Fury over 'monster' Corby warehouse after Northamptonshire council consulted wrong street
A 160,800 sq ft warehouse has been built just metres from a row of houses - and residents claim they were not properly consulted, Sarah Cooper reports for ITV News Anglia
People living in the shadow of a "monster" new warehouse are furious with confused council officials - after they consulted a street half a mile away about the plans instead.
An application was approved by North Northamptonshire Council (NNC) and work began on the 160,800 square feet industrial structure on a former Weetabix site in Corby, Northamptonshire in November 2023.
But local residents claim they were not consulted about the plans.
The local authority admitted it mistakenly sent letters to people living on Hubble Road in Corby - instead of Hooke Road, where properties back on to the 60ft high warehouse.
North Northamptonshire Council said it had investigated how the error - in which the neighbours of a different Weetabix factory were notified - had occurred, and said it had put new measures in place to ensure it did not happen again.
Locals, however, are not impressed, calling the construction "a monster".
Portuguese-born Jose Cruz, 64, said: "I feel very sad as any spare moment I am in my garden, I love being in the garden but now the sun does not come into it any more.
"I live for the sun, I come from a country where there is lots of sun.
He said the new building would hit property prices in the area.
"This house was my savings. I am nearly retired and wanted to sell the house and go back to my country and now it's going to drop £40,000 or £50,000 - it's a big drop in my savings".
He said he was baffled at the council sending letters to people living half a mile away but not to those right next to the construction site.
"This a big, big mistake," said Mr Cruz. "We live here, our life is here, why did they not send anything to us?
"It's very, very sad. It's affected our mental health too - the noise is every day from 8am to 6pm."
He added that if he had received notification on the plans he would have immediately put the property on the market.
"I would have talked with my neighbours and sold the house fast," he said. "Now, I have to live like this. We had a happy life here, but with this, it's impossible."
Labour councillor William Colquhoun from Corby Town Council and North Northamptonshire Council said: "It beggars belief; it's absolutely incredible that such a wild mistake could be made.
"The impact is enormous on the residents of Hooke Close. It's a beautiful little street, a beautiful area, people have settled nicely here, possibly having their home for life as they planned it - and that has gone.
"The estate has been blighted, people's lives have been blighted by this incredible blunder.
"Had the consultation taken place properly with the proper residents being consulted the whole outcome could have been different.
"Perhaps we would still have the structure, perhaps it would be smaller, perhaps it would be away from people's houses, but no consultation, no input at all and the developers were just able to go ahead and do as."
A spokesperson for North Northamptonshire Council said: "We understand the frustration caused to neighbouring residents of the development site and apologise for the error."
The council said that despite the gaffe, it remained on the right side of the law because it had posted a sign about a consultation on the works on the estate itself and by publishing a press article.
An NNC spokesperson said: "As part of this process, we have considered whether this error has impacted the lawfulness of the decision and the planning permission granted by the council.
"We can confirm that the permission remains lawful as a notice was placed at the site and a press advert was published - which fulfils the statutory part of the process."
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