News

Parish Council response to WNJPU Consultation (03-2-2010)

The Parish Council has written to the West Northants Joint Planning Unit (WNJPU) with their response to the WNJPU - Draft Strategic Housing Land Availability Assessment. The 14 potential sites in Milton Malsor parish as shown on the WNJPU website is a wish list of sites put forward by land owners and developers.

IMPORTANT: Please note that no planning applications have been received for any of these sites.

General Election polling station & count staff required (21-11-2009)

A General Election will be held within the next 5 months and South Northants Council want to add to their pool of articulate and numerate people to help run it. Whether working at a polling station or counting votes, you would help ensure a smooth and successful election.

You will be paid either a fixed fee or an hourly rate and no particular qualifications are needed as training will be given. You must not be involved with any political party.

Application forms and further information are available from Electoral Services on 01327 322128 or eMail: electoral.services@southnorthants.gov.uk

New recycling leaflet from SNC (17-11-2009)

Recycling leaflet

A new recycling leaflet from South Northants Council explains what materials can be put in your green bin. Some of the things found in green bins that should not be there include shoes, plastic bags, carpet, glass, disposable nappies, cushions and chipboard. The contents of your green bin are recycled into compost for improving soil, and these materials are not suitable. Please note than your bin will not be emptied if it contains the wrong materials as it could interfere with the recycling process.

Parish Council response to WNJPU Consultation (25-8-2009)

The Parish Council has written to the West Northants Joint Planning Unit (WNJPU) with their response to the “Emergent Joint Core Strategy Consultation”.

Northampton Expansion Proposals - exhibition dates (8-8-2009)

Here is a list of Northampton Expansion Proposals exhibition dates for the West Northants “Emergent Joint Core Strategy”. Some of the exhibitions are staffed and some are not:

Proposed areas for growth in West Northants announced - Milton is not affected (29-6-2009)

The West Northants Joint Planning Unit has published the West Northants Emergent Joint Core Strategy ahead of the next JPU meeting on 6 July 2009. The meeting is at South Northants Council’s offices in Towcester at 6pm and is open to members of the public.

In this strategy document is the recommendation of areas for growth in West Northants. We are pleased to say does not include the option to develop south of the M1 motorway and south west of Northampton. This option was sensibly rejected since: “...[it] is located beyond the strong physical barrier of the M1 motorway which would conflict with the desire to provide good linkages between existing and new communities” and: ...“development beyond the M1 corridor ...would severely impact upon the character of the town of Northampton which is clearly contained within this corridor. This option would in effect be akin to a new settlement needing its own facilities as it would be challenging for a new community to make maximum use of services and facilities within Northampton. It is considered that this option is not based on sustainable development principles compared to the other options around Northampton. This option would not necessarily foster the regeneration of Northampton to enable it to fulfil a greater role within West Northamptonshire and the Region. With the M1 being a definite physical barrier this option is unlikely to enable and support the delivery of co-ordinated transport improvements with an emphasis on non-car modes improving connections with and around Northampton and links to the wider network“.

Residents of Milton will find this is very encouraging. The Parish Council has not yet discussed the item but there will still be some matters of concern about some of the proposed developments, including the sheer size, traffic and infrastructure. We will report further developments on this issue as soon as possible - at this stage the proposals are purely recommendations and not yet firm policy.

Minerals Public Enquiry update - County Council unsure of way forward? (15-5-2009)

Two letters relating to the adjournment of the Minerals Public Inquiry have been posted on the County Council website.

A letter of 6 May from the County Council addressed to the Inspector says: “the County Council will not be in a position to respond to the Inspector’s letter of 8 April until the end of May in respect of the way forward”.

The Parish Council asks: “Has the ‘Sustainability Appraisal’ been done?” The reference to the ‘Sustainability Appraisal’ in the County Council’s letter suggests this may not be the case.

The letter of 10 May from the Inspector in response to the County Council’s letter of 6 May says: “I agree to the extension of the adjournment of the Examination until the end of this month. Please could you respond to me by 1st June 2009 with the decision you propose taking”.

