Villagers have 'considerable concerns' with plans to build 900 homes on countryside near Northampton

A village on the edge of Northampton has said it has “considerable concerns” with plans to build 900 homes on nearby countryside.

Developers Manor Oak Homes (MOH) plan on building 900 properties on land to the south and east of Grange Park.

The house builders held a public consultation at Quinton Village Hall on Wednesday, March 1 between and another at Foxfield Pavilion, Grange Park on Thursday, March 2.

A Manor Oaks Homes spokesman said: “Manor Oak Homes had a good turnout from the residents of Quinton.

"It was also well attended at Grange Park, with over 80 residents attending and providing us with very helpful comments on our proposals.

"We will be reviewing the feedback over the next two weeks (the deadline for comments is March 16) which will inform our proposals.”

According to MOH, the proposed development of up to 900 new homes, would comprise of 38 acres of public open space, a primary school, community centre, sports and other recreational facilities and retail services to secure a “new walkable and well-integrated extension to Northampton”.

The MOH spokesman added: “The proposals would create a vibrant sustainable community which meets the urgent need for a mix of market and affordable homes, as well as helping to address the current shortage in the five-year housing land supply for the Northampton Related Development Area.”

Concerns

A Quinton Parish Council spokesman said it has “considerable concerns” with the plans.

The spokesman said: “There are many aspects of the proposal over which we have considerable concerns. There were some robust challenges made by residents to Manor Oak Homes’ claims [at the public consultation].

"Some answers to questions posed to Manor Oak Homes representatives were vague, confusing and without substantial detail.”

Grange Park Parish Council has also been contacted for comment.

One Grange Park resident said: “Does the whole of the south of Northampton need to be concreted over? Are there not enough houses already? There are fundamental issues here about sustainability, traffic, schooling, the environment, etc.”

Background

In 2019, Manor Oak Homes proposed to build 300 homes on the site, but those plans were rejected on appeal by the now defunct South Northants Council.

The plans were rejected on the grounds that the proposal would result in “heavy reliance” on private car travel; the open countryside location was “inappropriate” for a large scale development; the site's proximity to the M1 would “place future residents and children attending the proposed primary school at risk of exposure to high levels of air and noise pollution”.

MOH then came back in February 2022 asking for opinions on plans to build 900 homes on the same bit of land. The developer said at the time it was planning on submitting an application to West Northamptonshire Council to ask for permission to build the first 330 homes of the 900 – that never happened however.

The latest chapter in this story is this week’s public consultation, with the deadline for comments being March 16. It remains to be seen when, or if, the developer will submit official plans.