Residents’ Action Group (RAG)
With three planning applications in progress for travellers’ sites on Ashley Road, a Residents’ Action Group has been formed, to work with the Parish Councils to:
- Preserve the rural character of our villages and surrounding countryside;
- Protect the health and wellbeing of the community from the risks of unsustainable and unsafe developments, that do not comply with planning policies; and
- Campaign for the planning regulations to be the same for all members of the community
If you’d like to join, support or make a financial donation the group, please email middletonRAG@gmail.com.
RAG is continuing to work with the Parish Councils and neighbouring villages to bring pressure to bear on North Northants Council to resolve the underlying issue of lack of provision for traveller sites in the area, and to ensure timely enforcement action is taken against unauthorised development, planning infringements and breaches.
You can find out more about each of the planning applications in the dropdown sections below.
Dear RAG Member,
Here is an important update on the situation at Oakley Park.
On 13 September 2024, North Northamptonshire Council (NNC) issued four Stop Notices and four Enforcement Notices to prevent any further unauthorised development on the Oakley Park site. You can view the notices using the links below.
Oakley Park North, Stop Notice and Enforcement Notice, M and T Doran
Oakley Park South, Stop Notice and Enforcement Notice, M and T Doran
Land to the South of Oakley Park, Stop Notice and Enforcement Notice, M Doran
Land to the South of Oakley Park, Stop Notice and Enforcement Notice, T Doran
This belated action comes after a Temporary Stop Notice, issued by NNC in July, expired on Sunday 1st September. This action by NNC is long overdue and both Middleton Parish Council (MPC) and RAG have had an incredibly frustrating nine months of lobbying and pushing them to initiate these legal proceedings. There is absolutely no valid excuse why this has taken so long. NNC admits that it has been ‘slow’, but states that lack of resources in following up and signing off by internal stakeholders and other Council priorities, have caused this delay. We will send out copies of the notices for your information as soon as we have received them from NNC, which will hopefully be on Monday.
In summary, the Stop Notices should prohibit any further development of the site, outside the original plans and conditions approved by the Planning Inspector in 2023. These Stop Notices do not have an expiry date.
The Enforcement Notices apply to the original development and the extended Northern and Southern parts of the site. We believe that they will require the removal of excess static caravans/services and reinstatement of the ground and boundary landscaping.
Any breach of these notices would render the applicants liable to prosecution. These notices, whilst active, also prevent any further retrospective planning application being validated by NNC.
The applicants do have a right of appeal, potentially delaying compliance, however, RAG and MPC are greatly relieved and reassured by these actions, despite the delays.
MPC and RAG held a Teams meeting with Senior NNC officers on Thursday 29 August and attended a further face to face meeting on Wednesday 4 September, to gain their commitment to urgent action following a number of missed deadlines and promises made. Since these meetings both MPC and RAG have repeatedly chased NNC to expedite the issuing of the Notices, finally resulting in the action taken yesterday.
We do believe that the NNC is committed to ensuring that the planning system is not abused in the way we have seen at Oakley Park. They also say that they are addressing the long standing problems of resourcing in their planning department. RAG members can assist greatly in ensuring that this happens.
We have listed below, the relevant elected Councillors with responsibility for planning related issues in our area and the contact email for our new MP. You can help by emailing these Councillors and our MP, asking them to advocate and support increases in resourcing of NNC’s Planning and Enforcement teams.
The legal responsibilities and duties of Local Authorities in planning are substantial and clear. Councillors must ensure that these responsibilities are professionally and fully discharged. It is vital for all our communities that planning matters are properly managed to prevent unauthorised development becoming a major problem.
Contact List
Cllr Jason Smithers jason.smithers@northnorthants.gov.uk – Leader of the Council
Cllr David Howes David.Howes@northnorthants.gov.uk – Portfolio holder
Cllr Kevin Watt kevin.watt@northnorthants.gov.uk
Cllr David Sims David.Sims@northnorthants.gov.uk
Cllr Macaulay Nichol macaulay.nichol@northnorthants.gov.uk
Rosie Wrighting (MP) rosie.wrighting.mp@parliament.uk
RAG and MPC will continue, on your behalf, to closely monitor developments at both Oakley Park and Peasdale Hill.
