Warehouse plans to go to government inquiry stage

Plans for a large warehouse and distribution site in rural Northamptonshire are to be the subject of an inquiry after a council failed to make a decision on plans.

Equites Newlands (Thrapston East) Ltd wants to build units on about 60 hectares (150 acres) of farmland known as Castle Manor Farm, next to the A14, near Thrapston and Titchmarsh.

North Northamptonshire Council (NNC) validated the plans in 2022 and was due to make a decision by December 2024, but has not done so.

The government's planning inspectorate will now take over from NNC and assess the plans in full.

If approved at appeal, all buildings would be restricted to a maximum height of 24m (80ft) and a could cover a maximum size of 200,000 sqm (2.2 million sq ft) across all units.

It has been suggested that another three warehouses would make up the rest of the plots, but the precise layout of the wider site has not yet been fixed, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

Campaign group Staunch (Save Titchmarsh and Upper Nene Countryside and Habitats) has maintained strong objections to the site throughout.

It said the plans would have damaging impacts on highways and the natural environment and said more storage and distribution units were not needed locally.

According to NNC's website, more than 760 members of the public objected to the plans and just three letters were received in support.

A number of nearby parish councils also objected to the plans.

The developer said in its planning statement that the application was in "direct response to very strong market demand for additional employment sites and premises in the area", particularly along the A14 corridor.

It estimated the site would create about 2,700 jobs in "new, high-quality employment facilities".

According to appeal documents, all comments from interested parties are due by 16 May and the hearing is scheduled to begin on 8 July.

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