Developer wins appeal for affordable homes plans on open countryside near Northants village

A plan to build 22 affordable homes on the outskirts of a village near Corby has been given the green light at appeal.

The small housing development, which will now be built in open countryside just off Kettering Road in Weldon, was unanimously voted down by North Northamptonshire Council (NNC) in June last year. The homes will wrap around existing properties in Kettering Road.

Developers Wulff Asset Management Limited took the decision to appeal with the government's planning inspectorate shortly after. The homes on the one-hectare site are all to be sold at discount market price.

READ MORE: Cambridgeshire to get £10m to deliver 'London-style' better buses

READ MORE: Crash with car and lorry closes two lanes closed on A14 in Cambridgeshire

The plans received 14 local objections around issues including conservation, privacy, traffic and over-development. Weldon Parish Council also made representations for why it did not agree with the site, saying the local affordable housing need is "already satisfied several times over".

At the initial planning meeting last year, NNC officers recommended the committee grant approval for the site, however it was refused contrary to their advice. During the discussions, it was explained that officers were not confident that if the authority refused the application they would win any subsequent appeal.

Meeting chair Mark Rowley also warned that there had not been any planning reasons to refuse the application raised in the meeting, but no councillor would propose or second the recommendation to approve the scheme. The plans were ultimately refused on the basis that the proposal was in an "unsustainable isolated location" and that no developer contributions had been agreed upon.

The inspector said that it had addressed contributions with the appellant and an obligation has now been submitted as part of the appeal. They said this would offset the infrastructure demands of the proposal and meet education, library and active travel requirements.

The appeals document also argued against the site being 'isolated', pointing to good transport links into Corby and a range of facilities and services within Weldon itself.

The inspector added: "The Council acknowledge that there is a significant shortage of affordable homes in the North Northamptonshire area, and state that there is need for properties for affordable rent. First Homes are the government’s preferred discounted market tenure to provide homes for first-time buyers at a discount of a minimum of 30 percent against the market value, and therefore the provision of such housing carries great weight.

"Further considerations in favour of the proposal include the short-term economic benefits relating to its construction, and future occupiers of the development that would increase local spending in the area and would support the vitality and viability of local services and facilities."

The inspector allowed the appeal, noting several conditions that developers must meet when building the estate.