With regard to Peasdale Hill, the owners of the site are obliged to comply with the Enforcement Notice issued for that site, by the 18 September. This requires the site to be vacated, with a further two months before the site has to be reinstated to its original condition. Any failure to comply by the owners will result in prosecution action by NNC. RAG is continuing to take advice from our planning advisor on likely future steps in these processes.
We recognise that speculation and misunderstanding can rapidly spread through our community and we thank you for your continued support. RAG and MPC are here for you. Please contact us by email at middletonrag@gmail.com if you have any concerns or questions.
Unfortunately, we do believe that there will still be a number of challenges, over an extended time period before these issues will be fully resolved. Anyone interested in becoming more involved in RAG would also be very welcome.
Thanks and Kind Regards, Middleton RAG
On 22 January 2024, following an appeal hearing held in November/December 2023, the Planning Inspector dismissed the appeal for change of use of land at Peasdale Hill Field for residential purposes and development, including any temporary approval.
The Inspector considered that the significant adverse impacts to landscape character, appearance, archaeology and highways safety outweighed North Northants Council’s (NNC’s) lack of a 5-year supply for gypsy and traveller sites and the personal circumstances of the applicant’s families and children. With part of the site lying on the route of the Roman Road ‘Gartree Way’, she also gave considerable weight to the fact that the intentional unauthorised development (IUD) of the site, including removal of topsoil and construction of hardstanding, had caused irreversible damage to archaeological assets.
There is no doubt, based upon the Inspector’s report, that the submissions made by RAG were extremely important and influential in her determination of the appeal.
Due to a legal technicality, NNC’s original enforcement notice issued in January 2021 was quashed, so a new enforcement notice is now required for removal of the caravans from the site and restoration of the land.
The planning appeal hearing for Peasdale Hill held in Corby on 7-8 November 2023 was not fully completed due to the amount of evidence the Inspector had to go through.
RAG representatives attended and contributed on both days through their planning advisor Philip Hughes, and NNC attended with their legal counsel and expert witnesses on highways, ecology, landscape, need and archaeology. Tom Pursglove MP had requested an opportunity to present at the hearing, too, but time constraints did not allow for this, so he submitted a written statement instead, which was accepted by the Inspector.
An online meeting has now been scheduled for 14 December for the final presentations of evidence from all parties, after which the Inspector will need a few weeks to make a final decision. If you have any queries, please contact RAG on middletonrag@gmail.com
On 18 April, the Planning Inspector approved the two appeals for Oakley Park. This outcome was inevitable after North Northants Council withdrew its objections to the appeals. It is a final decision without any further recourse.
View Oakley Park Decision Notice, April 2023
These developments, if completed to the submitted plans, will in effect create two sites – a four pitch site on the existing developed footprint to the north and a six pitch site on a third of the field to the south. Each pitch can contain both a static and a touring caravan and sites will see construction of a number of permanent ‘amenity’ buildings.
Middleton RAG continues to pressure North Northants Council Officers, Ward Councillors and our MP to ensure that they maximise their efforts in preparation for the Peasdale Hill appeal (date TBC).
UPDATE FROM RAG, 2 FEBRUARY 2023
RAG continues to express their disgust over the Council’s decision to not contest the Oakley Park appeal and has written twice to the Leader of the Council, Jason Smithers, to push for a proper explanation of the decision. Suffice to say, no justifiable reasons have been forthcoming. RAG therefore stands behind their assertions that NNC’s problem with the 5 year gypsy and traveller land supply is the primary reason for their capitulation, and that any comparable scale development of residential dwellings would have been strongly defended by the Council.
RAG has made its case publicly, and you can view the resulting media coverage at the bottom of this page.
NNC made a commitment in December 2022 that they would consult with RAG regarding appropriate planning conditions that should apply to the Oakley Park development. They haven’t done this and the proposals they have submitted to the inspector, made without RAG’s input, fall well short of what RAG believes are desirable and reasonable. RAG has therefore independently drafted and submitted their own proposals for the Inspector and has decided to continue with the objection to the 6 pitch expansion of Oakley Park South. A response is awaited from the Inspector on how she intends to proceed in her decision making.
