Northamptonshire village fights 150-home plan two weeks after failed bid
A RESIDENTS’ group said it will campaign against proposals for new housing after Barratt Homes revealed more plans to build 150 properties in Brixworth.
The developer held a public consultation to discuss its plans at Brixworth Library in Spratton Road yesterday.
It comes just two weeks after a development of the same size by Carter Jonas was thrown out by councillors, who rejected the planning application.
Ian Young, development director at Barratt Homes, said yesterday: “Daventry district needs more homes to meet its housing requirement. We think that this extension to Brixworth is more logical than anything else we have seen.”
Members of the Brixworth Residents Against New Estates group (BRANE) attended the consultation and Bob Chattaway, a former Brixworth parish councillor, who resigned to form the group, said: “The proposals show the development would be outside of the village and would place the same strain on facilities and roads as the previous one we campaigned against did.”
He added: “The facilities in the village are already stretched as it is and with the 1,000 new homes that have been passed for the Buckton Fields development nearby, we can’t take any more.”
The Barratt Homes proposals are for 150 new family homes on land near the A508 and to the east of Northampton Road, next to a series of allotments, which would remain in the development.
The proposals state that Barratt Homes is looking to develop a site featuring a mix of accommodation, including affordable housing, and show the new estate would be accessed via a single point off Northampton road with pedestrian links through the site to connect into existing public footpaths to the north.
Mr Young said Barratt Homes would look to make village centre improvements including increased car parking, provide funding for improvements to the medical centre and primary school and make contribution to the improved bus service into Northampton.
The proposals show the development would include open space, play equipment, an extension to the allotments and allotment holders would have access to the mains water supply and a new car park.
They come only two weeks after plans to build a new housing estate in the south west of the village were rejected by Daventry District Council’s planning committee.
Around 3,000 people signed a petition against the proposal and BRANE led an eight month campaign against it.
Mr Chattaway said: “We are not in support of these new proposals and will take our campaign as far as the previous one if needed.
“Our petition had more than 3,000 signatures of people against not just the previous development, but any development in or around Brixworth without support for infrastructure.”
Mr Young said Barratt Homes would look to submit a planning application to the committee by the end of next month.
Residents are invited to a second day of the consultation at the library today from 9.30am to 1.30pm.
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Comments
There are 35 comments to this article
Page 1 of 3
tish
Friday, January 27, 2012 at 01:32 AMPlease please build some affordable houses on the old Bective shoe works, its not a greenfield site and is close to all amenities, lots of shops, schools doctors etc and only a few minutes from the countryside, the only drawback is the developers want to screw every last penny out of the site , 400 student bedsits at £400.00 a month each in rent against building some nice little family homes is a no brainer. The developers will only go where there is the most profit so if the government is serious about addressing the housing shortage they should compulsory purchase brownfield land that has lain empty for years and build on that first
Tom Paine
Thursday, January 26, 2012 at 12:43 PMLADDY MUCK that is a totally dishonest way to argue a point. You simply cannot ascribe to other people (obviously those who don't agree with YOUR views) totally fabricated motives. To suggest that the opponents of yet more expansion in Brixworth are only interested in their own finances is not only false - it's a shallow and pathetic smear. You have no evidence - or right - to make some a silly claim. Other schools have porta-cabins !! ?? SO what ??? What's your point ? My point was - until they deliver what was promsied - and the infrastructure improves - more housing would further damge our quality of life. During the several major redevelopments of Brixworh - none of the promsied improvements materialsied - apart from one - the totally useless "spine road " - that only took about 4 years to appear after the hosues were finished ! Are you really saying that the people who live in an area are not allowed any say in the development of that area ? that the politicians know best ?? Blimey - welcome to North Korea. Am I not alloed to demand some protection of my quality of life. ?Your argument seems to be that your area has poor schools - so we have to come DOWN to the same level ? get a grip ! KINGSTHORPE CHAP - apart from posting abusive nonesense - you now want the villagers of Brixworth - who make up BRANE - to find the housing solutions for the rest of the country .? What a hopeless argument. Why are the locals of Brixworth supposed to offer an alternative ? We know our village - that's all we claim to do. Bizarre and mind numbing comment from you - as usual. So each time you object to somehting - you come up with a ready made alternative ? yeah right . Neither of you seem to be able to argue the facts - without snearing. if you do not have the ability to see someone elses' point of view - i suggest you both refrain from posting silly snide remarks.
