The big planning applications in Northampton that were decided by councillors this week

Councillors met this week to determine a series of planning applications in Northampton.
The planning committee of Northampton Borough Council met at The Guildhall earlier this weekThe planning committee of Northampton Borough Council met at The Guildhall earlier this week
The planning committee of Northampton Borough Council met at The Guildhall earlier this week

The borough council’s planning committee convened at The Guildhall on Tuesday (December 17), and approved all but one of the 11 applications they heard. Here’s a rundown of their decisions.

APPROVED: Listed Building Consent Application for the installation of Wi-Fi around Abington Museum.

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Councillors started the meeting by quickly approving the installation of 20 Wi-Fi units and associated cabling throughout the museum’s ground floor and first floor. They were told the large number of units was due to the walls at the museum being thick.

APPROVED: Variation to outline planning permission for 3,000 homes at Dallington Grange, Mill Lane.

Members of the planning committee agreed to impose an additional condition on the outline planning permission requiring that the permanent diversion of a footpath is in place prior to occupation of any homes within the application site. The committee had previously agreed outline planning permission in principle for the Dallington Grange scheme in October 2018. It will include 3,000 homes, a local centre with food stall, employment land, restaurants and bars, three schools and the extension of the North West Bypass.

APPROVED: Change of use from house to children’s home at 30 Five Acres Fold.

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Applicants BTTLR Limited were applying for the change of use of the premises from a four-bedroom house to a children’s home for two children and with two full-time members of staff. The scheme had been ‘called in’ by Councillor Graham Walker, who said: “This is not in keeping with this very small cul-de-sac, there is no spare land for cars to park when dropping off children, there is a very fast highway just off this estate and it is not in keeping with the estate.”

Two neighbours spoke out against the application at the meeting. Representations from nearby residents included that noise would be ‘excessive’ in summer months and that their garden would be ‘overlooked by strangers’. They also said it would be ‘a commercial venture not in keeping with the residential status of the estate’.

But planning officers said: “The proposal would have no significant impact upon the character and appearance of the area, neighbour amenity and parking and highway safety.”

Councillors sided with the officers and duly approved the scheme.

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REFUSED: Change of use from house to a house in multiple occupancy (HMO) for four people and a single-storey rear extension at 15 Burns Street.

This was the first HMO application to fall foul of new borough council rules limiting the number of HMOs within a given area. Prior to this, the planning committee could reject an application if more than 15 per cent of buildings within a 50 metre radius were already HMOs. But that figure is now down to 10 per cent. The applicants of this scheme argued that they had submitted the scheme under the old guidelines. Pat Dooley, of Architcectural Solutions, argued that councillors should therefore approve it based on the old guidelines. He said the scheme had been deferred at the last planning meeting and that this was unfair on the applicants. His protest was in vain however, as members decided to refuse the scheme as 14 percent of buildings nearby were also HMOs.

OTHER HMO APPLICATIONS

The vast majority of the planning meeting concerned HMO applications. The aforementioned scheme at Burns Road was the only one that was refused, with the following applications all granted approval by the committee:

Change of use from HMO for five occupants to HMO for six occupants, including single storey rear extension, at 75 Ivy Road.

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Change of use from house to HMO for four occupants at 22 Bostock Avenue.

Change of use from house to HMO for nine occupants at 51 Axe Head Road.

Amendment to approved change of use from house to HMO for five occupants, now making it six occupants, including single-storey rear extension, at 85 Lea Road.

Change of use from house to HMO for five occupants at 125 Upper Thrift Street.

NORTHAMPTON PARTNERSHIP HOMES APPLICATIONS

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The planning committee also quickly approved two schemes from NPH. These were:

Installation of barrier to car park at rear of 38 – 54 Market Street

Erection of one new build bungalow with associated parking on land adjacent to 30 Brook Lane.