RAG continues to raise concerns about NNC’s preparations for the Peasdale Hill appeal. After reviewing the appeal statement submitted by NNC to the Planning Inspector, RAG believes that the Council has a significant amount of work to do, just to make a basic defence of the appeal. NNC had previously assured RAG that Peasdale would be defended robustly and that they had appointed consultants to assist them. RAG has written to the Council to demand an update on progress and to encourage them to urgently and substantially update their appeal statement. An Inspector has not yet been appointed for the Peasdale appeal and no date has been set for the appeal hearing.
RAG will continue to keep you updated on further developments. In the meantime, you are encouraged to continue to raise these issues with NNC Councillors. The Council’s behaviour and incompetence is truly a scandal, hidden in plain sight and deserves to be put under the spotlight.
Cllr David Sims: david.sims@northnorthants.gov.uk
Cllr David Howes: david.howes@northnorthants.gov.uk
Cllr Jason Smithers: jason.smithers@northnorthants.gov.uk
Cllr Kevin Watt: kevin.watt@northnorthants.gov.uk
Tom Pursglove MP: tom.pursglove.mp@parliament.uk
UPDATE FROM RAG, 27 JANUARY 2023
In a devastating U-turn, North Northamptonshire Council (NNC/the Council) has decided not to contest the two planning appeals for Oakley Park, Middleton, which are due to be considered at a reconvened planning appeal hearing scheduled for April 2023.
The Council’s Planning Committee unanimously rejected both applications in April 2021 and, as NNC attended the (subsequently adjourned) appeal hearing in July 2022 to defend the appeals, RAG fully expected the Council to continue with their defence at the rescheduled hearing.
This news has therefore come as a massive shock, especially as RAG believes there is no justifiable basis for NNC’s decision. There are many valid planning reasons why these applications should be rejected, and the decision to not contest the appeals can only be seen as a gross and blatant dereliction of NNC’s duty and responsibility to the community.
RAG has for some time held mounting concerns about NNC’s competency, willingness and motivation to robustly prepare a comprehensive case against these retrospective appeals, and believes that the historic failure to adequately plan for gypsy and traveller sites has led NNC to disregard proper planning considerations and ‘accept’ opportunistic developments, like the intensive 3-fold, inappropriate and unsustainable expansion of Oakley Park.
RAG intends to continue to contest the 6-acre expansion of Oakley Park South based on the majority of their submitted objections still being valid. It is damning of NNC that residents are now left to continue the fight on their own and, unfortunately, without NNC backing, it is now highly likely that permission will be granted on a permanent basis for both Oakley Park applications.
Parish councils in North Northants have collectively held several meetings with senior NNC officers and councillors to voice their concerns over the lack of gypsy and traveller five year land supply, unapproved site developments and NNC’s continued failure to enforce breaches of planning conditions. But despite pressure from parish councils and groups like RAG, and with many opportunities for legal recourse, the Council has repeatedly failed to take timely and robust enforcement action.
RAG has now asked NNC to urgently explain its position and preparations for the appeal at Peasdale Hill. Another unjustifiable capitulation, purely for the convenience of the Council, simply cannot be accepted, and RAG is working with increased resolve to hold NNC, its officers and elected councillors to full account to mount a comprehensive and robust defence against Peasdale Hill.
UPDATE FROM RAG, 26 JULY 2022
The Planning Inspectorate today adjourned the hearing for Oakley Park and the Land South of Oakley Park. Tomorrow’s hearing for Peasdale Hill has also been adjourned.
The reason for the adjournments is due to not all parties having all the documentation required to allow a fair hearing for all parties involved.
New dates are being scheduled with all parties which are likely to be in December. RAG will inform you of the confirmed dates upon receipt.
Dates have been set for the planning appeal hearings for the traveller sites at Oakley Park and Peasdale Hill. The appeals will be heard by Planning Inspector Sarah Dyer over two consecutive days with a potential third day available if required, as follows.
• Tuesday 26 July, 10am – Oakley Park, appeals 1 and 2
• Wednesday 27 July, 10am – Peasdale Hill
• Thursday 28 July, 10am – spare date
All the appeals will be held in the Churchill Suite, Corby Conservative Club, Cottingham Road.
Download Oakley Park Appeal Hearing Notice
Download Peasdale Hill Appeal Hearing Notice
Thanks to villagers’ donations, Middleton RAG has been able to appoint Phillip Hughes of PHD Planners to represent the local community at the appeals. Phillip is very experienced in gypsy and traveller planning appeals and will present our evidence and community statement at the hearings.
