks these requirements are "guidelines not tramlines" signalling their intention to ignore the restrictions WNC added specifically to protect small rural communities like ours. If this precedent is set, future developments will be a free-for-all.

Conversely, Saira Kabir Sheikh KC representing WNC against the appeal by DHL relating to the AL2 development (DHL warehouses at Towcester) said 'The purpose of the plan-led system is not to treat employment land site allocations as licenses to recklessly disregard local and national planning policy'

Going against National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF)

The Environment Agency (“EA”) has raised significant concerns over flooding and the hydraulic modelling and flood water storage designs for all four of the previous flood mitigation schemes. In September 2023 the EA repeated its objection to the Development in on the basis it failed to meet the requirements of the NPPF, the PPG, BN7 of the West Northamptonshire Council Joint Core Strategy on the topic of flood risk, and Criterion 1 of Policy SS2 (General development and design principles) of the South Northamptonshire Part 2 Local Plan. We await the outcome of their review of the latest proposal.

The NPPF mandates enhancing the natural environment and minimizing biodiversity impacts. The proposal’s significant net biodiversity loss contradicts NPPF requirements.

The scheme is contrary to the Council’s development plan in material respects. It causes significant landscape and visual harm and takes an unreal and flawed approach to the impact of the proposal on the highway network. To date, this application has not fulfilled requirements relating to consultation, flood risk, enhancement of local environment, biodiversity, ground contamination, pollution (of all types).

For more info about non adherence to the Local Plan, please see the letter written on our behalf by Richard Buxton Solicitors to WNC planning department dated Aug 24