The Castle Manor Farm development is not a done deal! Your views are important and will count.

Submit your objections to the Castle Manor Farm Development by the 12th March

In our last Bulletin, we provided some advice as to how residents may wish to approach letters of objection against the planning application for warehouse development on Castle Manor Farm. Members of STAUNCH have since been busy examining the application in detail and identifying key areas for concern.

Many residents of Titchmarsh, Thrapston, and the wider Upper Nene Valley have been in contact with STAUNCH raising their concerns that the sheer number of documents that have been submitted by the developers is making it impossible to review. In many cases, it has been highlighted that the technical data and terminology used are not something they should be expected to understand.

We want to reassure you that no planning department expects local communities to possess detailed planning knowledge. The planning authority however welcome the submission of the concerns of residents and other stakeholders so these can be considered alongside the application itself. They can then be taken into account by the planners when they make their recommendations to the North Northants Strategic Planning Committee who will be determining the outcome of the application.

One of our roles at STAUNCH will be to use gather the important evidence required to support your objections. We will be underpinning this where necessary with specialist consultants’ advice and legal representation.

The priority at this stage is for as many objections as possible against the Castle Farm Development to be submitted by the 12th March.

The key areas for concern that have been identified to us at present include:

• This site is not allocated for strategic warehousing development in the approved Local Plan or the Joint Core Strategy for this area. To grant permission for this development would make a mockery of the democratic process that was undertaken when identifying areas for development in East Northamptonshire
• The risk of increased flooding to Titchmarsh and Thrapston from groundwater run-off.
• The irreparable damage to the environment and wildlife.
• The increased congestion to the A605 and surrounding roads, which are already struggling to cope with existing traffic levels.
• Noise and light pollution from the proposed site.
• The lack of local employment supply to fulfil the number of jobs proposed by the developers.
• The potential impact on the local Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) (Thrapston Lakes and Titchmarsh Nature Reserve).

In formulating your objections, wherever possible, try and support them with any personal experiences that you may have had to include any documentation or photographic evidence you may have access to.

The initial deadline that has been set for the submission of objections will not be the end of the matter. STAUNCH have been assured that any evidence or information submitted to the planning officer will be taken into consideration (as detailed below).

“For the current Newlands Developments planning application for Land to the East of Halden’s Parkway (NE/22/0151/FUL), we would expect the main consultation responses to be with us by the deadline of 12th March 2022. However, there is scope (within reason) for submitting additional new information as ‘Late Representations’ in the run-up up to the committee. These will be reported to the committee on the ‘Late Letters’ report, or verbally at the meeting if they are very late”

So how should I word my letter of objection?

Anyone can comment on planning applications. However, it is imperative that when your representations are made to the Council that the correct procedures are followed and that any objections raised relate only to ‘material planning considerations’.

The most common material considerations (although not an exhaustive list) include:

• Visual amenity (but not loss of private views)
• Highway safety
• Traffic generation
• Noise and disturbance resulting from the use
• Effect on listed buildings and conservation area
• Layout and density of the buildings and conservation area
• Landscaping
• Road access
• Local, strategic, regional, and national policies
• Nature conservation
• Archaeology

You should be aware though that planning decisions cannot consider matters you may think are important, but are not material considerations, such as:

• The perceived loss of property value
• The loss of view
• The impact of construction work
• Personal morals or views about the applicant

It is important to understand that the material considerations relevant to an application will need to be weighed in the final decision process according to their seriousness and relative importance.

It is important that if you live in a household with more than one person. Please make sure you all submit your own objections and that you do NOT submit a joint one. Numbers count!

In addition, there are a few other important points to consider:

• Do not copy and paste objections. Objections copied and pasted or are found to be very similar to each other will be ignored in a similar way. Everyone objecting should use their own words to describe the reasons the development should not go ahead.
• Do not include information about the applicant, even if you believe it is relevant.
• Do not include speculation on future events such as future developments of the site as these will be ignored. Only details relating to the current proposed development will be considered. Please remember that this application only refers to the Castle Farm site and therefore your objections should not focus on the other potential Glebe land development. However, the potential cumulative damaging impacts of two massive warehousing sites can be relevant.

A useful document in assisting you to raise your objections can be found

on the CPRE website. www.cpre.org.uk/resources/how-respond-to-planning-applications

Finally, let your local politicians know your thoughts and concerns directly. Below are the most relevant contact details:

Contact details for all our 78 elected North Northants Councillors can be found at https://northnorthants.moderngov.co.uk/mgMemberIndex

“I’m determined to bring increased prosperity to the council area while at the same time ensuring we keep the vulnerable safe, protect the environment and ensure that the quality of people’s lives continues to improve.”

Jason Smithers, Leader of North orthants Council 2021

If you require any other information or assistance, then please contact us at info@staunchcampaign.org.