As we understand it, three appeals have been submitted to the Planning Inspector for the Peasdale Hill planning application (NC/21/00036/DPA), all under the same appeal reference, APP/U2805/W/21/3275791.
- Appeal for non-determination asking that the Peasdale Hill planning application (NC/21/00036/DPA) be allowed to go ahead, based on the fact that North Northants Council did not consider the application within the required eight week period (it was refused at their Development Control Committee on 21 June).
- Appeal against the refusal of the planning application on 21 June 2021.
- Appeal against the enforcement notice issued on 26 January 2021.
How to make comments
The appeal documents are available on the council’s planning portal against the original application reference NC/21/00036/DPA. All comments made on the original planning application will be forwarded to the Planning Inspector, along with the council’s decision notice stating reasons for refusal. If you wish to make further comments, you can do so online at acp.planninginspectorate.gov.uk or by email to Alison Kendall at The Planning Inspectorate, email east1@planninginspectorate.gov.uk.
The deadline for comments has been extended to 2 September 2021 (previously 5 August 2021).
Points to consider (from Middleton RAG)
Middleton RAG has provided the following points that you may like to include in your responses. You can make your objection anonymously by including the statement “I request that my personal details are withheld when passing this objection to any other bodies involved in this appeal”
“I am writing to strongly object to the above planning appeal. Please see below my comments and objections which I urge you to consider.
- Within the past 12 months we have been subjected to 3 planning applications from the traveller community, buying land and applying for planning permission retrospectively. This new application for Peasdale Hill, will mean that we are now facing potentially 4 traveller sites surrounding the village of Middleton and our co-joining villages of Cottingham, East Carlton and Ashley.
- The Planning Policy for Traveller Sites states that the scale of sites should not dominate local settlements. Middleton is a small community, and we strongly believe this additional site in conjunction with the Oakley Park and Little Meadow sites will mean there will be an over intensification of travellers’ sites compared to the settled community.
- Policy 31 of the North Northamptonshire Joint Core Strategy states that the sites should closely link to an existing settlement with an adequate range of services. This development is 0.6 miles from the edge of the settled area of the village and is located on a very narrow, unlit road with no footpath and no grass verge and the speed limit along that road is 60mph. The local Residents Action Group commissioned a Traffic survey with Sanderson Associates earlier this year showing that access and egress does not meet Highway’s standards for safety. Accidents involving dogs being killed from this site have already been recorded and reported. More serious accidents involving children are likely to occur in the future.
- The primary school in neighbouring Cottingham is a single form entry with an intake of 20. This school will not be able to cope with additional family units from Peasdale Hill.
- It is a requirement that the same standards of amenity should be applied to a traveller site as for other residential use. The building of a house in open countryside, would never get planning approval.
- The proposed installation of a package sewage treatment plant will increase the risk of contamination given the poor ground conditions and proximity of this site to the flood plain.
- Paragraph 127 of the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) states that development should add to the overall quality of an area and be sympathetic to local character including landscape. This development is wholly unsympathetic with the rural character of the Welland Valley and its location in an ancient ridge and furrow field.
- Para 170 of the NPPF says that development should protect and enhance valued landscapes and the intrinsic character and beauty of the countryside and provide for net gains for biodiversity. The proposed development has an extremely detrimental impact on a rich and diverse habitat which is known to contain great crested newts. The local Residents Action Group has produced an independent accredited Ecology report from Lockhart Garratt following the guidance in GCN mitigation guidelines (English Nature 2001) that has determined the presence of protected species within 500 metres of the site – including Great Crested Newts and red listed birds of conservation concern.
- Para 25 of the Planning Policy for Traveller Sites states that local planning authorities should restrict development in the open countryside and that weight should be given to use of previously developed land and those sites landscaped to enhance the environment. This field has not been cultivated in hundreds of years and a caravan site on this spot will not enhance the environment in any way.
- Part of the hedgerow bounding the road has already been removed as has the five-bar gate and gate posts. The proposed treatment at the gateway is not specified on the plans submitted but, if it is to re-instate the five-bar gate, that is unlikely to give sufficient visibility for the access and egress of touring caravans on such a bend with poor visibility in either direction.
