Flats granted for Co-op site after initial refusal

The site is currently empty after the closure of the Co-op supermarket in 2016

Plans to build 150 homes on the site of a former Co-op supermarket have been approved.

The proposal for the development in Alexandra Road, Corby, was previously refused by councillors.

But the planning committee at North Northamptonshire Council overturned the decision on Wednesday, after a legal advisor for the local authority identified what they described as "procedural irregularities" and ambiguous votes at the previous meeting.

Hannah Pratt, a resident who lived near the site, said she and others were "disappointed".

"The council may have covered themselves legally, but ultimately it will never be seen as fair by our community," she said.

"This application was put back through the process just because the planning committee meeting was so poorly managed, that they messed up the voting process at the first hearing on 30 October."

The project envisioned buildings reaching up to six storeys along Alexandra Road

The plans from Glenrowan Homes comprised of a mix of "mainly one and two bedroom flats" with blueprints showing the building reaching a maximum of six storeys.

Commercial space on the ground floor was also included.

The site has remained empty since the supermarket closed in 2016.

The application previously received 43 letters of objection in total, including one lodged by the Labour MP for Corby, Lee Barron.

The issues raised included the overbearing nature of the tall buildings, an impact on privacy for existing residents, increased traffic and parking issues.

Labour committee member Alison Dalziel raised concerns about the lack of disabled parking spaces on site being "grossly undercalculated".

"It just feels like really we're compromising car parking spaces to get in the maximum number of flats that we can on that site," she said on Wednesday night.

At the original meeting in October, Glenrowan Homes director Patrick Boyle told the committee: "We love Corby.

"We want to look after our people, we want to create jobs and we want to create homes we would like to buy ourselves.

"Corby needs housing. We share the vision of the council in that a signature building should be built on that site."