Concerns about A14 Thrapston solar farm before public inquiry
The Planning Inspectorate will hold the inquiry on 20 May, with the local authority required to defend its decision or have it overturned.However, Staunch said it intended to fight the appeal as a Rule 6 party, which is where a group other than the appellant and local authority has permission to take an active part and provide evidence, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.Campaign chairman, Kevin Shapland, said: "We found out the day before submissions that the council had written saying they weren't going to fight the appeal. "We have therefore written to the council putting them on notice that if this proceeds the way it is, we will seek a judicial review."Responding to the allegations, Conservative leader of the council, Jason Smithers, said: "The planning inspector will hear all views, evidence and facts before making a decision. "The council will support and co-operate fully with the Planning Inspectorate, including working on a statement of common ground which will establish those matters which are agreed with the main parties and which will assist the planning inspector in their decision."He added: "We are aware of feelings in the community about the application and will work proactively with all involved parties, taking all reasonable steps to support the process and the Planning Inspectorate."
Follow Northamptonshire news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Mail
3 hours ago
- Daily Mail
Rubbish collections are delayed because of a staff shortage... after binmen went on holiday
A delay in rubbish collections in London has been caused by staff shortages with binmen going on holiday. A shortage of drivers has left Ealing Council considering paying its remaining workers more to fill the gap. The council said that while some workers were on sick leave, it expected disruption to continue until holidays finished in September. On Sunday, the Government warned that taxpayers rely on regular waste collections and said the vital service must continue, The Telegraph reported. Meanwhile council tax has risen for Ealing residents, with the average band D homes now paying £93 extra per month, from £1,948 to £2,041. Occupiers in band H properties are now paying more than £4,000 in council tax. The Labour-led council said the services were being deployed later than usual, adding that any bins not collected on schedule would be prioritised the following day. A council spokesman told the Chiswick Calendar: 'We are sorry about the delays that are occurring to bin collections due to driver shortage and the impact it is having on residents. 'This is because a number of staff are currently off sick and, in addition, as it is the summer holiday period many staff are on leave, which we anticipate lasting until September when the holidays have finished.' 'To address this issue we are actively recruiting more staff. We also employ a number of HGV drivers, which are highly sought after across various industries, including supermarket deliveries, and consequently they are likely to be attracted by companies that are able to offer higher salaries. The council said it was reviewing salaries and other incentives for staff. Susan Hall, Conservative leader in the London Assembly, said the lack of collection was 'outrageous'. 'When you're paid to do a job, damn well do it and the people in charge of them, they need to be talked to as well,' she told The Telegraph. 'When you're running a company or a business, you have to make sure you've got a certain amount of staff in order to deliver the service you're providing. 'Just because these people work for a council, they assume they can do what they like. It's not good enough.' In Birmingham, mounds of rubbish is still piling up, seven months after strikes began in the city. Lengthy negotiations are taking place between the Unite union and city council - but there still appears to be no end in sight. Some locals have complained of feeling 'forgotten about' amid the foul smells and infestations of giant rats dubbed 'Squeaky Blinders'. In June Birmingham bin workers voted to continue industrial action - meaning the strikes could go on until December. The council has paid £8 million to keep a skeleton service run by agency staff in place while strikes continue. The council - which effectively declared itself bankrupt in 2023 - has been blamed for also mishandling an equal pay dispute. The walkout began in January over pay cuts of up to £8,000 impacting around 400 workers who are either former waste recycling collection officers or bin lorry drivers. It has so far paid out almost £1.1 billion after losing a landmark case in 2012 launched after it gave bonuses to refuse collectors and street cleaners but not to cleaners and caterers - roles typically held by women. It still has to find more money to settle further claims but insists its debt is 'unrelated to the need to modernise the waste service and to eliminate any future equal pay risk'.