- The proposed development is also on the site of a Roman road, there have been historic finds the area and an archaeological survey was not undertaken prior to works commencing.
I strongly believe this planning application must be refused based on the points outlined above. I request that my personal details are withheld when passing this objection to any other bodies involved in this appeal”
At the delayed North Northants Council Planning Committee meeting on 21 June 2021, retrospective planning application NC/21/00036/DPA for five traveller pitches on Peasdale Hill Field was recommended for rejection by the council’s planning officers and unanimously rejected by Councillors.
Regrettably, due in part to the transition to the new Unitary Council for North Northamptonshire, covid restrictions and the local elections, the planning meeting was held later than the deadline for determination of the application, which has provided the owners of Peasdale Hill with an opportunity to appeal to the Planning Inspectorate that the development be allowed to continue on the grounds of non-determination within the statutory period. North Northants Council will now have to convince the Planning Inspectorate that there were valid reasons for the planning meeting delay. This is the second appeal by the owners of Peasdale Hill, the first being against the Council’s original enforcement notice.
Background on this planning application, and details of the enforcement notice, are provided in the dropdown sections below.
Peasdale Hill Field – Appeal against enforcement notice (Appeal Reference APP/U2805/C/21/3269943)
An appeal has been lodged against Corby Borough Council’s enforcement notice requiring Peasdale Hill Field to be restored to the condition it was in prior to the unauthorised work being carried out.
The enforcement part of the Council’s notice, issued on 26 January, will be held in abeyance until the retrospective planning application (Ref NC/21/00036/DPA) has been determined. However, the Council’s Stop Notice is still active and will remain so unless the appeal against the enforcement notice is successful, or planning permission is granted.
The appellant is objecting to the enforcement notice on the grounds that:
- Ground F – they feel the steps required to comply with the requirement of the notice are excessive, and that lesser steps would overcome the objections; and
- Ground G – the timescale of the requirements of the enforcement notice is too short.
Middleton Residents’ Action Group (RAG) advises that they will be supporting CBC issuing this enforcement notice, and encourages all residents of the community to do the same.
You can respond online through the Planning Inspectorate’s website or, if you want to submit your comments in writing, please send three copies to Nick Manley, The Planning Inspectorate, Room 3B, Temple Quay House, 2 The Square, Bristol, BS1 6PN, quoting appeal reference APP/U2805/C/21/3269943. The deadline for comments is 21 April 2021. You must provide your name and address to submit your comments, but you can request for these to be withheld.
RAG wishes to remind villagers that:
- Peasdale Hill Field is in a red zone for great crested newts. In accordance with the Biodiversity SPD, where there is the likelihood of protected species such as great crested newt, bats and badgers, an authorised development (which this isn’t) would require a detailed preliminary ecological appraisal. Surveys for these creatures should have been completed before any development took place to ensure their protection.
- Policy 4 of the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) requires the owner of the field to show how development on it would deliver net biodiversity gain.
- Because the field boundaries haven’t changed since the 1800s, they qualify as important under hedgerow regulations.
- No check for historic artifacts has taken place. Peasdale Hill Field borders a Roman road and historic artifacts have been found in surrounding fields.
- The ridge and furrow has been in place for hundreds of years offering microhabitats producing biodiversity over and above that of a flat field.
- The county archaeological officer states that the ridge and furrow in this field is an excellent example of an increasingly rare landscape feature.
- Neighbouring fields are now being affected due to the delicate ridge and furrow drainage system, which has been disrupted by this development
RAG is preparing templates to assist the community to support the enforcement notice. Should the community wish to receive copies of these templates, please contact middletonrag@gmail.com
Peasdale Hill Field, Planning Application Ref: NC/21/00036/DPA
A retrospective planning application has been submitted for 5 gypsy and traveller pitches on the portion of the field nearest to the road. Each pitch would contain a mobile home, a touring caravan and a day room.
The deadline for comments on this planning application has been extended to 21 March (originally 25 February).
- You can log your comments through the Planning Portal;
- Email your comments to Iain Smith, Head of Planning and Environmental Services at iain.smith@corby.gov.uk; or
- Write to Iain Smith, Head of Planning and Environmental Services, Corby Borough Council, One Stop Shop, George Street, Corby, Northants NN17 1QB
Comments need to be constructive, relevant and relate to planning issues. You are not confined to one response per household.
