Rushden Lakes retail park would cause 'irreparable harm'

An out-of-town retail park planned for Northamptonshire would cause "irreparable harm to other town centres", according to the council.

The £50m Rushden Lakes development would include 20 shops and is proposed for the outskirts of Rushden.

A committee in Conservative-run Kettering objected "in the strongest possible terms" to the plans.

Councillor Shirley Lynch said: "The borough council would do everything it can to protect its town centre."

'Job losses'

The committee said it was concerned that the retail element of the Rushden Lakes development would be larger than Fosse Park in Leicestershire.

A spokesman said: "The development could result in job losses of a scale which cancels out the 1,500 jobs created."

Councillors from other surrounding towns, including Corby and Northampton, have also objected to the plans.

However Wellingborough council recently approved of the plans.

In a statement, the Conservative-run council said its planning committee believed the development would not be competing with Wellingborough town centre because the choice of retailers would be different.

Developer LXB Retail Properties, which owns the land, submitted the planning application in December.

The Rushden Lakes development will be discussed by East Northamptonshire council in June.