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Overstone Leys residents say promised green spaces never appeared

James Grant/BBC Man with white hair and moustache wearing a padded jacket stands in a fieldJames Grant/BBC
John Austin, who chairs Overstone Parish Council, says there will be housing on what should have been open space

People living on a new housing estate say open spaces they were promised have not materialised.

They claim plans for Overstone Leys, near Northampton, have been changed so the land will be used for housing instead.

The residents are worried an adjacent estate that has not been built yet will go the same way.

West Northamptonshire Council says the open spaces in the area are enough for the residents.

'Short changed'

Overstone Leys is located about five miles north of Northampton, and 3,600 homes are due to be built there over the next ten years.

The residents say land behind a supermarket was reserved for a large sporting facility with playing fields and recreation areas.

John Austin, who chairs Overstone Parish Council, said: "The plans have now been changed and it's been earmarked for additional housing, so the green and open spaces are not going to be available for people on the estate to use as leisure facilities.

"They've been short changed. They're not getting what they were promised."

He said families who move into the new family homes will find that there are not enough playing areas for children.

James Grant/BBC Part of new housing estate with grass "island" in the foreground, in the centre of which are some shrubsJames Grant/BBC
Overstone Parish Council says this is the only open space in the Overstone Gate part of the development

The parish council said that one part of the Overstone Leys development, known as Overstone Gate, only has one play area that was about the size of an average garden.

Lorna McGoldrick, the clerk of the Parish Council, is not impressed: "This is the only green space for children to play, people to walk their dogs, enjoy, have a picnic and there isn't even a bench.

"I'm sure when the residents bought [their] houses, they would have looked at the plans and the plans show a significantly larger area of green space than there is actually."

James Grant/BBC Woman with hair in a bob wearing blue raincoat with housing estate behind herJames Grant/BBC
Lorna McGoldrick is worried there are not enough open spaces for thousands of new homes

Work has yet to start on building more than a thousand homes at the Overstone Green development round the corner.

The parish council has approached West Northamptonshire Council to suggest more open space is provided at Overstone Green to compensate for a shortfall at Overstone Leys.

West Northamptonshire Council told the BBC: "Both Overstone Leys and Overstone Green were carefully scrutinised by planning committees, who noted there were no conflicts with development plan policy as regards open space provision.

"The open spaces provided across both developments are considered to meet the needs of local residents."

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