Regeneration row is key to election
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THE OPENING salvos of the local elections were fired at the Guildhall, last night, with the battle lines drawn over how Northampton should be regenerated.
During a tense meeting of the borough council, the leader of the opposition, Councillor David Palethorpe (Con, Billing) and the council’s cabinet member for regeneration, Councillor Richard Church (Lib Dem, Kingthsorpe) clashed a number of times on whether the town centre should be protected from out-of-town developments or retail schemes such as those planned by Asda next to Franklin’s Gardens should be encouraged.
In an attack on the Liberal Democrat leaderships of the council’s town-centre first policy, Councillor Palethorpe said: “A town-centre-first policy to the exclusion of everything else just turns away investment and employment. We should say ‘Northampton is open for business’.
“I can’t see any reason why we can’t have progress out-of-town as well as the town centre regeneration.”
In response, Councillor Church said out-of-town expansion plans such as those suggested by Tesco, the Saints and the Cobblers must be judged to see if they would harm the town.
He said: “We’re not pursuing the town-centre-first policy to the exclusion of everything else.
“We’ll support development outside the town centre if we can be satisfied it will not impact on the vitality of the town centre.
“That’s national policy and it’s a key priority of this council to protect jobs and attract investment to the town, and we’ll continue to do that.
“The Conservatives are saying the best interest of Northampton is to support out-of-town development and we’ll see how many people agree with that in the election in May.”
As the row intensified, Councillor Palethorpe added: “It should be a local choice about how we develop our town, not a diktat from Parliament and if that puts me at odds with the Government that’s what we’ll do. We’ll support what’s best for Northampton.”
The row suggests long-running argument over redevelopment plans at Sixfields, Franklin’s Gardens and the Grosvenor Centre are likely to be key in the build-up to the May 5 election.
A display of the latest plans for the Grosvenor Centre regeneration will be at the centre on Friday and Saturday.
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Comments
There are 12 comments to this article
Page 1 of 1
HOS
Thursday, March 17, 2011 at 12:09 AMThere has been no out of town retail development in years and the Chron is full of news regarding developments being turned down or delayed to the point of abandonment. There has been a policy of denying all or any out of town development !
Common sense
Tuesday, March 15, 2011 at 10:24 PMThe Local Goverment officers and staff are not elected nor are they the ones trying to be elected in May--only self interested egos who have over the years here in Northampton Town and County have retarded the place by comparision to all those Counties that surround us. As for Council Taxes --its simple--if we want the best services we need to pay for it--it isn't rocket science.
TheCount
Tuesday, March 15, 2011 at 04:36 PMCommon Sense - does this sensible management of our money including allowing a cheif exec to be paid £150K+ then come out with a ridiculously stupid statement that it's okay as it's just 82p ( or something like that ) per person. I still would like my 82p back off her as I dont think she is worth it.
HrolfK
Tuesday, March 15, 2011 at 03:16 PMActually Common Sense, they can give planning permission contrary to government policy, and often do. But if they were to refuse an application against government policy the developer would take it further and have it passed anyway. Meanwhile, the Conservatives and Lib Dems are both showing how incompetent they are in dealing with the issue. The Lib Dems high-handed superiority makes a quite simple policy that wouldn't stop most planned developments sound like a choke around the towns neck. The Conservatives are adopting their usual bluster, and are apparently on the side of locals wanting to stop development near them AND the developers who want it. There are words for people like that. The local Labour party decided to destroy itself years ago, so let's hope there's some half-sane independents standing.
Common sense
Tuesday, March 15, 2011 at 02:40 PMThe Conservative councillors telling the public they will overlook Government Planning Policy in defiance of the Government are frankly telling lies to the public. The Planning Authority cannot grant Planning Permission if its contrary the Government Policy. They must think we are all idiots. As for change, which is ususally not a bad thing, but remember the Lib Dems have ,managed NBC fairly well financially something Labour and the Conservatives failed to do over many years in office.NCC.is run by the Conservatives and its a financial basket case. Change could have a heavy financial price to pay.
TheCount
Tuesday, March 15, 2011 at 01:02 PMChris from St. James - It is definitely time for a change,but I fear we will swap one set of self serrving idiots for another set !!! Is it time to get rid of Councillor Choudrey ?
Chris from St. James
Tuesday, March 15, 2011 at 11:31 AMRichard Church once again ignoring the facts that have been laid out before him. An independent piece if research has already been carried out (commissioned by Tesco no less in relation to the Barrack Road site), and contrary to the Lib Dems regular line of "it's harmful to town centre", it in fact revealed it would not harm and potentially benefit trade in NN1. Richard Church is an arrogant g** who's looking after number 1 only. We are not Milton Keynes, so let's stop pretending we are. Northampton needs Extensive redevelopment, not intensive pandering to Legal and General who sold our town centre down the river at the turn of the millennium. Walk into town now and it's a ghetto. A few fancy lights and a fountain (how much did that cost, BTW?) won't change that. Roll on May 5th. Getting shot of Richard Church and his imbeciles will be the best thing to ever happen in this town.
TheCount
Tuesday, March 15, 2011 at 10:32 AMVote for a change or for none of the above. None of them do a good job, they are all a waste of time.
lady muck
Tuesday, March 15, 2011 at 10:14 AMDamocles...well, the L & G own the key site and there's not much we can do about it...they have us by the wotsits. Developing the town centre would be good, but the fact is that it is too late to provide something like MK.
Damocles
Tuesday, March 15, 2011 at 09:54 AMOne has to start to think why legal and general seem to being so favoured ?
Ryan S
Tuesday, March 15, 2011 at 09:09 AMWords. I have great doubts that the Conservatives will go against their own partys national policys despite what they are saying.
Chrispy1
Tuesday, March 15, 2011 at 08:53 AMThis "town centre first" idea has resulted in every commercial enterprise being turned down (or not even applied for)...Ikea, Sixfields, Franklin's Gardens etc. The only people it has benefited is Legal & General because they continue to face no competition for their poxy Grosvenor Centre, and therefore haven't had to spend a penny on it in the last 11 years.
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