Agenda item

The Development Management Team Leader submitted a report to the Committee. She explained that the majority of the application site fell within Daventry District Council’s boundary with the southern end situated within Northampton Borough. The proposed road would run for 1.6km and be designed as a single carriageway, designed to enable it to be upgraded to dual carriageway in the future if required. The road would connect to a new roundabout at the Sandy Lane junction with the A5199 and a further new roundabout to the east at the Brampton Lane junction with the A5199 Welford Road. From the Sandy Lane junction roundabout, the relief road would extend southwards over the Rugby to Milton Keynes railway line connecting into the Dallington Grange Roundabout, a new roundabout east of Grange Farm proposed as part of the Kings Heath SUE development (Dallington Grange) which includes a link to the A428 New Sandy Lane.

Elements of the proposed scheme included:

·         A single two-lane carriageway, plus 3m wide shared foot/cycle path to the west side, connecting the Dallington Grange roundabout to the A5199 at Sandy Lane;

·         Railway overbridge over the Rugby to Milton Keynes railway line;

·         River crossing over the River Nene;

·         A new roundabout at the Sandy Lane junction with the A5199 Northampton Road including Public Right of Way (PRoW) crossing provisions; (Toucan and pedestrian crossing – north side of roundabout and shared use uncontrolled crossing western arm (Sandy Lane);

·         Single two-lane carriageway (plus street lighting) connecting the new Sandy Lane Roundabout and Brampton Lane;

·         A new roundabout at the existing Brampton Lane, A5199 Welford Road and Northampton Road Junction, including PRoW crossing provisions to include the diverted Public Footpath CC6 and National Cycle Route 6 (both to be permanently diverted);

·         Modifications to the existing A5199 Northampton Road from Sandy Lane to Brampton Lane to provide a traffic free route for non-motorised users;

·         Flood and drainage provisions;

·         Landscaping and ecological mitigation areas.

NBC Public Health had expressed concerns around the extent of information in respect of air quality to fully determine the impact of development. It was noted that there were concerns around the impact of the proposal on the potential future re-opening of the Northampton to Market Harborough Railway Line, however as there were no current formal plans this was not a material consideration. Any future plans for the railway line would have to take the Relief Road into account. The Development Management Team Leader noted that the  recent issues consultation for the West Northamptonshire Strategic Plan also asked whether the potential to deliver a re-opened line on that route should be considered for that plan.  The Development Management Team Leader noted that the Highway Authority raised no objection to the proposal subject to the imposition of conditions to ensure the proposed off-site highway mitigation measures were secured.

Patrick Cross, a local resident, spoke against the application and stated that he had witnessed the volume of traffic in the town surpass acceptable levels over the years. He commented that the number of proposed homes to be served by the NWRR would result in increases in the number of vehicles and questioned capacity figures contained within the report. He further commented that proposed mitigation measures would be insufficient. Mr Cross stated that the Northampton North Orbital Road was a more important scheme and asked Members to refuse the application and lobby NCC for an expedited Orbital Road, which should not include the NWRR.

In response to questions, Mr Cross stated that the road would work better if built off junction 16 of the M1, running from the A45 to the A43 near Sywell. He stated that orbital roads should not be built near houses, nor should they have roundabouts. An additional 22,000 homes would push the road past capacity.

Sean Brady, Co-Chair of WASPRA, spoke against the application and commented that NCC Highways did not properly investigate or understand the current levels of congestion on Brampton Valley Way and Welford Road and based their application on theoretical data. He further commented that investigation into current traffic levels had been insufficient. Mr Brady stated that the application process had been flawed throughout; the consultation phases did not publish details of residents’ feedback and leaflet-drops missed out WASPRA members. He stated his belief that the road would result in others being used as “rat runs”, endangering members of the public. Mr Brady maintained that the proposal is developer lead and asked that the Committee, as safeguards for the town’s development, refuse the application.

In response to questions, Mr Brady explained that he had made presentations at a series of meetings where he would have expected a counter-presentation from NCC, however the responses barely addressed points he made.  Mr Brady had expressed his support for the need for houses and road building but statistics show that the application would be unsustainable.

In response to questions, the Development Management Team Leader advised that concerns had been addressed in the addendum and that the application had been assessed by an independent part of the Highways department. The proposal had been independently assessed by a separate section of Kier WSP and the assessment further scrutinised by NCC Highways Development Management afterwards. The Head of Planning further advised that the 22,000 proposed dwellings were to be situated  throughout the Northampton Related Development Area..

The Head of Planning explained that the North West Relief Road would address short/medium-term needs, with capacity expected to be reached by 2031. He noted that there was currently no commitment or funding for the Northern Orbital Road.

Members discussed the report.

RESOLVED:

That Northampton Borough Council raise NO OBJECTION IN PRINCIPLE subject to:

1.    Northamptonshire County Council seeking an appropriate level of mitigation with due regard to comments received from relevant consultees and conditioning any planning permission accordingly in respect of impacts arising from the development on the local highway network, air quality, flood risk and drainage, biodiversity, noise, and impacts on amenity, particularly during the course of construction; and

2.    Northamptonshire Country Council give due consideration to the impacts of the proposed development on the Safeguarded Former Transport Route identified in Policy C3 of the West Northamptonshire Joint Core Strategy and Policy 30 of the emerging Northampton Local Plan Part 2, and to ensure that the development does not delay or compromise the allocation and delivery of the Northampton North Orbital Road.