Village's two-year fight to stop Northampton developer's plans to build 58 homes rumbles on

More than 100 residents have objected to plans to build 58 new homes in their village on the edge of Northampton.

In March 2022, Clayson Country Homes submitted an application to build new homes on greenfield land in Beech Lane, Kislingbury. Of the 58 properties proposed, 38 are to be first homes, nine would be open-market houses, and 11 would comprise affordable homes under alternative tenures, such as social rent, affordable rent, and shared ownership, according to plans.

The furore over the application has been rumbling on for two years now, with the latest chapter in this tale coming on Tuesday night (February 19) when Colin Clayson came face to face with Kislingbury residents at a parish council meeting.

Residents' wide-ranging concerns include the size of the scheme, an increased flooding risk, extra traffic, and more.

Kislingbury Parish Council said: “Mr Clayson seemed to think that Kislingbury residents are NIMBYs (not in my backyarders). This is far from the case. Kislingbury has an award-winning neighbourhood development plan which was voted in by the village as a whole. In the plan, we agreed that our appropriate contribution to local housing needs would be met by the development of 44 homes on the Pembleton estate. This has been built and is now part of the village.

"Mr Clayson appeared to think that the village has not been flooded since a river bund was built after the flood of 1998. In fact, flooding in parts of the village is an ongoing concern. Mr Clayson’s assumption that water will run off as predicted by his experts seems, at best, naive.

"Traffic is already excessive through the village in general and on these two lanes in particular and would be significantly worsened by an extra 100 vehicles linked to the 58 homes.

“Mr Clayson laid great stress on ‘experts’ being able to provide solutions to the problems identified. It was pointed out that the room also contained many other ‘experts’ who do know the village intimately and the issues it faces.

“This was all very well summed up by one villager’s comment, ‘This is the wrong development in the wrong place’.”

Mr Clayson responded saying the scheme will deliver much-needed housing in the area for first-time buyers and families looking to access ‘affordable’ housing in the village.

He said: “The majority of their concerns were around flooding on the site and its immediate location together with issues of highway safety in the area.

“I can confirm that the application site is not within the floodplain in Kislingbury. The Lead Local Flood Authority has no objection to the proposed application on flood risk grounds. There is also no objection to the application from the local highway authority at West Northamptonshire Council (WNC).

"Twenty-six plots of the 58 proposed plots will be delivered under the Central Government’s First Time Homes policy for starter homes and 14 plots as traditional affordable housing. The First Time Homes policy delivers private sale properties discounted by 30 percent of open-market value with the maximum value capped at £250k.

“In summary, this application, if approved, will deliver access for families and first-time buyers to much-needed starter homes and affordable housing in the area.”