We await the County Council’s decision with the greatest of interest - will they meet the Inspector’s new deadline? In the meantime the Parish Council will seek further legal advice and continue to monitor closely the County Council’s position.

Sand quarry surprise: County Council fails to meet public enquiry deadline (5-5-2009)

In his note of 8 April, (see news item for 15 April) the Inspector stated that he found the Northampton County Council’s minerals and waste strategy was inadequately justified, lacking “substantial evidence”. He decided to give the council every reasonable opportunity to submit additional evidence, and explained what evidence he required. There were also other areas of concern, which the Inspector explained clearly to the council. One area of concern was inadequate consultation by the council. There would be a set timetable, with the resumption of the Inquiry on a date to be agreed.

The council agreed to respond to this note within 3 weeks, that is by 29 April, and if they were unable to do so they were to let the Inspector know without delay.

The council has not so far replied to the Inspector in spite of a clear agreement to do so. It has made the following comment to the Northampton Chronicle and Echo, reported in that newspaper of 2 May: “We are still considering the Inspector’s comments as to the best way to proceed”.

Our Parish Clerk has written to the Inspector’s office regarding the County Council’s failure to respond within the agreed timescale. We await with interest to see what action the Inspector will now take.

Are you worried about your mortgage? Get advice now (3-5-2009)

If you are struggling to pay your mortgage, or you think it will be difficult to pay more when your fixed-rate deal ends, act now to stop your situation becoming worse. A Government leaflet issued in conjunction with the Citizens Advice Bureaux and other agencies may help you. It gives step-by-step information to help you begin to sort out your money worries and to make other arrangements for paying your mortgage and keeping your home.

How Milton rates in SNC’S sustainability scores (19-4-2009)

A report due to go before South Northants Council next week has identified the most “sustainable” villages that could cope with extra development outside of the village confines to make up the land supply.

In those villages deemed “most sustainable”, SNC will look more favourably at planning applications on land outside or adjoining the village confines. The top four sustainable villages are Deanshanger, Middleton Cheney, Roade and Bugbrooke, with a further 13 classed as “reasonably sustainable”.

A six-week consultation on the report aimed at parish councils, developers and registered social landlords started on 17 April.

You can see how Milton rates by looking at the sustainability tables in the SNC document “Housing Situation in South Northamptonshire Consultation Draft”.

Sand quarry Public Inquiry put on hold (15-4-2009)

The Minerals and Waste Core strategy Public Inquiry, which impacts the village in terms of the sand quarry proposed between Milton and Collingtree, has been put on hold by the Inspector.

The Inspector has raised issues with the quality of the evidence and documentation supplied by the Northamptonshire County Council. The hearing for May 6 and 7 has therefore been postponed.

A letter informing the council of this development was sent to the Parish Council Clerk, Mrs Ann Addison

The Inspector states that: “...on the basis of what I had heard during the week, if I were to write my report now, I would not be able to find the Core Strategy sound. The principle reason is that of inadequate justification.”

You can read the Inspector’s note on the adjournment and the way forward here.

New Dog Control Orders (26-3-2009)

South Northamptonshire Council has announced it will adopt new dog control orders from Wednesday, 1 April 2009, following a consultation period from August 2008 to February 2009. You can read an outline of the new orders here. Further details will be published on the Parish Council notice board and in the next edition of the Parish Council newsletter.

Cabinet objects to plans for sand quarry (23-3-2009)

The following article is based on a report in the Northampton Chronicle & Echo, Thursday, 19 March 2009.

Supporting plans for a new sand quarry between two villages in Northamptonshire would be like “turkeys voting for Christmas” , a campaigner has said.

Villagers and councillors from Milton Malsor and Collingtree turned out to lobby Northampton Borough Council’s cabinet to oppose the proposals, which residents said would bring more traffic and health problems to the communities.

