Yahoo News Petition to stop controversial Rothwell Traveller site dismissed by North Northants Council
A motion calling for North Northamptonshire Council (NNC) to place plans for a controversial Traveller stopping site in Rothwell on hold and revisit all potential locations has been voted down.
A petition started by Cllr Cedwien Brown, one of the new independents on NNC who crossed the floor, asking to "stop this act of environmental vandalism" and consider other locations garnered more than 1,300 signatures in less than a month.
A piece of land just off junction 3 of the A14, near Rothwell, has been identified by the council as the "most appropriate" location for the Travellers stopping site. Rothwell's Town councillors have fought tooth and nail to object the plans, with seven Conservative rebels deserting the leading party in the process.
In another attempt to get NNC to reconsider their proposals, Independent Cllr Jim Hakewill asked for the authority to take part in community consultation through the Local Plan process instead of picking the Rothwell green space "out of the blue".
The North Northamptonshire Gypsy and Traveller Local Plan will set planning policies and site allocations to meet the identified needs of the community and ensure high standards of provision. A consultation on the draft plan is set to take place soon, with the final document proposed for adoption in March 2026.
Cllr Hakewill told the chamber: "This motion asks for no more and no less than carrying out the proper local plan process, to consider the needs of our Gypsy and Traveller community in the agreed and published local plan schedule.
"There is absolutely no substance to this decision to out of the blue pick the Rothwell green space.
"The conclusion that Rothwell green space should be destroyed, and destroyed it will be, as a result of a behind-closed-doors evaluation of potential locations completely outside any local planning formal process completely eliminates any confidence in the way that decisions are being made here.
"Voting for this motion will simply put the Gypsy and Traveller Local Plan preparation back on track and regain some confidence in the community that we’re looking after their best interests."
Cllr Martin Griffiths (Independent, Irchester) also raised his concerns with funding the scheme with NNC's finances "at such a stretch".
Earlier this year, NNC approved a capital budget of £1.3m to fund the stopping site from borrowing after the project previously failed to be awarded Government funding.
Rent costs will be charged to Travellers using the pitches, but the site is expected to be unoccupied for long periods, meaning no income will be made in these bouts. It is expected to cost the council upwards of £2m over a ten-year period.
Cllr Jospeh Smyth (Independent, Rothwell and Mawsley) said: "The local plan should set out what the opportunities are for the developments in the area and say what types of development will and will not be permitted in which locations.
"In the case of the Rothwell green space this [consultation] wasn’t happening. As you can see from the amount of interest… this is an issue that will not fade away in the background and will be remembered."
The motion went to a vote which was lost with 19 members voting in favour of the proposals, 29 against and eight councillors abstaining from voting.
Despite the resounding disapproval from the Conservative majority, no councillors stood in the chamber to express their views on the matter.
One of the abstentions came from NNC Northall ward and Rothwell Town Councillor Ian Jelley, who said that though he personally supported the motion he had to "take into account the concerns of [his] members in Kettering" and therefore abstained.
Cllr Hakewill added that he would be reaching out to auditors to ask their opinion on if 'best value' was being served by the plans.
