Weldon residents say they'll fight to stop new housing development on their quiet street

There was a tense community meeting last week
Larratt Road residents say they'll fight the proposalLarratt Road residents say they'll fight the proposal
Larratt Road residents say they'll fight the proposal

People living in Larratt Road in Weldon say that they will do everything they can to stop 24 new houses being built in a field at the end of their unmade street.

The road is unadopted and has houses on one side with a Tata Steel-owned allotment on the other. Tata steel is currently in the middle of a sell-off programme of some of its many pieces of land across Corby.

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Ownership of the road is unclear, with some residents saying that they own a portion in front of their homes.

The field in contention for 24 new homesThe field in contention for 24 new homes
The field in contention for 24 new homes

The developer - Michael Noone - also owns another field at the end of the street which residents say they believe may be next in line for new homes should he get the go-ahead for the first plan.

A meeting was held at the Shoulder of Mutton last Monday but the developer did not attend - instead sending a consultant who could answer questions only about the road, and not the proposed homes.

Residents told the Northants Telegraph that they believe a {https://www.northantstelegraph.co.uk/news/people/weldon-developer-needs-be-honest-local-people-1394161promise to resurface the road to adoptable standards is an attempt to pull the wool over their eyes|}, but say they will not be fooled.

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Now they have formed a campaign group backed by councillors Kevin Watt and David Sims, to ensure that the development does not go ahead.

Larratt Road (in blue) with the field outlined in red. The field outlined in purple is also owned by the same person, and locals say they fear that might also be subject to development.Larratt Road (in blue) with the field outlined in red. The field outlined in purple is also owned by the same person, and locals say they fear that might also be subject to development.
Larratt Road (in blue) with the field outlined in red. The field outlined in purple is also owned by the same person, and locals say they fear that might also be subject to development.

Cllr Sims said: "We want to get this stopped.

"We know that a planning application for five houses or more will fail under current guidelines if the road is not of an adoptable standard. This road is not and it would cost a million to bring it up to standard. That's not viable with 24 homes so we think something else is going on here.

"Residents believe that some of them own the section of road from the edge of their property up the mid-point.

"We also think that the road is built on slag which will cost a lot of money to clean up. The ownership of the road is unclear but whether nobody owns the road or the residents own the road - it doesn't mean that work can just go ahead.

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"Building more houses in Weldon will put more pressure on the roads, on the primary school and all the village's other services."

Some residents have lived in the street for 60 years. Most of the houses were built in the 1930s and 40s but the ones next to the field in question are late Victorian.

Steve Broughton lives next to the site and says there have been issues for years with the field, including a long-running boundary dispute.

"When they built another house at the back of the field, they left big mounds of earth dumped at the edge of the site which we've had to look at for all this time. It's a real mess.

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"The houses would be next to the Anglian Water balancing pond which smells in the summer."

Sean Lattimore lives just three doors away from the proposed development. He said: "This is not the right place for 24 homes."

Philippa Hollis moved to the street 18 months ago and thought it would be a lovely place to raise her baby.

"It's really quiet and we moved here because of the road and because of where it is. It's very quiet. If there's two-way traffic coming up here it will be awful."

Craig Haggar lives on The Poplars which overlooks the site.

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"We weren't invited to the meeting last week," said Craig. "There's nothing in this for us. We won't get a new road but we will get to overlook 24 houses. It will have a massive effect on us."

Richard Hall of Hall Highway Services has been contracted by the developer to look into the viability of getting the road adopted. He said: "If the developer cannot use Larratt Road then the alternative thing to do would be to look at creating an access off the roundabout.

"If local residents can show us that they own part of the road then of course we are happy to talk to them."

No planning application has yet been submitted. The Northants Telegraph has been unable to contact the developer.

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