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Green light for 3,000 new homes

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"It was a foregone conclusion that it was going to go ahead"
Susan Suttle
Published Date:
25 February 2010
News reporter
The Government has approved plans for 3,000 new homes in Wellingborough after an appeal by developers.
Proposals were put forward for the homes, a school and community facilities in the Upper Redhill area of the town.

When Wellingborough Council declined to make a decision on the scheme the developers, North Northants LLP - a subsidiary of Bee Bee
Developments - lodged an appeal.

The authority heard yesterday that Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government John Denham agrees with the Planning Inspector's decision that the development should be approved.

The decision comes after councillors failed to get a planning inquiry re-opened to determine if the number of affordable housing in the development could be increased to 30 per cent.

A letter to developers and Wellingborough Council from the Department of Communities and Local Government states: "In this case, the Secretary of State is satisfied that the impact on amenity from the proposed development, when weighed in the balance of all other considerations, would not be such as to justify refusing planning permission."

Campaigners living in the area said they were not surprised by the decision, despite months of fighting the plans.

Susan Suttle, secretary and vice-chair of Redhill Grange Community Association, said its members still had serious concerns about how Wellingborough will cope with such a development.

She said: "After the public inquiry, it's not a great surprise that they have suggested the development goes ahead.

"It was a foregone conclusion that it was going to go ahead.

"I don't believe the Government is democratic because there was no local say in the matter.

"I do feel that more should be made of the disappearing farmland.

"It is in private hands so there's not a lot we can do but there's not much countryside round Wellingborough and I don't know where all this infrastructure will go."

Mrs Suttle said it wasn't practical for her to consider moving and that most of the people on the estate have been there for more than 20 years.

She said: "The town won't be able to cope with this level of houses. It will be disastrous for the town centre. These houses aren't for local people. They are for London overspill.



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  • Last Updated: 25 February 2010 11:11 AM
  • Source: Evening Telegraph
  • Location: Kettering
 
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1

mrbrown,

25/02/2010 13:38:42
They can build 3,000 houses but they've still got to sell them, and find 3,000 families who want to live in Wellingborough, in property market downturn - and what's Wellingborough got to offer apart from a railway station?
2

NicB,

25/02/2010 13:50:14
Great, 3000 homes, with no plans to do anything about

* the sewerage or power grid (both at capacity in the town - I'm looking forward to the power cuts and flooding! Not)
* the roads (Elsden road as an example - it can't cope with the current load, and as it's between the A45/A508 and the new houses, guess what...)
* the trains - the current service is suffering from cuts made by EMT and they have no plans to reinstate an adequate service or deal with any increases in demand. Let me guess, LLP are going to do nothing about that either?

I'm sure there are other impacts I've not read about already.
3

,

25/02/2010 16:15:06
Comment Removed By Administrator
Reason:
4

DT,

Kettering 25/02/2010 16:16:03
Where are the inhabitants of these houses (assuming that they can get mortgages when so many people can't...) going to work?
When are the local councils and developers going to catch up with the facts, which is that this is the deepest depression since the 1930's? They are behaving as if this is still boom time.
NB I deleted the other comment which was mine, as it was nonsense :)
5

Energy saver,

26/02/2010 08:37:38
Another 3000 houses pathetic - we need a HOSPITAL not more houses. I suppose the houses will house the immigrants arriving in Wellingborough all the time.
6

NicB,

26/02/2010 09:30:54
>Where are the inhabitants of these houses going to work?
They're blatantly building for commuters nowadays. I keep seeing adverts for Londoners to move to Corby, and there's some obvious fallout - "hmm, W'boro/Kettering are nearer, so the trip is shorter".

Shame the trains are gradually being cut back at Wellingborough and Kettering.

@Energy saver
>Another 3000 houses pathetic - we need a HOSPITAL not more houses.

Couldn't agree more. W'boro is big enough to warrant significant expansion of medical facilities, even if it's just to take some of the pressure off Kettering.

I despair of our councils and government when it comes to decisions like this. We need infrastructure BEFORE housing in Wellingborough. (I imagine some will start to blame planners, but I want to defend them - they're the ones telling me that building without infrastructure improvements is monumentally stupid)
7

P Hopkinson,

Wellingborough 26/02/2010 22:40:13
This sounds good I'm a builder out of work hopefully there will be more jobs for me and my mates. Also according to the ET a few months ago didn't they say there would be 18 million for infulstructure 8 million of which would go towards the town centre. The only people who seem to be against it are people who live on the outskirts of Wellingborough and probely shop in Kettering and Northampton and don't care about our town centre, its ok if you can afford or can drive have a thought for those who can do neither.
8

Kat Fiction,

Wellingborough 03/03/2010 19:26:01
The argument that 'These houses aren't for local people' did make me giggle a little. Has Wellingborough become isolationist?!?

It seems a bit of a Catch 22... noone will put the money into Wellingborough until there is more money in Wellingborough, and until they do then maybe the infrastructure to support the new development isn't going to be there.

It's nice to see P Hopkinson's comments about supporting the town centre, however given the location of the new development, unfortunately I think we'd just have another community that would prefer to make the trip to Kettering or Northampton. If you can afford to buy a house, you probably have a car.
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