Parish Council responses to the planning application will be made available once they have met and agreed their submissions.
Middleton Residents’ Action Group has pulled together the following points that you may want to consider.
- Peasdale Hill field is across the road from the Welland River flood plain. The extent of the flood plain expands year on year as the climate becomes warmer and wetter. In 2020 flooding has extended to fields south of the road.
- The site is at the bottom of a hill and will regularly flood with water run-off. There was a pond within the site which has already been filled-in by the unauthorised work undertaken – an important wildlife habitat and a natural soak away has been destroyed.
- There is no evidence that the site can be adequately served with an appropriate means of sewage disposal. Installing a package sewage treatment plant needs to be considered alongside the drainage of the field, the ground conditions, ground water levels etc. Given the proximity to the flood plain and the water table, there is a high risk of contamination. Inadequate surface and foul water drainage, with large areas of hard standing and no prior assessment of ground water conditions, will impact not only on the application site but also adjoining land.
- The site was cleared without any survey of the flora and fauna of the area and whether it was home to any protected species. A historic ridge and furrow field which has been left untouched for hundreds of years has been partly destroyed. There are crested newts known to live in the area and no regard has been given to assessing the suitability of the field for this type of development. We believe this to be in contravention of the Countryside Act.
- The southern boundary of the proposed development extends beyond a pond in the neighbouring field (just the other side of the hedge) in which protected species have been sighted. The extension of the site this far to the south would not be appropriate due to the danger of run off and pollution from the site affecting the pond.
- The proposed development is on the site of a Roman road, there have been historic finds the area and an archaeological survey was not undertaken prior to works commencing.
- Policy 31 of the North Northamptonshire Joint Core Strategy states that the sites should closely link to an existing settlement with an adequate range of services. The proposed development is 0.6 miles from the edge of the settled area of the village and is located on a very narrow, unlit road with no footpath and no grass verge. Access into Middleton on foot or pushing a buggy would be very dangerous as two large cars can barely pass on some sections of the road.
- The primary school in neighbouring Cottingham is a single form entry with an intake of 20. It is highly questionable whether services and facilities would readily accommodate the additional family units proposed.
- It is a requirement that the same standards of amenity should be applied to a traveller site as for other residential use. The building of a house on this site, in open countryside, would not be approved.
- Paragraph 127 of the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) states that development should add to the overall quality of an area and be sympathetic to local character including landscape. This development is wholly unsympathetic with the rural character of the Welland Valley and its location in an ancient ridge and furrow field.
- Para 170 of the NPPF says that development should protect and enhance valued landscapes and the intrinsic character and beauty of the countryside and provide for net gains for biodiversity. The proposed development has an extremely detrimental impact on a rich and diverse habitat which is known by local residents to contain great crested newts and has recently been independently assessed by an independent expert.
- The Planning Policy for Traveller Sites states that the scale of sites should not dominate local settlements. The number of existing traveller sites, along with areas of land currently with planning applications or appeals outstanding, dominate the village of Middleton in terms of acreage, to a significant degree.
- Para 25 of the Planning Policy for Traveller Sites states that local planning authorities should restrict development in the open countryside and that weight should be given to use of previously developed land and those sites landscaped to enhance the environment. This field has not been cultivated in hundreds of years and a caravan site on this spot will not enhance the environment in any way.
- Part of the hedgerow bounding the road has already been removed as has the five-bar gate and gate posts. The proposed treatment at the gateway is not specified on the plans submitted but, if it is to re-instate the five-bar gate, that is unlikely to give sufficient visibility for the access and egress of touring caravans on such a bend with poor visibility in either direction.
Oakley Park, Retrospective Planning Application 20/00097/COU
Planning Inspectoriate website, Appeal Ref 3258705
Corby Borough Council refused planning permission in July 2020 for additional pitches and the new entrance to the existing Travellers’ site on Ashley Road, Middleton. An appeal was lodged in September 2020, but the case was only allocated to an Inspector in August 2021.
Due to Planning Inspectorate and Council communication issues, the original deadline for responses to this appeal has been extended from 6 September to 1 October, and is now being considered together with the appeal against refusal of planning permission for the new, adjacent travellers’ site at Oakley Park South (see below).
