Plan for 400 homes on edge of town approved

A plan to build more than 400 new homes on the edge of a town has been approved by a council.

West Northamptonshire Council's strategic planning members unanimously backed the applications for development in Towcester.

The neighbourhoods will be near Wood Burcotte, within the Towcester Vale sustainable urban extension.

Councillors raised concern over a lack of provision for affordable houses but followed the recommendation of officers to approve the plans.

The entire urban extension development, which lies to the south of the town, was given outline permission in 2015 and will comprise 2,750 homes in total, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

Barratt Homes Northampton will be in charge of building 160 homes and Persimmon Homes Midlands will take on the remaining 246.

Across both sites, there will be 38 affordable homes, just under 10% of the total homes proposed.

Conservative councillor Ken Pritchard said it was "astounding" that there were no measures to ask for the affordable homes requirement to be increased, if possible.

Fellow Conservative Charles Manners said there should have been a provision for a review in the agreement.

But members were told by planning officers it was the position they were "stuck with" and that there was nothing they could do at this stage to add in a viability review.

Planning reports state that construction on the agreed homes is expected to start at the beginning of 2025.

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