Major employment hub which would have brought 500 jobs to Northamptonshire REJECTED by council following 570 complaints
A new mixed-use industrial site proposed near the Silverstone race track has been rejected by the council, following almost 570 objections submitted by the public.
Clowes Developments applied to West Northamptonshire Council (WNC) for permission to create the new development on greenfield land at Shacks Barn Farm, immediately to the east of the existing Silverstone Business Park.
According to an indicative masterplan, the site could have been split up into as many as 24 units with a range of uses from offices, general industrial and storage and distribution, at a total floorspace of 35,849sqm.
Illustrative plans say the heights of the buildings would be between 9.5m and 16m tall, however the exact layout and type of each unit were not directly allocated within the outline plans.
A report, which went to the authority’s strategic planning committee on Wednesday October 21, advised members to approve the employment site.
The panel reached a different view after listening to evidence from the planning officer and a number of public speakers in objection to the development.
Sebastian Charles, a solicitor who said he was representing a number of local residents, told members that the development had been “hijacked” by large warehouses and that the original allocation for the development was meant for small units and local businesses.
Local resident Karen Lockton added: “You already know that the visual impact will be unacceptable, you already know that the site has no hope for sustainable access. Warehouses bring the wrong sort of employment for the area and will not bring an economic boost to the region.
“To let this go through will be unforgivable. The [Silverstone 2035 vision] is where we should be aiming, not at dystopian low-grade warehousing.”
West Northants Cllr Ian McCord also appealed to fellow councillors to reject the plans, pointing to constraints with pedestrian and cycle access to the site, with no clear solution at this stage, and traffic changes.
According to the allocated policy for development on this land, there must be provision of new footpaths and cycleways that link to existing networks and good accessibility to public transport services. WNC Highways reported that there is a limit on what may be possible to achieve on this and requested that a proper scheme be submitted and approved as a condition, after the site gets full approval.
Cllr McCord said: “Do not put faith in the conditions, as we know this council’s record on enforcement is woeful.
“How has such a shonky application made it to committee? This proposal has no merit, it’s flawed, non-compliant and indefensible.”
Hundreds of objections were also received from members of the public during the consultation process for the plans. This included concerns with increased traffic on local roads, the scale and size of the buildings, impacts on wildlife, and no need for the additional jobs created in the area.
Ross Middleton, who spoke on behalf of Clowes Developments, said: “What you are delivering is a site that the council itself has planned for, tested and has allocated.
“The market evidence shows exceptionally strong demand in this area. This proposal is fundamental to the future success of the West Northamptonshire economy.
“It will trigger significant private investment, generate a significant number of jobs, provide flexible modern floor space, generate business rate returns and also fund skills training, public transport and biodiversity improvements.”
The project was forecast to generate about 500 full-time jobs at the employment park, with the construction representing an investment of more than £40m.
- Planning officers told members that all of the proposed units sat firmly within the small and medium size grouping and that the site allocation policy that was previously approved did expressly allow warehouse and storage use on the site.
After indicating that they were not supportive of the plans, planning officers advised members that the “most defendable” reason for refusal would be councillors’ concerns about the enforceability of the condition that requires the footpath and cycleway links to be completed post permission.
The committee voted to refuse the employment hub plans, with 10 against the development and one abstention.