Northamptonshire council turns down plans for affordable homes in rural village

West Northamptonshire Council have turned down plans to build 32 affordable homes next to a village on the border of the county. The proposed estate in Old Stratford received 89 letters of objection from the public due to worries about harming the countryside and the impact of extra families on overstretched facilities and traffic in the area. The houses would have been placed on two adjoining fields to the south east of the village, next to the River Ouse- a substantial river which has flooded in recent years.

Two similar estates, River View and The Meadows, are east of the site. A resident, Graham Sharp, said at the planning committee meeting: "The meadow on which the development is proposed has been an asset to the community for decades. It's been used by families for recreation activities for at least 60 years.

"There is no demonstrated need for affordable housing within the village. Given the number of new developments in the village over the past decade, if anything the reason for refusal should be even more clear today." Half of the homes would have been part of a shared ownership scheme, while the other 16 would be put on the market for social rent.

Plans included a mixture of terraced, semi-detached and detached homes and two bungalows. Peter Chambers, agent of the Milton Keynes-based developer David Lock Associates, said: "The proposal seeks to help meet the district's substantial need for affordable housing. Over the last 20 years home ownership has increasingly become unaffordable for first-time buyers."

Mr Chambers said that the estate would help West Northamptonshire to meet their joint core strategy of providing 3,300 affordable homes by 2029, which they are behind on. He also told the council that 60 people in the housing register noted interest in living in the area.

Councillor Dermot Bambridge said: "I'm not at all convinced on this. The point is that it's outside the village confines and it's in open countryside.

It's adjacent to an estate that's got a certain amount of similar housing on it. "At the site visit the leader of the parish council made the point that the properties on that had not sold particularly quickly. Why on earth should we support this which has got a lot of objections from the residents and the parish council?"

Concerns about flooding from the nearby River Ouse and a lack of privacy in the neighbouring houses were also raised by public speakers. However, the officer's reports showed that the flood risk was acceptable and emphasised the provision of affordable housing as a reason to give plans the green light. Councillor Ian McCord, who was not on the panel but spoke as a ward member for Deanshanger, accused the officers of taking sides and giving the impression that "local folks with local knowledge of daily real life" are "inferior" to officer opinion.

The council refused the plans contrary to officer recommendations, pointing to the "harmful encroachment into open countryside and harm to the character of the area" as their reasoning.

References

1. ^ Northamptonshire council waives GBP2m 'roof tax' for final phase of Corby development (www.cambridge-news.co.uk)