19 homes approved on green space near Northamptonshire village despite residents labelling plan 'madness'

Green space on the western edge of Kilsby village, close to the M45, will be transformed into a small housing estate consisting of one to three-bed homes. Applicant Richborough Estates has agreed that seven of the homes in the development will also be up for affordable rent.

Kilsby resident Rob Chamberlain asked the planning committee at a meeting on Wednesday evening (December 4) “to bring this madness to an end”. He raised concerns about the road safety of the housing scheme, pointing to a bend and a hill before the entrance, which he claimed would likely obscure visibility for drivers travelling at the national speed limit.

He added: “There is no housing need. The land promoter is trying to create one for a simple motive and that’s profit. They’ve been trying to develop this land for nearly ten years. They’re simply gaming the system to open this field for development.”

The applicant reduced the size of the development from an initial request to build 44 houses on a larger site. According to the authority, prior plans to build 65 homes on the same plot of land were also blocked in 2015.

Braunston and Crick ward councillor on WNC, Rosie Humphreys, spoke against the development in an attempt to convince members on the planning committee to refuse plans: “Clearly local residents do not agree that only limited harm would be caused by building in open countryside, given the 200 objections received.

“Even if the need for affordable housing is accepted this should be in an appropriate location in the confines of the village. This is not a modest extension of Kilsby, but major development in open countryside.”

Concerns were raised by members of the planning committee that more homes would be added to the designs and that the developers would shy away from the affordable housing commitments made at a later date. However, officers confirmed that Richborough Estates would be obliged to provide the affordable units set out and that another planning application would have to come forward if the applicant wished to increase the size of the estate.

Councillors voted the housing application through, following officers’ recommendation for approval despite the intense local pushback. As the application only asks for outline permission, a further reserved matters plan with more specific details will have to be approved before building can start.