robbie malton
Wednesday, January 25, 2012 at 06:39 PMlady muck. Please explain why you think the infrastructure is in place. You have also ignored my comment about other peoples wishes. Also, as a resident of what was known as Favell Green (now part of Abington Vale) since the seventies, the allotments in that area have remained relatively untouched unless you are talking about the housing on the other side of Billing Road and McLean Close (off Bridgewater Drive) , most of which was poor quality land and had virtually no impact on the residents of Abington Vale. There was also the regular petition to prevent travellers staying on the little park (the green) which has resulted in the relatively tasteful posts surrounding it. I do hope you didn't sign any petitions!
lady muck
Wednesday, January 25, 2012 at 08:54 AMrobbie malton...I'm not totally unsympathetic to Brixworthites....I nearly bought a house there in the 70's, but actually moved to Abington Vale, from where I have watched several large estates built on orchards, allotments etc I had always supposed that Brixworth would be more extensively developed and presume the 'locals' would also have known what was coming. In fact it was travelling time to town and work that swayed me against a Brixworth house. If I lived there now, I would probably object on the grounds of the increased traffic, but I can't accept the arguments about the lack of infrastructure.
Common sense
Tuesday, January 24, 2012 at 07:15 PMIn another article today in the Chron Northampton is a good place to find work, it also says we have too few people with education qualifications, one of the lowest weekly wages, and one of the lowest house prices by comparision to other Cities (places defined by population not Titles) . it also says we are not building enough houses and our population isn't growing gfast enough again by comparision to other places. Much of which I agree with. *Affordable housing * is a term used when a Developer and or a Council subsidises the cost of a house for sale or rent. Without building houses for sale at normal or market values there would be no so called affordable houses. Northampton is not an affluent area as can be gleaned for the tthread of the topics here but that gives the place a great opportunity to improve the lives of all its citizens. if the Councils involved get the enterprize Zones up and running and attract the right sorts of businersses then more nad better paid jobs will be on offer. If NCC conyinues its improvement in Education and the University improves its standing nationally then future generations will get better jobs , earn more money and can be aspirational and get on in life and improve their lot. Just taking natural growth (deaths and births) in population means that this area needs more houses for the future--more even that the last Government suggested .If then you add new people coming into Northampton --as a result of the success of the Enterprise Zone, NCC's sales pitch to European Markets and an uptake in the Economy mush needed and desired then we need more houses to accomadate this success. All of our citizens will benefit.
MrPowell
Tuesday, January 24, 2012 at 03:59 PMLady Muck-If only it were. The vast majority of people who live in Brixworth are no different from anywhere else.We couldn't afford our own homes if we had to buy them now.And since prices are nowhere near as high as they were a while back, we have all suffered from a drop in value, such that it would make it difficult to afford anywhere else. We're mostly not interested in value since we have no intention of moving. I think trying to turn this debate into them and us, or town v rural or rich v poor is unhelpful and a bit pointless. I personally would feel the same if I lived in a part of Northampton or any of the surrounding towns and villages if someone had made a proposal to blight our lives. As stated before there are plenty or properties always available to buy or rent in Brixworth, just come and look at the boards.It is gratifying to know that apparently so many people would like to live here.
robbie malton
Tuesday, January 24, 2012 at 03:28 PMTony's comments seem to be the only one's that would keep most people happy. They are only brown field for the initial period. Northampton is too big for it's infrastructure already and so are a lot of the villages. lady muck. You and I probably both live in town as a preference but I don't see why other people have too. Their wishes should be respected as well as yoursmine. I certainly object to the building on both allotments and school playing fields if they are in use. Should first time buyers not want to live on brown field sites then just how desperate are they? Despite people objecting and burying their heads in the sand, over-immigration is still a major player in this.
lady muck
Tuesday, January 24, 2012 at 02:20 PMTom Paine..regret to advise that many schools in town have portakabins and many doctors' and dentists are over-subscribed. Of course the brownfield sites should be developed, but not every new houseowner wants to live there...many would like to live in Brixworth and other villages. Just can't get this feeling that it's all about protecting the village property prices......
