Just when you thought the A508 in Northampton couldn't take any more traffic - a 110 homes plan is submitted

Gladman Developments Limited wants to build the houses and a 200 sq metre supermarket on land off Holly Lodge Drive in Boughton.

The developers say 35 per cent of the properties will be affordable housing and the plan also promises informal public open space and a children’s play area.

However Gladman’s consultation exercise revealed Boughton Parish Council, nearby residents and Northampton North MP Michael Ellis had strong reservations against the scheme.

Mr Ellis said that the build would eventually lead to around 220 extra cars using the A508 through Kingsthorpe.

“This is a stretch of road already at breaking point,” he said. “With queues on the A508 at rush hour stretching all the way back to Brixworth village.

“An extra 220 cars coming through this junction could add a substantial amount of time to existing commuters.”

The pressure facing the A508 corridor through Northampton has been well documented in recent weeks.

A separate development on nearby Buckton Fields will add 1,000 homes to the busy stretch.

Recent temporary traffic lights placed on the A508 to service that development created lengthy tailbacks through last week and added more than an hour on to some drivers’ morning commute.

Also last week, it was revealed a potential solution to the A508 traffic misery, in the form of a north-west bypass and orbital road for Northampton, would not begin until 2018 at the earliest. That would only be if funding could be found.

On top of that a further 3,000 homes are likely to be built north of Northampton town centre in the next decade as part of the Kings Heath Sustainable Urban Extension and the current University of Northampton campus on Boughton Green Road is to become a housing estate once the university vacates the site.

But in response Gladman’s own traffic impact assessment claims the homes and supermarket will have “no material impact on the operational performance of the highway network.”

A planning statement submitted with the application says: “The application will also support improvements, which can be undertaken within the transport network that, cost effectively, limit any significant impacts from the development. This would likely be through a financial contribution via a section 106 agreement with the County Council.”

The plan will be decided by planning officers at Daventry District Council, rather than Northampton Borough Council, due to the way the authority borders are drawn.