More new homes for Desborough approved

Kettering Council’s planning committee gave the go-ahead for the scheme off Buxton Drive on Tuesday night, despite an objection to the scheme by Desborough Town Council and 40 residents.

Residents had claimed there was brownfield land available for development and that the town was already above its news homes quota as dictated in the North Northamptonshire Joint Core Strategy – the agreed blueprint for development in the area. There were also concerns raised about potential flooding problems that could be caused by development of the site.

The scheme, which is being put forward by Leicester-based Landmark Planning, will include a mix of housing including 30 per cent affordable housing.

The existing pond and hedgerow will be kept as a feature of the scheme.

There are great crested newts on the site so a planning condition imposed says the developer cannot proceed until the planning authority has either a licence from Natural England or confirmation from an ecologist that a licence is not needed.

Part of the plan had involved a large field on the northern side of Arthingworth Road being used as informal open space for the development but the planning officers had ruled this out because of the distance between the field and the planned development and the fact users would have had to cross the road to use it. The application is close to Green Lane, a popular dog walking route in the town.

Kettering planning officers had recommended the application was approved and development manager Peter Chaplain told the committee that he had walked the site and that it was ‘boggy in parts’.

He said : “It is not land that is beneficial use at the moment.”

Northamptonshire Police also made a suggestion to cut down on crime and anti-social behaviour.

They said: “New dwellings should preferably be back to back with the existing dwellings; rather than have a planting/hedgerow strip between them, as the planting/hedgerow strip could make the properties more susceptible to crime and anti-social behaviour.”

The application for outline planning permission was unanimously approved by the committee.