Councillor Paul Varnsverry (Lib Dem, West Hunsbury ), who spoke at the cabinet meeting last night and compared the decision to “turkeys voting for Christmas”, said: “We’re not speaking of hundreds of tonnes of materials. We’re facing huge levels of disruption caused by the movement of hundreds of thousands of tonnes over a period of many years.”

His speech followed those by Malcom Brice, chairman of Collingtree Parish Council and Brian Sumpton, chair of Milton Malsor Parish Council, as well as former Borough Councillor Jill Hope.

Protesters said hundreds of lorries would be using rural roads to extract the sand if the plans, drawn up by Northamptonshire County Council, went ahead.

Councillor Malcolm MIldren (Lib Dem, Parklands) was supportive of the residents and said: “This is a much bigger impact far beyond Milton Malsor and Collingtree. We’re talking about a 15-hectare site. We’re all doing our best to improve Northampton and make it a county town to be proud of. Is this good for Northampton ? No.”

The cabinet said it would object to the county council’s sand quarry plans because of a lack of a buffer zone around the residential areas and called for “stringent safeguarding controls”.

Here’s a link to the full cabinet submission to the County Council.

Help our campaign to stop the sand Quarry - 6pm Wednesday, 18 March (15-3-2009)

Can you spare an hour on Wednesday 18 March from 6pm onwards to save Milton’s peace and quiet?

On that evening Northampton Borough Council Cabinet is discussing whether to support or oppose the County Council’s proposal to set up a sand quarry between Milton and Collingtree.

If the quarry goes ahead, this village will suffer from 10-20 years of dust, noise and HGVs cutting through the village taking the sand out and then bringing rubbish back to fill the hole. It doesn’t matter that HGVs are banned from using this route, they WILL use it. Remember the mud from the Weldon site?

If you want to stop this, come to the Northampton Guildhall at 6pm on 18th (earlier if you want to be sure of getting a seat) and by your presence you will be supporting the people who are speaking against this site.

If you wish to speak at the meeting you must register your intention to speak beforehand, by telephoning Fraser McGowan on 01604 837101 no later than 12 noon on the day - it will also help if you let our Clerk, Mrs Ann Addison, know.

The more people from Milton who come, the more the Cabinet will realise that this is really important to us.

New playground outline plans (14-3-2009)

At the January 2009 Parish Council Meeting, the Council approved a long term plan to upgrade the playing field and make it an attractive place for the whole community. Please see the Spring 2009 Parish Council Newsletter (no 24) for the full background.

Plans for two of the new playground proposals are shown below in greater detail than was possible in the Newsletter. Click on the thumbnail pictures for higher-resolution versions.

Wickstead Plan Komplan Plan

The Council welcomes constructive comment and opinion about this project and asks that letters are sent to our Clerk - her address is on our Contacts Us page.

Sand quarry public meeting and response (28-2-2009)

Following a packed Public Meeting in Milton Malsor Village Hall about the Milton Sand Quarry which was attended by our MP, Brian Binley, on Friday 27 February, it was decided to publish the circular to residents issued by the Parish Council. This is to act as a guide for anyone wishing to respond from the village or our neighbours in Collingtree, East and West Hunsbury.

A Microsoft Word file containing the suggested text is available here for you to download and modify as you wish. We strongly recommend you modify and add your own text to this response. Don't forget to include your own personal name and address details. If you also live outside the village of Milton Malsor you may well wish to express your own personal views about the impact of the site on the health and well-being of your community.

Thanks to all who came to a very successful meeting with a very clear message for government that this site is in the wrong place.

Your personalised letter should be sent or taken to the address indicated by no later than 5pm on 12 March.

Thanks to all who attended the meeting and please tell your neighbours and watch this site for the latest information.

A full report on the meeting will appear here shortly.

Exchange of letters with Councillor Ben Smith (22-1-2009)

Following the County Council Cabinet meeting in December, the Parish Council wrote to Cllr Ben Smith - Deputy Leader of the County Council & Cabinet Member for Environment & Growth - following his statement at the meeting that “The Stoke Albany sites cannot be worked for sand extraction due to environmental reasons”. The purpose of the Parish Council’s letter was to find out details of what these environmental reasons actually are in relation to these sites, as it is not clear from the site assessments. You can read Cllr Ben Smith’s response and draw your own conclusions about the substance of the environmental assessments.

