Plans for employment zone on countryside next to Haldens Parkway in Thrapston recommended for approval despite objections

Developers IM Properties will ask North Northamptonshire Council (NNC) for permission to build a 60-hectare business park on open countryside to the north of the Haldens Parkway industrial estate, Thrapston.

If approved, the site will come forward in phases, with the first storage and distribution warehouse set to be occupied by global freight forwarder DSV.

Outline plans for four further plots of different sizes on the site would then be submitted as separate applications and would all be made up of general industrial units, warehouses and ancillary offices.

However, there has been public criticism of the plans, with Corby and East Northants MP Lee Barron sharing on social media on Monday that he stands against the proposals.

He said: “I fear the consultant’s report for the current application fails to consider the impact this proposal will have on our communities, and questions have been raised around the independence of the consultants.

“The Thrapston area already faces challenges of road traffic and heavy goods vehicles breaching weight restrictions. We want to see good quality jobs on offer in our community.”

Mr Barron signed off his open letter to councillors on NNC’s planning committee by urging them to ‘closely consider resident voices’ when reaching their decision.

The council’s planning officers will ask members to vote to approve the plans at the meeting tomorrow (Wednesday, July 9) but councillors are entitled to make up their own minds based on the evidence before them.

Just last month, the committee went against officer advice and rejected plans for another 60 hectare warehouse scheme to the east of Haldens Parkway. Though, the final word is still yet to go to a government appointed planning inspector later this month.

Eight objections from nearby parish and town councils have been lodged, as well as more than 800 letters from members of the public. These cover a wide range of issues including highway safety and traffic concerns, the loss of countryside and habitats and the impact on the environment.

Kevin Shapland, chairman of the campaign group Staunch, told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS): “Just 28 days since North Northants Planning Committee unanimously rejected an application for a mega warehouse development between the market town of Thrapston and conservation village of Titchmarsh councillors are again being asked to approve yet another such development.

“It will be situated parallel to an already heavily congested A605, and just the width of a five metre wide country road away from the previously rejected application.

“Council officers have clearly ignored the earlier views of their elected councillors and the communities of the Upper Nene Valley. They have yet again shown that the councils planning department is still, on their own admissions, unfit for purpose.”

Complaints have also been made that there is not enough scope for interested parties to have their voices heard on the matter. Thrapston Town Council (TTC) has said it has not been allowed to speak at the meeting, despite the A605 carriage way being the only separation from the large industrial development and family homes.

A spokesman for the town council said they were ‘frustrated and disappointed’ that they will not be allowed to address the committee this week to ‘speak on behalf of the hundreds of residents who will be affected’.

They explained: “Thousands of additional HGVs and cars would use the A605 which is already heavily congested. The damage to the environment would be enormous and it is completely inconsistent with local plans.

“Considering the case in support of the application is given almost unlimited time at the committee, it is particularly unjust that TTC will not have any opportunity to challenge it.”

Responding to the concerns, NNC said the rules for speaking rights allow for just one parish or town council to register. In this instance, Titchmarsh Parish Council has been allowed as they are closer to the site.

It added that usually only one third party speaker for or against the proposal is allowed, but that the chair has used his discretion to hear from additional speakers due to the level of public interest.

It added: “The committee report seeks to set out the assessment the council’s officers have made on the level to which the proposal meets the requirements of planning policy, and then outlines all the factors considered to weigh either in favour or against the proposals, before setting out a recommendation.

“All planning issues raised through the public consultation process are considered by the officer weighing up of all the factors before coming to their recommendation.”

According to NNC, the first DSV warehouse is set to deliver up to 722 jobs in the logistics sector, with more than 2,000 jobs estimated through ‘direct, indirect, and construction employment’.

The report also stated the development was well-positioned in a strategic transport corridor and labelled it a ‘logical extension’ of the Haldens Parkway employment area.