Plans to build 20 'high-quality' flats on land next to freemasons club in Northampton recommended for approval

Councillors are set to decide next week whether plans for 20 flats next to Northampton's Masonic Club should finally get the green light.

The proposal, on land off Harlestone Road in Duston, was first submitted by Barry Howard Homes in November 2020 but has yet to be determined almost six years later.

Since then, the scheme has been taken on by Watermeadow Homes, a company which previously listed Barry Howard as a director before he stepped down.

West Northamptonshire Council planning officers are recommending the application for approval when it goes before the authority's non-strategic planning committee on Thursday June 18.

The development would see a three-storey block containing 20 apartments built on vacant land between Harlestone Road and the Lodge Farm industrial estate.

The site sits next to Shire Lodge Masonic Club, home to several local Freemasons' lodges and a venue used for meetings and events.

Plans include nine one-bedroom flats, 11 two-bedroom flats and seven affordable homes. The scheme would also include parking, cycle storage, communal gardens and a new access road from Harlestone Road.

Planning documents show the site was previously earmarked for an 80-bed care home, but developers later concluded the scheme was not viable and instead pursued a residential development.

In planning documents, the developer said: "The design aims at creating connections with the residential development across Harlestone Road whilst protecting the proposed building from negative influence of immediate industrial surrounding.

"Designing a sense of place and quality of life for potential residents has been the aim from the outset, as well as developing a scheme that fits comfortably into the urban grain.

“The arrangement of building layout has been designed to create a sense of community by providing shared gardens and communal areas, where all can relax and socialise in a secure and peaceful environment, enclosed and overlooked by the residential “wings”.”

The developer added: "The overall appearance of the development is designed to be of the highest quality.”

Documents submitted with the application say the new entrance from Harlestone Road would help better connect the site with nearby homes opposite, while existing trees and hedgerows would be retained where possible and supplemented with further planting to help screen residents from neighbouring businesses.

Earlier proposals for up to 40 homes on the site were reduced after discussions with highways officers, who considered 20 apartments to be the maximum level of development suitable from a single access onto Harlestone Road.

Three objections have been submitted by residents, with concerns raised about traffic, drainage, pressure on local services, the loss of trees and the impact on wildlife.

Despite those concerns, planning officers say the benefits of providing new homes, including affordable housing, outweigh any harm and have recommended that permission is granted.