The Humble Petition of residents of Irchester, Wellingborough, Northamptonshire and the surrounding areas,

Sheweth, that any proposed residential development on Green Field sites, outside the village boundary policy line, would put a great strain on Irchester’s infrastructure and have a huge damaging impact on the local environment.

Wherefore your Petitioners pray that your Honourable House requests the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government to urge the Northamptonshire County Council, the Borough Council of Wellingborough and the Parish Council of Irchester to ensure that no such development takes place.

And your Petitioners, as in duty bound, will ever pray, &c.—[Presented by Mr Peter Bone, Official Report, 19 June 2012; Vol. 546, c. 837.]

[P001098]

Observations from the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government; Received 28 March 2013:

North Northamptonshire Joint Planning Unit is in the process of producing a Core Strategy. It is due to publish a draft Local Plan for consultation shortly and during the consultation period any person may make representations on the proposals that it contains (in accordance with section 20 (1) of the Town and Country Planning (Local Planning) Regulations 2012). This stage provides the opportunity for the residents of Irchester, Wellingborough, Northamptonshire and the surrounding areas to make representations on the draft document prior to submission of the Local Plan to the Planning Inspectorate for independent examination.

The purpose of the independent examination is set out at section 20 (5) of the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004. The role of the Inspector is to assess whether the plan has been prepared in accordance with relevant legal requirements, and whether it is sound. For a plan to be found sound it must be positively prepared, justified, legally compliant and consistent with national policies. At the Examination stage the local authorities involved will also need to demonstrate how it has appropriately considered the views of local people; and demonstrate that the proposals are based on robust evidence. It is the role of the independent inspector to assess the soundness of Local Plans, not for central Government.

Furthermore, the Secretary of State is aware that an Independent Inspector has been appointed to consider an appeal against the refusal of planning permission by Wellingborough District Council for residential development in Irchester. The case is currently being considered by the Planning Inspectorate and in coming to a decision the Inspector will give careful consideration to the planning merits of the case, having regard to existing Local Plan policies, national planning policy and other material considerations. The Inspector will visit the site to familiarise themselves with the location and its surroundings. They will weigh all the arguments and evidence presented by the parties very carefully, consider the likely effect of the proposed development on the surrounding area, and take into account the views of the local planning authority and local residents before reaching a decision to allow or dismiss an appeal. While Planning Inspectors may decide to uphold appeals, this does not mean that they have disregarded the views of the local authority or local residents—rather that they have attributed different weight to the issues in coming to their decision.