DHL appeals against warehouse refusal

About 100 protestors gathered at the original planning committee meeting in September

Developers have lodged an appeal against the refusal of a warehouse on the edge of a town.

A DHL plan for a logistics hub on the outskirts of Towcester, in Northamptonshire, was rejected by councillors in September.

The 32-hectare site will now be assessed by the government's planning inspectorate.

More than 1,100 letters of objection were submitted by residents to the plans, and about 100 people protested outside the planning committee meeting.

Plans for the site were first lodged with West Northamptonshire Council in 2021, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

DHL said the warehouse would generate about 1,300 new full-time jobs and increase local wage generation by approximately £50m per year.

DHL said the warehousing was needed in the area

But concerns were raised about "traffic chaos" caused by the development, as well as the immense scale of the buildings on the edge of an historic town and questions over the demand for warehousing in the area.

Save Towcester Now, a local campaign group with more than 1,400 followers on Facebook, spoke at the meeting, warning that the plans would "irrevocably change" Towcester and South Northamptonshire.

The authority ultimately decided to reject the site against officers' advice due to the size and scale of the application, citing visual harm and severe traffic impacts in Towcester predicted by 2031.

However, planning inspectors will have the power to overturn the council's decision - or throw out the application - if they see fit.

The appeals website indicates that all evidence from the local authority and developers will be due in January 2025 and a date has been set in February for a full inquiry.