Northampton Borough Council
Northampton Borough Council

St James Employment Area

LDO for the St James Employment Area

Northampton Borough Council recently adopted a LDO for the St James Employment Area to commence on 1 April 2012.

This St James Employment Area Local Development Order sets out development which can take place without the need for obtaining planning permission. The Order includes a boundary map to which it applies.

The St James Employment Area LDO will allow (within the Use Classes Order) the use of land and buildings for B1(b) research and development of products or processes, B1 (c) any industrial process being a use which can be carried out in any residential area without detriment to the amenity of that area by reason of noise, vibration, smell fumes, smoke, soot ash, dust or grit and B2 general industrial being a use for the carrying on of an industrial process other than one falling within Class B1 of the Use Classes Order.

For information on the Use Classes Order please see the general guide provided by the Planning Portal.

The LDO also allows material alterations to the external appearance of buildings, to include the recladding of exteriors; replacement of doors and windows and the installation of new doors and windows; and, the mounting of solar panels on roofs and sides of buildings.

Consultation on the LDO

Consultation was undertaken for 28 days on a draft Local Development Order which ended on 10 February 2012.

The responses received to the consultation are detailed below. All responses were considered by the case officer, and the proposal to create a LDO was judged against the relevant Council policies and Government advice and a recommendation made. A detailed summary of all comments received and any changes required to the draft Local Development Order as a result was reported to the Council's Cabinet on 7 March 2012.

The finalised Local Development Order was submitted to Secretary of State for consideration. In a letter on 14 March 2012 the Secretary of State approved the adoption of the Local Development Order.

Responses to Consultation

A total of 17 respondents made representations. Most of the respondents that gave a response on the desirability of the Local Development Order and supported or strongly supported its contents. In addition to this, in summary specific comments related to the need to take account of:

a) Environment Agency Byelaws and the implications of the location of much of the area within the floodplain and flood flows

b) Mechanisms to adequately address significant transportation implications

c) Potential adverse effect on amenity of neighbouring residential properties through new windows, openings and changes of use

d) Inclusion of areas not within the boundary identified in the draft Order

e) Allow certain types of storage

f) The potential displacement of waste related occupiers / uses

g) Transport requirements of the Northampton Saints rugby club

h) The need to not substantially increase the working population within close proximity to the hazardous installation of the BP petroleum storage site

These issues raised have where appropriate resulted in amendments to the Local Development Order, more specifically through:

a) A condition requiring approval for open storage within the flood plain from the Council

b) A condition requiring obscured glazing on any new windows above ground floor level together with restrictions on ability for them to be opened

c) The inclusion of reference to appropriate informatives from the Environment Agency, Anglian Water and Northamptonshire County Council

The responses received will be added shortly.

Consultation Documents

The consultation documents included:

The St James Employment Area forms only one part of the wider Northampton Waterside Enterprise Zone. The Order is only applicable to the areas stated.

Availability of Consultation Documents

As part of the preparation of the St James Employment Area LDO, the Council undertook a consultation exercise as if it were a planning application. Therefore the Council undertook the following activities, in accordance with the planning requirements:

Consultation documents were made available on-line, in local libraries and at the Council Offices. Responses could be made on paper, by email or via the internet.

  • Published the LDO, and supporting documents on its website to make the information publically available and to provide the opportunity for any interested party to make any comments that might be appropriate
  • Consulted with business occupiers and owners within, and around the boundary of the LDO
  • Consulted with statutory consultees whose interests would be affected by the LDO, including the Environment Agency, the Highways Agency and Natural England
  • Provided a copy of the LDO and Statement of Reasons in the One Stop Shop, published the information on the Councils website, and in the Central Library and St James Library.
  • Placed a public notice in the Chronicle and Echo and the Herald and Post
  • Provided local advertisement within and around the site through site notices

Business Consultation Meeting

A Business Breakfast Meeting took place on 1 February 2012 with business within the proposed LDO boundary and the Enterprise Zone. This purpose of this event was to explain to businesses about the Enterprise Zone and what it means for existing and new local business, the proposed simplified planning process and the draft Local Development Order. There was also opportunity for discussion and questions.  

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