132 homes on former Northampton school site set for outline approval

Northamptonshire County Council has applied to build the dwellings where Parklands Middle School used to stand, but needs Northampton Borough councillors to grant the scheme outline planning permission next Tuesday (January 22).

The main school buildings were demolished in 2011 following the vacation of the site by Northampton School for Girls in 2008, with only hardstanding, foundations, the former caretaker’s bungalow and a small number of trees remaining on the eastern part of the site.

The coppice to the north of the site, which is on Devon Way, remains and the playing fields are currently overgrown.

The current application is with all matters reserved except for the access roads. This means that if the application were to be approved, a subsequent application would need to be submitted to the borough council in order to agree the landscaping, scale, appearance and layout of the development.

No statutory bodies have opposed the application, but it has been called in by cabinet member Councillor Mike Hallam, who has concerns over traffic and highways. There have also been 125 objections from residents, with worries ranging from the loss of open space to what would effectively be a merger between Parklands and Kingsthorpe.

Planning officers have recommended that the scheme is given outline planning approval, but it is subject to a number of conditions. These include a pledge for 35 per cent on-site affordable housing, and section 106 payment towards primary school education, healthcare facilities and highway signal improvements at the A5123 Kettering Road, Broadmead Avenue, the A5101 Park Avenue, Kenmuir Avenue junction.