Council's £135k legal bill revealed as campaigners seek judicial review to stop Thrapston development plans

Local group STAUNCH (Save Titchmarsh, Thrapston And Upper Nene Valley Countryside and Habitats) battled against proposals to build two major warehousing sites on green land next to the Halden’s Parkway industrial estate in Thrapston.

Despite North Northamptonshire Council (NNC) rejecting the first site to the east at Castle Manor Farm – though this was later overturned at appeal – the second site, proposed by IM Properties on the Glebe Land and known as Thrapston Business Park, was given the go-ahead by the local authority in the summer.

A Freedom of Information request, submitted by the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDR), has also revealed that NNC had to pay bills of just over £135,000 for defending its refusal decision of the Castle Manor Farm development, after developer Newlands Ltd took them to appeal.

This included £71,856.68 spent on legal advice, counsel and representation for the appeal, £36,716.26 on planning advisors, and a further £27,295 on hiring out conference rooms at KLV for the 10-day public inquiry.

An NNC spokesperson said: “The council recognises the importance of the appeal process as a fundamental part of a fair and democratic planning system.

“As the local planning authority, we fully engaged with the recent appeal to ensure the views of the council and our communities were properly represented. While participating in appeals inevitably incurs costs, we always seek to manage these responsibly while safeguarding local interests.

“In this case, we welcome the planning inspector’s acknowledgement of the reasonable and constructive way in which the council approached the process. Although the appeal was ultimately upheld, the inspector did not award costs against the council.

“This means the council will not be required to pay the appellant’s costs in addition to our own legal fees – a positive outcome that reflects our commitment to acting fairly and responsibly throughout.”

At the time, STAUNCH chairman Kevin Shapland said the decision had ‘driven an absolute bulldozer through all of the planning in North Northants’.

The group has since announced that they sent a Judicial Review Pre-Action Protocol Letter to NNC last week, after receiving legal opinion from their barrister that they have a ‘relatively strong case’ to challenge the approval of Thrapston Business Park.

Despite believing there were also ‘small areas’ where they could challenge the Castle Manor Farm Appeal, the campaign group said pursuing both matters would require them to raise a further £50,000 to £80,000 from community donations in the short term, which was “a risk that STAUNCH cannot afford to take”.

An update posted on their GoFundMe page said: “North Northants Council Planning Committee approved the IM Properties 144 acre Glebe Land application (NE/22/00698/OUT) without meaningful debate.

“STAUNCH are in receipt of the legal opinion from our barrister about the options available to us in relation to the appeal decision to grant planning permission in relation to Castle Manor Farm and the planning committee decision to approve the Glebe Land development.

“STAUNCH emailed the Judicial Review Pre-Action Protocol Letter to NNC on December 11. STAUNCH are totally reliant on donations to fund any legal action.

“We are incredibly grateful that our legal team have offered to pursue the Judicial Review for us on a discounted fee basis, but even with this generous support, STAUNCH need to hit our target in the immediate term to fund this.

“We are down but most definitely not out and a very long way from shovels in the ground. We hope you will feel able to support us.”

In response to the group’s judicial review intention, a spokesman for IM Properties said: “North Northamptonshire Council’s planning committee voted to approve Thrapston Business Park in July 2025. We understand that STAUNCH is now intending to launch a judicial review into this decision.

“The decision to grant Thrapston Business Park planning consent marks an important step in meeting the significant business demand for high-quality employment space in Northamptonshire and along the A14 corridor, which can help to drive economic growth.

“Our proposals have been prepared to attract and meet the needs of major businesses and will create jobs across logistics, light industry and manufacturing to support a more productive and resilient local economy.

“The park will focus on the best in building design, landscaping and connectivity and deliver on a commitment to sustainability and enhancing the local environment, as well as delivering social value beyond the boundary of the site.

“We look forward to investing here and are committed to working with local businesses, stakeholders and communities to deliver a scheme of real quality and benefit for North Northamptonshire.”

The council has been approached for comment on STAUNCH’s intention to launch a judicial review.