Residents face DHL in warehouse appeal battle

Campaigners lobbied councillors at the planning meeting in September 2024

An appeal hearing is under way to decide whether a logistics giant should be able to build a large warehouse on the edge of a rural town.

DHL were refused permission by West Northamptonshire Council to create a logistics hub on the outskirts of Towcester.

The firm appealed against that decision and a planning inspector opened a public inquiry on Tuesday.

So what is the battle about and what will happen at the appeal?

What does DHL want to build?

DHL said its warehouse would generate 1,300 new full-time jobs

The centrepiece of the proposed site is a warehouse with offices and a gatehouse, covering 24,572 sq m (264,494 sq ft). The maximum height of the building would be 18.5m (60.7ft).

Workers would get on to the site via a new roundabout on the A5, with parking for 273 vehicles.

DHL also wants outline planning permission for three more zones, with up to 14 buildings.

The company said the first phase, with the warehouse, would generate about 1,300 full-time jobs.

Why does it want to build there?

The site, next to the A43-A5 roundabout on the northern edge of Towcester, was chosen by DHL for "its excellent connections, skilled labour availability and scope to accommodate future growth".

In its planning application, the company said "the site's location in the 'golden triangle' of logistics ensures that it is highly connected to the strategic road network".

DHL said the site could eventually become a "strategic regional campus".

Why did the council reject the plan?

Campaigners said the site would spoil quiet countryside surrounding nearby villages

The council decided that the proposal contravened the county's local plan "by virtue of its size, siting, scale and design", which would "result in unacceptable significant adverse impacts on local landscape character, views and visual amenity".

Councillors also said the extra traffic generated by the site would result in "unacceptable queues and journey times for traffic approaching the Tove Roundabout, to the detriment of the operation of the highway network".

Members turned the project down, even though their officers had recommended approval.

Why have hundreds of locals opposed the build?

Isla Whitcroft, who co-founded "Save Towcester Now", celebrated when the council refused permission

More than 1,100 letters were submitted by residents concerned about the "traffic chaos" the development would generate, with "up to 400 vehicle movements at rush-hour" according to campaign group Save Towcester Now.

There have also been worries about the effect of the large buildings on nearby villages and the historic town of Towcester, as well as light and noise pollution.

The campaigners suffered a setback last April when National Highways, which is responsible for England's major strategic roads, dropped its objection to the plan.

The agency had originally requested that a decision be delayed until further information was provided about traffic management at the site.

What is happening at the public inquiry?

Graham Mellor was one of the campaigners who addressed the hearing

Following DHL's decision to appeal, a public inquiry was arranged, chaired by a planning inspector, Malcolm Rivett.

Over the next two weeks he will hear from the three barristers representing DHL, West Northamptonshire Council and Save Towcester Now.

He will also hear from interested parties, including people living near the proposed site.

On the first day, he heard the barristers outline their clients' positions and also listened to the views of a number of local people.

Some have been quite emotional when outlining their concerns.

Penny German, from Caldecott, told the inspector: "The planned 24-hour operations would be life-changing for our villages.

"In the current mental health crisis our country is facing, the village is in danger of adding to those statistics."

Graham Mellor, who lives in Shutlanger, told the hearing he had seen the applicant's air quality assessment and "as a scientist, I found it ridiculous and, as a resident, I find it insulting".

After the hearing, the inspector will consider all the evidence and issue a decision on behalf of the secretary of state.

The hearing is being streamed live on YouTube.