Last house standing between Northampton village and industrial estate to be demolished

A farmhouse and the residential property, known as "Little Norway," off Lilliput Road, is to be knocked down to make way for two new warehouses in an expansion to the Brackmills industrial estate.

The construction work by developers Roxhill Developments Ltd will build over the last bit of green land between it and the nearby village of Great Houghton.

A planning application was submitted to Northampton Borough Council for minor changes to the warehouse plans marks the final stages before the development begins.

Phil Larratt, county councillor for Nene Valley, said: "Little Norway was one of the railway cottages and is wonderful piece of local heritage. We take great pride in our heritage in Northampton and now we're going to destroy that.

"This is just the pressure of developers. The site was going to go to Carlsberg but we managed to get them to reconsider. Now this new developer has stepped in to build on it.

"I'm not really happy about this development. It will encroach too much on the village of Great Houghton and a conservation area. That land was always the buffer between the village and Brackmills. Now we're going to lose it."

French sports retailer Decathlon want to build the two distribution warehouses that would total around 37,000 square metres.

The application was strongly opposed by Great Houghton parish council and residents when the plans were announced in 2016.

Writing in 2016, Atterbury Way resident John Sullivan, said: “The land in question has always been regarded as a buffer between Brackmills Industrial Estate and the village of Great Houghton and should remain so.

“There should be no development on this site let alone the huge warehouses proposed.”

Roxhill Developments say significant "bunding" will mitigate the impact of the scheme.

A consultation period will run until February 23.