Northants County Council - Minerals Local Plan, submissions made to December 2008 Cabinet meeting (18-1-2009)

At the Northamptonshire County Council Cabinet meeting of 9 December 2008, two submissions were made requesting the removal of the site in Milton Malsor Parish from the Minerals Local Plan. You can read them here:

The Cabinet decided that, in spite of these submissions, the Milton site would remain in the local plan. You can read the minutes of the Cabinet meeting including the resolution passed here. You can also read the local press comment in the Northampton Chronicle and Echo ‘Final bid to block quarry plan near villages’.

Proposed Sand Quarry (8-12-2008)

The Parish Council will be addressing Northamptonsire County Council Cabinet on 9 December 2008 asking that the proposed sand quarry site between the two villages of Milton Malsor and Collingtree be removed from the plan. A document showing maps of the Milton site and a possible alternative site in the county away from residential housing, together with photographs of both sites, is available here.

New Parish Councillor appointed (30-10-2008)

Colin Ramshaw

At the October Parish Council meeting the council welcomed Colin Ramshaw to fill the position of Parish Councillor, vacated when Carolyn Dent moved abroad.

Colin spent around 25 years with ICI in research and development, then joined the University of Newcastle-upon-Tyne as Professor of Chemical Engineering. After retiring, he developed a teaching and research interest with Cranfield University which, together with a wish to be nearer their Northampton-based son, resulted in moving to the village. We are sure he will be a valuable member of the council.

Parish Council responds to proposed sand quarry (21-10-2008)

The Parish Council has now sent a detailed response to the Chief Executive of Northamptonshire County Council, Mrs Katherine Kerswell, about the proposed sand quarry between Milton and Collingtree villages. In the letter, the Parish Council draws the attention of the Chief Executive to a number of serious errors and omissions in the County Council’s Preferred Options document published in October 2007. A copy of the Parish Council’s response is available here, together with the original letter from Northants County Council of 10th July.

Notice of Consultation for new Dog Control Orders (22-8-2008)

Dog Control leaflet

South Northamptonshire Council proposes to make Dog Control Orders for five offences, and intends to issue Fixed Penalty Notices to enforce them. The penalty would be £75 within fourteen days, and failure to pay within 14 days may result in prosecution. For more information read the Animal Welfare page on SNC’s web site. There is also an Advice Leaflet available on SNC’s web site which summarises the proposed new laws.

A statutory consultation period will run from 11th August 2008 to 30th September 2008 and representations should be made to South Northamptonshire Council by either by writing to Environmental Protection, South Northamptonshire Council, Springfields, Towcester NN12 6AE or emailing dogcontrolorders@southnorthants.gov.uk.

Summer Activities for Children (26-7-2008)

This year’s programme of children’s activities covers sport, leisure and the arts in a variety of locations around the county. Full details are available in SNC’s Summer Activity Booklet. Activities near Milton include: A Skate Park at Grange Park on 14 and 21 August from 4.30-7.30 (Just turn up on the day - it’s free). There are a wide variety of Sports activities ranging from Athletics, Mountain Biking, Watersports and a trip to Old Trafford. Some of these activities require pre-booking and some fees. For details read the booklet on-line, or call SNC Sports and Leisure for copies of the brochure on 01327 332335.

Affordable Housing - a new leaflet (24-7-2008)

Affordable housing leaflet

If you don’t know much about affordable housing a new leaflet from South Northants Council may help answer any questions you may have, such as:

...... and so on.

Affordable homes help people who cannot afford to buy or rent housing on the open market. All affordable housing is built to the same standard as housing on the open market. You can read, download or print the leaflet by clicking on its picture, shown above. The leaflet also explains what you need to do next or how to get more information.