MrPowell
Tuesday, January 24, 2012 at 01:54 PMKingsthorpe Chap- A suitable place for any development of affordable houses would be : 1-On a main route into town where public transport runs regularly, 2-Somewhere near a school that is not full, 3- A brownfield site where development would be welcomed and not contentious.I can think of lots of others. One big problem is that developers are not content to build a small number of affordable homes, unless they can accompany them with a huge number of relatively expensive "family" homes that hardly anyone can afford. Another problem that no-one seems to want to address is the fact that we keep being told we are to experience a 20% increas in the population within the next 20-30 years.How many people actually accept that this has to happen ? More importantly why must it happen ? Any discussion on that subject seems to be considered politically incorrect.
MrPowell
Tuesday, January 24, 2012 at 01:42 PMKingsthorpe Chap-Most of the proposed houses in the two recent applications are for substantial properties which would cost the same or more than the majority of houses already available in Brixworth, therefore young and less well off famililies would have no chance of buying them. Of the 100+ dwellings built in the last few years, most have been " affordable " and some were actually appropriated by a Housing Association because the developer couldn't sell them.So more than enough have been provided by this locality to meet a fair share of the apparent need for affordable housing. Interestingly, most of the more recent development, the one on the site where the school could have expanded, seem to have been taken up by people who previously had no connection with the area.
Kingsthorpe Chap
Tuesday, January 24, 2012 at 11:49 AMA question to BRANE where do they think would be a suitable place to housing affordable housing which is needed its ok saying Brixworth doesn't want it. What is the altnernative to this situation
Common sense
Tuesday, January 24, 2012 at 10:43 AMThere is no "Green Belt" in Northamptonshire officially--just green fields-a subtle but important difference. Daventry Councillors have been unwilling (as is NBC) to confront necessary ,but politically unpalatable, development in their areas. Daventry like all Councils has an obligation to identify a 5 year housing land supply but at last records show Daventry identified less than 2 years. All everyone needs is clarity.One thing that I do agree with is that land within Northampton Borough should be allocated first as it is an urban area and more capable of dealing with growing numbers. Barratt should never be granted Planning Permissio again in Northamptonshire having reneged on its deal to buy the County Council old school sites.
Wiccan
Tuesday, January 24, 2012 at 10:23 AMThe UK Population is currently growing by approximately 0.7% per annum. Based on this our Villages, Towns and Cities must expand to accommodate. We can’t put our heads in the sand and expect every other community to do our bit! Also I don’t understand this BRANE statement “Brixworth is full”. Brixworth won’t be full if it’s made bigger!
Tom Paine
Tuesday, January 24, 2012 at 08:56 AM" suspect BRANE (brainless ridiculous archaic nobodies 'e'united) comprises of a mixture of old fogies with nothing better to do and pushy parents who were happy to cram their own kids into the school when it suited them. Either way, get a grip... Report Unsuitable Thats the type of brainless remark the oppostion come up with You are right - we have had to CRAM our kids into a very small school - so pardon the hell out of me - if I want my kids to get the edcuation I paid for !!! I made my point about the school - they had a vacant plot next to the school - they crammed some more hosues on them - not a thought of extending the school facilities - stuff the kids - let's make money Lady Muck - developers ALWAYS promise lots - to get planning permission then renege - we have been promised playing fields - a new school once I recall !! - but they never materialise. Nothing in what has been promised will help alleviate the affect of another 300 + people.
Tom Paine
Tuesday, January 24, 2012 at 08:49 AMLazy minds can only ever say "NIMBY" - the kneee jerk reaction of someone who has no knowledge - and is so lazy they cannot discuss the facts. One person says Brixworth has three pubs and they will go - and the village will die - rubbish - for your information the village has had three pubs for over 25 years ! If we don't fight our corner for our locality - developers will walk all over the green belt and the countryside. Who is going to protect the towns and villages from unbridled building schemes - unless it is the people who live there ? But when we do - people who live outside the area all cry "NIMBY" Brixworth villagers have been bombarded with planning applications almost every other year since I moved here - 25 years ago - many went through and only recently are some being rejected . Brixworth has more than doubled its population in the last 15 years - a massive 500 house development was built 45 years ago - and since then several "affordable" housing schemes ( all sold to housing associations) have been built. BUT - we still have porta-cabins in the school playground - still half a dozen shops - still 3 doctors (now and again) There are other solutions - but of course they require a bigger picture to be viewed - typical UK - stick a plaster on the problem instead of looking at the causes of a problem. But that's an argument for another day . Until we get better roads, schools, medical services, shops etc.., NO I don't want any more building in my back yard thanks - just to line the pockets of property developers.
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