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Inquiry starts into 'gold rush' of Thrapston warehousing

Campaigners have told a public inquiry that a planned logistics hub would be a "gold rush" for developers, but a "monstrosity" for residents.A planning inspector will make a decision on the proposal for Castle Manor Farm in Thrapston, Northamptonshire, after the local council took too long to inquiry at Kettering Leisure Village began on Tuesday and is expected to take 10 developer said there was an unmet need for logistics facilities in the area. The proposal involves building 200,000 sq m (239,198 sq yards) of warehousing at the farm, next to Haldens Parkway and the inquiry was told logistics firm DHL had already signed up as a tenant in the first Equites Newlands appealed after three years passed without North Northamptonshire Council making a decision on the council said last month it would have rejected the proposal, but the decision was now out of its hands. James Hakewill, an independent councillor on the Reform UK-led authority, told the inquiry: "We don't see it as a 'golden triangle' for logistics; we see it as a golden opportunity to make money out of our countryside."We should reject this gold rush of warehousing coming upon us and disrupting our local landscape."Titchmarsh parish councillor Sylvia Prestwich said: "It is many times bigger than the residential village of Titchmarsh itself."I can imagine it will feel like living in the shadow of a huge, overpowering and overburdening monstrosity." The barrister representing North Northamptonshire Council, Gary Grant, said there were "serious conflicts" between the plans and its Joint Core Strategy, as the land was not allocated for this kind of Warren KC, representing Equites Newlands, said there was an unmet need for logistics facilities along the added that the council's key policies were out of date and the proposal was in line with the government's ambition to grow the economy, creating about 2,700 jobs. The Local Democracy Reporting Service said three more developers that supported logistics infrastructure in the area were being represented at the Stinchcombe KC, representing the Staunch campaign group, said there was "no urgent need for this sensitive countryside site to be sacrificed for this development".The inquiry continues. Follow Northamptonshire news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.