Collingtree Park housing development (21-7-2008)

In July 2008, a proposal for a major urban extension of housing was being planned by Bovis Homes to the east of the Collingtree Park golf course with some remodelling of the course. The extension includes some 2,000 houses of which ca.35% will be affordable housing. Access to the site for residents is proposed from Rowtree Road and Windingbrook Lane in East Hunsbury. For more details see the Collingtree Park Extension web site where you can leave comments (please copy any comments to the Parish Council). The Parish Council has not, at this stage, discussed the proposal or its impact, if any, on the village, but plans to do so. At this stage, it is a proposal only, and no planning application has been submitted.

Parish Council vacancy (9-7-2008)

Closing Date for Applications: 1st August 2008

As mentioned in the summer 2008 issue of the Parish Council Newsletter, Mrs Carolyn Dent is moving away from the Parish and standing down as a Parish Councillor. The Parish Council therefore has a vacancy and is now looking for a new Councillor to be elected by co-option of the existing Councillors. Please read the formal vacancy notice and, if you are willing, apply in writing to the Clerk on or before 1st August 2008.

Stockwell Way and Stockwell Road resurfacing (24-6-2008)

Resurfacing of Stockwell Way and Stockwell Road should begin in the near future. Northants County Council has issued a formal notice of closure of the roads to traffic effective from 30 June for a period of 18 months. However, work is expected to happen quite soon and residents will be informed of a firm date when we hear further details

Spring Holiday sports activities for children (18-3-2008)

South Northants Council are running Spring Holiday sports camps and activities from 7th to 18th April. Parents are urged to book quickly.

Sports include Athletics, Basketball, Cricket, Cycling, Golf and Rugby , which are on offer for children and young people aged five to 16. All activities are delivered by qualified coaches from Clubs and Governing Bodies of Sport or SNC’s own Community Sports Coach. Reservations can be made by calling 01327 322078 and lines open on 25 March 2008.

For more information and details on age groups and prices, download the activity booklet or call the Sports Development Team on 01327 322078. The Council’s usual summer activity programme will be back in full force this year filled with both arts and sports activities, and details will be available from mid June.

Update on potential sand extraction for Milton Malsor (24-2-2008)

The County Council has received 264 letters strongly objecting to their proposal to widen roads in Milton Malsor and Collingtree in order to make life easier for HGV`s to gain access to the proposed site. These objections along with other representations have been considered by the County Council who have now advised that this road widening scheme will not be pursued. Should planning permission be applied for and granted to extract sand, the contractors will be required to build a haul road across the railway and to the former A43 trunk road, as the only means of access to the site.

This is excellent news for residents in both villages - the Parish Council is grateful to everyone who wrote in to object. We are working hard to get this proposed site removed from the County Council`s Minerals Plan.

Milton Ham Industrial Park - Planning Application (24-2-2008)

The Parish Council has written to West Northants Development Corporation (WNDC) strongly objecting to this planning application for 8 x office units, 26 x industrial units and 3 x warehouse units on Greenfield land located to the north of the M1 adjoining junction 15a, and east of the former A43 trunk road near the Crematorium.

This massive development will impact severely on the village as we are located only 1000m from the site. The sheer height and size of the buildings will be an eyesore on the open countryside, and will be even worse than the existing warehouse developments in Swan Valley. Our village and community will suffer terribly from light pollution and the appalling visual appearance. The Parish Council remains mindful of the sheer intensity of the light pollution which residents in Kislingbury suffer from, due to the vast Sainsburys warehouse sited on the M1 near the village.

Further information can be viewed on the WNDC website. [the Parish Council’s position is referred to on page 20 of Issue 20 (Easter 2008) of our Newsletter].

Post office closure (21-2-2008)

The Parish Council is sorry to report that the Post Office in Milton Malsor has now been confirmed as closing on 20th March 2008. The loss of this amenity will be sorely felt by users in our community, also Collingtree and other areas. The nearest Post Office facility will be Blisworth; there is also a Post Office at the Hill Shop, Camp Hill Hunsbury

Previous years’ news archives

2007