The STAUNCH Campaign have posted their official objection to the Castle Manor Farm development project proposed by Newlands Properties earlier this year. The documents are listed below. These will give the community a crucial insight into which particular issues are of the greatest concern.

As expected, a planning application for the Glebe Land site was recently submitted by IM Properties. STAUNCH are asking everyone in our community to submit a letter of objection to this plan at the earliest opportunity.  The official statutory window for neighbouring consultation closes this coming Friday. However, the Planning Consultant working on behalf of NNC has stated that he will continue to accept objections after this date owing to the complexities of the application. Even so, it is important for people to submit any initial objection letters as soon as possible.

It cannot be stated enough that this is not a done deal. Unlike other planning applications at places such as Weekley Hall Woods, none of the land at either the Glebe Land or Castle Manor Farm sites is “zoned for development”. The developers will have to make a very compelling case for why this should be overturned. That is in addition to all of the objections we can raise as a community.

Guidance

A number of people on social media have asked for guidance with their objections. As well as reading the documents below, you are also advised to look at the guidance posted for the Castle Manor Farm application a few months ago, here:

Key Areas of Concern

The key issues are exactly the same for both developments:

• 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).

Please note 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 the STAUNCH Campaign’s roles is to gather the important evidence required to support your objections. They 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 Glebe Land Development to be submitted by the 1st July.

Please send your objections to planning.enc@northnorthants.gov.uk with NE/22/00698/OUT in the subject line. Please include your name and address. These will not be made public.

You can also object online at the East Northants Planning Portal. Click the link below to view the current objections and documentation.

East Northamptonshire Website: Planning Application

Don’t forget every member of your household can object and you don’t even have to live the area to have a say.

STAUNCH Campaign Official Objection to the Castle Manor Farm plans

Note: Please use the documents for guidance but do not copy and paste chunks of text into your objections.