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7th October 2007
The Tapsell Wade report on land instability in Northamptonshire is rejected by WNDC without proper investigation. NRA responds with an uncompromising complaint about the failure of WNDC to show proper concern for the safety of Northamptonshire residents.
WNDC’s DISMISSIVE LETTER
Duston Action Group has recently uncovered a vitally important planning document that had somehow been ‘lost’ by Northampton Borough Council. The report, entitled “Southern District Trial Hole Surveys - Northampton Land Unsuitable for Development”, [View this report] warns of the hazards of building on sloping land in most of Northamptonshire, slopes as gentle as 7 degrees may be subject to disastrous land slips if construction work is attempted. This applies to the whole route of the planned Sandy Lane Relief Road (SLRR), parts of Sandy Lane Improvement North (SLIN) and the proposed housing estate of 2,600 houses at Upton Lodge.
Stephen Kelly’s response [View WNDC Letter] to our revelation of this important hidden document stated that he didn’t think the Tapsell Wade report concerned the Sandy Lane Relief Road site; that the developer’s consultants had taken land slip into account in their planning application and that it was not a legal responsibility of WNDC to protect residents from damage arising out of construction work on potentially unstable land.
NRA’s UNCOMPROMISING REPLY
The NRA has responded to the WNDC’s dismissive letter, [View NRA response] pointing out that WNDC had concealed the existence of the Tapsel Wade report for over six months and therefore NRA could not be blamed for the last minute deferral of the SLRR planning hearing in September, when it exposed the ‘secret’ document.
From their letter, it would appear that WNDC has made only cursory investigations into the true impact and extent of the Tapsell Wade report and the threats it poses to future developments in Northamptonshire. The Corporation does not appear to have asked for the full technical report that lies behind the summary report that was discovered by NRA. They have not made any detailed comments about which precise areas of land were withdrawn from sale by Northampton Development Corporation in 1983 as a result of the report.
The Corporation have not considered that land neighbouring the area covered by the report could well be affected by the same problem, even though disastrous landslips have occurred in an area stretching from Daventry to East Hunsbury and as far north as Wellingborough and Isham.
Finally, we were distressed to learn that WNDC feel they have no legal responsibility to consider the safety of developments within their jurisdiction. Instead, they suggest that damage caused to existing residents’ property through landslips precipitated by construction works will be a matter between the Developers and the residents - after the damage has occurred.
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