Whilst all your initial objections to the Council will be forwarded to the Planning Inspectorate, the Planning Inspector has notified North Northants Council that any further representation regarding the above appeal must be uploaded to the Planning Inspectorate Portal by 1 October 2021, using the link below.
https://acp.planninginspectorate.gov.uk/ViewCase.aspx?caseid=3258705
Middleton RAG is urging the community to take 5 minutes to raise any objection they may have and submit these to the Planning Inspectorate portal before the September 6th deadline.
Attached below is a copy of the official RAG objection, which has already been submitted to the Planning Inspectorate, together with two templates you can use to craft your objections. Once again, each member of your household can submit their own independent objection.
Oakley Park template for residents 1
Oakley Park template for residents 2
Planning Inspectorate Appeal 3258705 – RAG Objection
You can make your objection anonymously by including the statement “I request that my personal details are withheld when passing this objection to any other bodies involved in this appeal”
This appeal is now being considered alongside the appeal against refusal of retrospective planning permission for additional pitches and the new entrance to the existing Oakley Park travellers’ site.
Planning Application for land to the South of Oakley Park, Ref 20/00458/COU
Planning Inspectorate website, Appeal Ref 3270912
Middleton RAG is urging the community to take 5 minutes to raise any objection they may have and submit these to the Planning Inspectorate portal before the September 6th deadline.
Attached below is a copy of the official RAG objection, which has already been submitted to the Planning Inspectorate, together with two templates you can use to craft your objections. Once again, each member of your household can submit their own independent objection.
Oakley Park South Planning Inspectorate Appeal 3258705 – RAG Objection
Oakley Park South Template for residents
Oakley Park South Template for residents (Planning Inspector)
You can make your objection anonymously by including the statement “I request that my personal details are withheld when passing this objection to any other bodies involved in this appeal”
Background
This planning application for additional traveller pitches on the field to the south of Oakley Park was unanimously refused by Councillors at Corby Borough Council Development Control Committee on Tuesday 16 February.
Planners had recommended approval (with no less than 19 conditions attached), but Councillors refused the application, citing concerns over sewage, flood risk and the need for site occupants to walk along an unlit, 60 MPH road with no footpath to reach village facilities.
Thanks to Sarah Brant (Middleton Parish Council), David Grayson (Cottingham Parish Council) and Cllr David Sims for speaking at the meeting on our behalf. You can view a recording of the meeting on the Borough Council’s YouTube Channel. .
This planning application was for 6 traveller pitches (each comprising a static van, a travelling van and an amenity building) and changes to the existing field access. The proposal would take up part of the field with the remainder proposed as a grass paddock.
You can view the application details, accompanying documents and plans, on the Corby Borough Council Planning Portal, entering the application number 20/00458/COU in the search box provided.
The deadline for comments was 20 December 2020, and 130 members of the public objected to the application. In addition, all four local Parish Councils, the Campaign for the Protection of Rural England, the Highways Authority, Environment Agency, the Police and the local MP have raised objections or reservations.
Middleton PC response – Land to South of Oakley Park
Cottingham PC response – Land to South of Oakley Park
Ashley PC response – Land to South of Oakley Park
CPRE response – Land to South of Oakley Park
NCC Highways response – Land to South of Oakley Park
Here are some of the issues that were presented.
- If approved, it would double the number of sites on the edge of Middleton and if the ongoing planning appeal in relation to Oakley Park is successful, it would treble the number of sites on the edge of Middleton.
- With the Little Meadow Travellers’ site at the other end of Cottingham, an additional site in this location would be disproportionate. No assessment has been undertaken of the impact of an additional traveller site on the small village of Middleton. Paragraph 14 of the Planning Policy for Traveller Sites clearly indicates that when assessing the suitability of sites in rural settings Planning Authorities should ensure that the scale does not dominate the nearest settled community. The current Oakley Park site comprises 12 large static vans and a number travelling vans with more arriving every week.
- The application doesn’t comply with the criteria detailed in Policy 31 of the North Northamptonshire Joint Core Strategy 2001-2031 (adopted July 2016) setting out the criteria against which applications for new sites should be considered. The application relies heavily on appeal decisions pre-dating the adoption of the JCS in 2016 and the Planning Policy for Travellers’ Sites issued in August 2015. The appeal Inspectors did not have access to either document and therefore limited weight can be placed on their decisions.
