Hundreds show opposition to Rothwell warehouse proposals at RAW meeting
Residents wanting to show their opposition to a proposed warehouse complex on rolling fields near Rothwell found it was standing room only as hundreds attended a town meeting.
Last night (Tuesday) Rothwell Against Warehousing (RAW) campaigners passed on their findings to the gathering in Holy Trinity Church in anticipation of a planning application that could see 65-hectares developed as a logistics hub.
Applicant Harworth Estates Investments Ltd claims the switch from farmland to an industrial estate will create 3,000 full-time equivalent jobs and bring in £238m to the local economy per year.
The site, located at Nunnery Farm, would see up to eight units on a 1.8 million sq ft on the area of green fields immediately off Junction 3 of the A14 and separated from Rothwell by the A6.
RAW’s planning application analyst Kay Andrews, who is a Rothwell resident, said: “The meeting went very well. We had 214 people- it was a good turnout – showing there is a great deal of concern about the plans.
"There are massive concerns especially the traffic at Junction 3. There are already queues and those would only get worse with the number of HGVs.
"The development would be huge, it’s a third the size of Rothwell. It would totally change the nature of the town and the landscape.”
RAW has urged members of the community to send their objections to North Northants Council.
Veteran local politician, Cllr Jim Hakewill (Ind/ Rothwell and Mawsley) joined the expert panel, adding his voice to the campaign.
He said: “It was a very, very significant number of residents who attended from communities that would be affected. Over 200 people took time to come. It was one of the best meetings I have ever been to.
“The RAW team was brilliant and the reaction goes a long way to giving recognition for the efforts the team have put in, meeting after meeting, posting leaflets and keeping everyone on Facebook informed.
“I think we have every reason to believe that the officer recommendation – when it comes to the planning committee – will be to refuse based on the material reasons that we all shared in the church last night.”
Harworth Group says it has a clear vision for the site at Rothwell, with their plans providing an opportunity to deliver approximately 3,000 full-time equivalent jobs, catering to a range of skill levels and meeting market demand with their website boasting the plans also include ‘a commitment to enhance biodiversity and investment in local infrastructure, including roads’.
It is believed the developers have already spent £8m on obtaining the site and pushing forward the plans.
Objections to the planning application can be sent to [email protected] stating the planning application reference number NK/2024/0717.