Press and Journal
8 hours ago
- Press and Journal
Aberdeen SNP councillor denies Reform defection after council blunder
Aberdeen SNP councillor Alexander McLellan has denied defecting to Nigel Farage's Reform UK after a blunder on the city council's website. He took to social media on Sunday to rubbish claims he had joined Nigel Farage's party after the council's website suggested he had defected. The official website lists his party allegiance as 'Reform UK' and places him alongside fellow councillor Duncan Massey, who defected from the Scottish Conservatives in June. Mr McLellan is his party's finance spokesman. He also works for Aberdeen Donside MSP Jackie Dunbar. The timing of the web page's last update remains unclear. It was taken offline shortly after The Press and Journal contacted Aberdeen City Council for comment. Councillor Alex McLellan said: 'I was simply dismayed to see people on social media claiming incorrectly that I had moved to Reform UK. 'To later find out that these comments were based on changes made to the Aberdeen City Council's official website has raised huge concerns. 'Whilst this incorrect information has now been updated, we must ascertain how this happened and who was responsible. 'Actions must have consequences.' A spokeswoman for Aberdeen City Council refused to comment and instead directed enquiries to the councillor. Reform UK also rubbished the claims as 'absolute nonsense'. A spokesperson said: 'We have never spoken with this councillor and have zero knowledge of his wish to defect.' Reform UK has been picking up a steady stream of defecting councillors across Scotland. Six former Tories in the north-east now sit for Nigel Farage's party. A former SNP member and another former Conservative Aberdeenshire council leader Mark Findlater have also signed up as members. Reform UK leader Nigel Farage visited Aberdeen in June to unveil Councillor Duncan Massey as the party's latest defector from the Scottish Conservatives. Duncan Massey, who represents Lower Deeside, revealed he had quit the Conservatives as he appeared alongside his new boss. The oil and gas economist told The P&J the party's 'vision' for the future of the oil and gas sector prompted his change of allegiance. 'I think they can bring the change the industry need to revive itself,' he said.
South Wales Argus
16 hours ago
- South Wales Argus
'Newport's Queensway is full of multimillion-pound flops'
First up, Admiral House. After building works were completed in May 2014, it was sold for £20 million. Nine years later, Admiral Insurance shockingly left the building, with its employees working remotely from home. In 2023, it was reported, the building was up for sale at £14.9 million (around £5 million less than its owner paid for it). It was sold a year later to Admiral Insurance, however the building presently sits empty - 'available to rent'. Behind the railway station, we have the former Royal Mail 'Sorting Office' on Mill Street. In 2018, plans were approved for Garrison Barclay Estates to redevelop the building into approximately 50,000 square foot of 'Grade A' office space. A £12 million council loan was provided to assist, however the building presently sits empty - 'available to rent'. Up next is the Cambrian Centre. Scarborough Group International were behind ambitious plans to redevelop the so-called Station Quarter area. The project included another huge office block, next to Admiral House. In 2013, a contract worth around £14 million was awarded to SDC Construction to complete the building work. Planning permission was granted in 2016, however construction has yet to start? Then there's the old Railway Station. It was built in 1928 by Great Western Railway (GWR). This was converted into an office block after the new station opened in 2010. It's since housed the council's Information Station and later an 'Innovation Station'. The latter was part of a £1.89 million project partly funded by Newport Council. Is this building now empty also? What of the controversial new Railway Station? In the past it has been described as one of Britain's ugliest buildings. In 2013, the BBC claimed the revamp cost £22 million, including £13 million from the Welsh Government. Many have questioned the need for the new station. Could the former Railway Station building have been internally remodelled at a fraction of the cost? Finally, what of the new walkway bridge that connects Mill Street to the Queensway i.e. the Devon Place bridge. It opened last year at a whopping cost of £10.5million. A bridge was needed, but £10.5 million? There's been an obscene amount of money spent on development projects around the Queensway area. What have we got? Empty office blocks? We now understand Transport for Wales wants to blow another £40 million (estimated) on redeveloping the Queensway, including the Old Green roundabout. It feels like throwing good money after bad. How about investing money on our City Centre where it's really needed i.e. revamping Commercial Street, High Street and Charles Street. Mike Enea is a Conservative campaigner and blogger. These views are his.