- Corby’s Part II local plan (not in place when the earlier Appeals were upheld) says sewage works are bad neighbours. The appeal Inspector in 2012 stated that residents on this site would be adversely affected on occasions by unpleasant odour emissions from the Middleton sewage works and the sewage works is carrying more load since then. The application does not include an odour assessment and the statement from the applicant fails to address the health and well-being of residents in this regard.
- The foul water discharge arrangements are inappropriate, especially when the site is across the road from a sewage works. Advice from the Environment Agency is that private sewage treatment facilities should only be used when it is not reasonable for a development to be connected to a public sewer because of the greater risk of failure of private sewage systems. The application would therefore be contrary to criterion (d) of Policy 31.
The proposed site is across the road from a stream that feeds through to the River Welland and this would quickly become contaminated if there are any failures in the sewage system. The planning application form denies that the site is near a water course.
Six new amenity blocks supporting six families will produce a large amount of foul water and should link to the main sewage system to be sustainable.
- The site would have an impact on the rural character of the area in contravention of criterion (h) of policy 31. The applicant has already removed metres of mature hedging between the site and Oakley Park and plans to erect 2-meter-high wooden boundary fencing, totally out of keeping with the local character of the rural environment.
- High boarded fencing is in contravention of the Planning Policy for Travellers sites, giving the impression that the residents are ‘deliberately cut off’.
- The introduction of hard standing will reduce the possibility of natural drainage and aggravate the water run off problem in the area which is currently one of the hotspots identified in the Middleton Pathfinder Resilience Project coordinated by Northants County Council.
- Approval of a second traveller site (or third site if the current appeal is upheld) in this location will significantly increase the vehicle movements close to a very sharp bend which is effectively a cross roads as it also accommodates the entrance to the Water Treatment works and to Occupation Lane used by farmers accessing fields north to the Welland and those parking to walk the Jurassic Way. The introduction of dwellings for six extended families on this site will lead to more than 12 vehicles coming and going from the site.
- There is no information available in the plans for the gateway to the site. The details of the access are important to consultees to allow them to assess the implications for highway safety and visual impact and should not be held for subsequent consideration.
The application does not have appropriate landscaping or boundary treatments that are in keeping with the rural landscape of the area.
Misleading information in the planning application
In Section 7 of the form the applicant states it has made no plans for waste storage or collection which surely cannot be acceptable to the Borough Council.
In section 11 on trees and hedges the applicant says there are no trees and hedges on or adjacent to the site. There are trees and hedges surrounding the site in question and a mature hedge has already been removed to make an opening with the existing Oakley Park site. The application is misleading in this respect.
In section 12 the applicant says that the site is not within 20 metres of a water course. It is in fact across the road from a stream that leads north directly to the River Welland and therefore the planning application form is incorrect.
If you would like to speak to someone about the planning application, please contact your local Parish Councillor.
Media coverage
Northants Telegraph, 1 February 2021 (Peasdale Hill)
Unlawful traveller site ‘annihilates’ rural field near Corby to fury of villagers
Northants Telegraph, 15 February 2021
Residents of rural Corby villages form action group to tackle illegal traveller sites
Northants Telegraph, 17 February 2021 (Oakley Park South)
Victory for villagers as one of three traveller site applications on a rural road is kicked-out by Corby councillors
Tom Pursglove MP, 26 February 2021 (video)
Tom Pursglove MP states his support for villagers’ fight against unauthorised traveller encampments in Middleton
Northants Telegraph, 2 March 2021
Middleton villagers’ concerns over endangered newts at controversial site near Corby
Northants Telegraph, 22 June 2021 (Peasdale Hill)
Controversial application for Traveller site in village near Corby is rejected after 350 objections
The Express, 24 June 2021 (Peasdale Hill)
Hundreds of residents fight plan for traveller site which would ‘ruin countryside’
Northants Telegraph, 9 July 2021 (Oakley Park)
Traveller pitch expansion plan in village near Corby knocked-back by councillors
Northants Telegraph, 19 January 2023 (Oakley Park)
Travellers’ legal battle over as North Northants Council ‘capitulate’ on unathorised sites in Corby countryside
Harborough Mail, 23 January 2023 (Oakley Park)
Villagers near Harborough are furious after council says it will not contest travellers’ legal battle