Thank you for signing this petition.
Following our work last year, the developer was sent away by North Northants Council and told that if they wanted to bring forward a new plan that they had to respond to the concerns of the residents and of NNC, who said that the "sustainability of the proposal...are questioned" and that misleading information provided by the developer regarding the amount of usable renewable energy produced on the site called into question the entire credibility of the proposal.
So after a number of months the developer came back with a new PR company, a new web site, and the same old proposals.
They still want to build warehouses and factories in a rural location, with no easy access by sustainable travel to the site. The developers own consultants acknowledge that the site will be visible for miles around due to its height; and that the site will do ham to historic and cultural assets; and finally that it will lead to increased traffic and carbon pollution of local towns and villages - with parking space required for over 5,000 vehicles on what is currently production farmland that is used to grow wheat and barley for the nations bread bread and cereals. Plus combined traffic movements of nearly 16,000 vehicles per day.
The site has also now been shown to be an important breeding, foraging and nesting sites for a number of endangered species that are protected under law.
Of course, now that the developer has come back with an new (old) plan we have to object all over again. Thank you for singing this petition, please share and encourage your family and friends to sign.
If you want to object directly, please use any of the points listed below and send them to: KetteringEnergyPark@connectpa.co.uk and also to ketteringenergypark@northnorthants.gov.uk
Objections to draft Masterplan for Kettering Energy Park otherwise known as Burton Wold
The proposed site sits in an area that has not been designated for B8 development. Should the masterplan be approved, it would be in direct conflict with the current Joint Core Strategy.
The proposed development is not in line with NPPF regarding sustainable development as there is very limited access for walking or cycling to the site, and no existing public transport. The site would actually encourage more traffic on the existing road network. This is in clear contravention of the Standing advice local planning authority, The Climate Change Committee’s 2022 Report to Parliament, which notes that for the UK to achieve net zero carbon status by 2050, action is needed to support a modal shift away from car travel.
The type and scale of the site is inappropriate for a rural area, with its size requiring parking for over 5,000 cars and HGVs.
It is inappropriate that this site, which has not been assessed for its merits from a B8 perspective previously, should proceed in isolation given a review of the Local Plan is underway and the fundamental concerns which remain; including the carbon emissions associated with the significant vehicle movements the site is projected to generate at a time the UK needs to be reducing emissions from Transport.
The site is not located near to a rail junction which is contrary to the current Joint Core Strategy for B2/B8 type developments.
The wind farm and the electricity they generate are not owned or controlled by the proposer, therefore any claims regarding the use of generated power from the wind farm to power the developments are misleading and incorrect; and fundamentally call into question the whole basis of the proposal and is a constraint to delivery of the Masterplan.
Should the masterplan be approved, there will be substantial damage to open countryside including the loss of productive agricultural land, including Good and Best & Most Versatile land in contravention of the NPPF.
The plan would result in irreversible damage to a designated rural area in direct conflict with the current joint Core Strategy
The loss of natural habitats and historical biodiversity contained within its fields, hedgerows and trees, and the loss of Historically Important Hedgerows.
The cumulative impact on the local and strategic road network particularly the A6, A510 and the A14 and the associated junctions.
The impact upon Finedon where the A6 and A510 meet, would have a long-lasting impact upon the town and the wellbeing of its residents due to increased traffic movements, and air, noise, and light pollution.
The site would have a detrimental visual impact on the area and would impose on the landscape across a wide area due to the height of the site and the proposed buildings.
The risk of increased flooding and pollution particularly of the local rivers and streams at Burton Latimer and Cranford; and water course pollution of tributaries of the river Nene.
Impact upon the Upper Nene SPA which is within 3km and 4kms of the proposed site; and which the designated site is both a source of a number of water courses supplying the Nene and is also functionally linked land for protected bird species, both in terms of foraging and nesting.
There is insufficient local workforce to fulfil the number of potential jobs that the proposer claims will be generated by the development.
The development will produce unacceptable increases in levels of noise, air, and light pollution.
The site is home to a number of at risk and endangered species (including those protected under the Wildlife and Countryside Act) whose rearing, nesting, and feeding would be irrevocable destroyed by the development, causing a direct threat to survival and leading to local extinction.
The developers have confirmed that the development would create significant harm to heritage and cultural assets, notably the Roundhouse, as such the development is not a public benefit.
The scale of the proposal exceeds the ability of the consented solar farm to provide renewable energy on a 24-hr x 365-day basis and therefore would be reliant upon the import of electricity from the National Grid, in direct conflict with the Joint Core Strategy and the UK's response to the climate crisis.