Grave concerns over proposed changes to Northampton Gateway planning backed by MP

A ‘non-material change’ to the originally agreed DCO for the Rail Freight Interchange Project in Northampton has left residents fuming and now has a written response from Andrea Leadsom MP, to the planning inspectorate.

The original plans had stated the rail network links would need to be up and running before the occupation of any warehouses. The new proposal made under a ‘non-material’ application is requesting up to 80 percent of these warehouses can be occupied before the rail network is available, which has left the residents in the area fuming with the prospect of these warehouses no being road-fed.

Dame Andrea Leadsom said in her letter, which has been publicly published: “My constituents and I profoundly disagree that this should be defined as non material, and urge you to require the developer to adhere to the original instruction as per the original DCO.

“Our local area finds itself at risk of overdevelopment, traffic problems, air quality and noise pollution with major infrastructure projects like HS2, the Towcester Relief Road and improvements to the A5 all happening at once. The cumulative impact of any additional road traffic due to a change in this DCO has not been considered.”

Blisworth Parish Council has already appealed to the community to write individually to Dame Andrea Leadsom and the planning inspectorate to try to stop this change from happening. A public meeting was held to inform residents of the proposed changes, which was also attended by other villages in the area who had wanted to voice their own objections. Details on this and how to write a letter to support the concerns, can be found here here.

Dame Andrea Leadsom added: “It is clear that if the change is granted, a devastating precedent will be set, making It highly likely that other rail terminal projects could apply for similar changes, encouraging further overdevelopment in other areas that find themselves at risk from unsuitable warehousing projects.”

You can read Dame Leadsom’s full response on here website here.