What’s all the fuss about?

John Prescott (remember him) and now his successors say:
“Northampton has been identified by the Government as a major town suitable for accommodating significant growth in new dwellings and jobs over the next 20 to 25 years.”

In response, the unelected QUANGO, West Northampton Development Corporation (WNDC) was created to railroad through all major planning applications in the shortest possible time, without deferring to the wishes of any of the elected councils that would normally be looking after the safety and well-being  of local residents.  It is the view of Northants Residents Alliance that there is an unseemly haste by WNDC to satisfy the feeding frenzy that has taken hold of the developers.  We have seen strong technical objections concerning future public safety in respect of increased flood risk and a very real possibility of construction taking place on potentially untested, unstable land ignored by a committee of unqualified and inexperienced members, whose only technical advice is given by consultants paid for by the developers.

The latest group to pontificate over the ruination of Northamptonshire, West Northamptonshire Joint Planning Unit, is now planning
60,000 new houses for our county in just 17 years! 45,000 of these will be located tightly around Northampton town, finally choking the life out of it.  Almost every area of Northamptonshire is under threat.  As the plans begin to take hold, almost everyone in the county will be eligible to be labeled a NIMBY (Not in My Back Yard), unless they welcome the prospect of being surrounded by large housing estates and the disappearance of many beautiful villages.

What we wonder is - Where is the Infrastructure?

The plans will lead to an increase in population of between 60-70%.  As we become the fastest growing county in the country, why is the Government cutting our rate support grant next year?  Where are the serious roads (like we have to the east of the town?)  Where is the new hospital?  Where are the new sewers?  Where is the new shopping centre?  How will our struggling Police Force cope?  Where will we all park?  Will the town centre become a permanent congestion nightmare?  To date, although at least 10,000 new houses are waiting for planning permission today only pitiful amounts have been proposed for infrastructure - to be paid for mostly by individual developers in a totally fragmented and uncoordinated way.