First virtual meeting of borough council to decide on extensions to blocks of flats in Northampton

The borough council’s planning committee, which was the last committee to meet before the lockdown was announced in March, will meet at 5pm on Tuesday (May 12) – bringing to an end two months without a meeting.

Legislation has been amended by the government in order to allow councils to meet virtually, and members will discuss the latest planning applications from Northampton Partnership Homes (NPH), which manages the council’s own housing assets.

Schemes set to be discussed include adding an additional storey to two different blocks of flats in the towns – Dover Court at St James’ Road, and Woodstock at Billing Road.

The additional storey will add ten extra flats to each block, and both have been recommended for approval by planning officers at the authority.

The meeting is being held remotely, meaning councillors will have to use online technology to web stream the council’s meeting live for the first time in its history since it was formed in 1974. It will be streamed on a dedicated YouTube channel for members of the public to watch.

A second planning committee meeting is expected to be held in quick succession the following Tuesday (May 19).