Towcester warehouses approved
It's despite numerous objections
Permission has been granted to build two large warehouses on a proposed employment site near a Northamptonshire town, despite receiving over 100 objections from local residents.
The project, which will be known as Towcester Park, was given outline approval in 2022 for 45 acres of new employment space for small to medium-sized enterprises. The site is located to the north of Towcester, above the A43 bypass, and already has permission to create a new roundabout to help traffic filter into the site.
Applicant IM Properties was given detailed permission by West Northamptonshire Council on Tuesday (March 18) to build two buildings on the green space, though many members voiced their concerns about the impact of the rural area.
In the first plot directly next to the new A43 roundabout, the metal cladding building would have nearly 15,000 sqm floorspace and a height of 15.5m. Another larger building next to Tiffield Road, also known as Donkey Lane, totalling a height of 21 metres and a 43,500sqm floorspace has also been given the green light.
The height and size of the buildings all fall within the maximum limits identified for the plans when it was given outline approval in 2022.
‘Towcester is changing’
Addressing councillors at the planning committee meeting, co-founder of the campaign group Save Towcester Now (STN) Louise Croft argued against the”colossal” buildings: “These parameter measurements are maximums they are not targets. It is a classic example of the developer pushing the boundaries to the absolute limit.
“It seems the developer wants this at any cost to local people. You must protect us now. Towcester is changing- if this goes ahead it will be for the worse.”
Other objections were noted by members of the public who commented on the grey colour-banding of the units standing out against the rural landscape, concerns over the need for the site in the area, and the removal of a public bridleway running through the land. Planning officers told members that the stopping of the SB32 bridleway has been referred to the secretary of state for determination and should not inform their assessment of the plans.
David Smith, director of planning and communities at IM Properties, told members: “Towcester is changing and in bringing this scheme forward we’ve worked really hard to minimise the impact of the development at this allocated site. Our aim has always been to deliver a high-quality, landscape-led commercial development that meets the future employment needs of West Northamptonshire.”
He added that benefits of the scheme would include 1,600 new jobs for the residents of Towcester and West Northants and said that the new roundabout on the A43 would create a ‘safer access’ for drivers instead of using the dangerous junction at St Johns Road to turn into Tiffield.
Plans ‘set in stone’ from outline approval
Debating the proposals, Cllr Andre Gonzalez De Savage said he was concerned about the size and the mass of the proposed buildings.
“It’s clearly not an industrial site, it doesn’t border a motorway and it’s entirely out of character for Towcester,” he added, “Why is there a building of this nature being proposed at all?”
Councillors were told that the developers had exercised their right given to them when plans were originally approved in June 2022 and that the size of the units couldn’t be seen as a valid form of objection today.
Cllr Ken Pritchard also raised concerns about the density of distribution warehouses in the area, but said it was “difficult” to find planning reasons for refusal after the outline approval.
Cllr Rosie Humphreys added: “Regrettably, there doesn’t seem to be any planning reasons- it seems to be set in stone pretty much already by the hybrid planning application.”
Both plots, which were voted on separately by the committee, were approved with eight votes in favour to two against. A series of conditions were also agreed to re-examine the colour banding and potentially use earthy colours for the units, ensure the lighting scheme is assessed by the council, and look at further detailed planting schemes to improve screening in the surrounding area.