The car park, situated next to the former Greyfriars bus station in Northampton, has been refused permission nine months after construction started. (Image: Nadia Lincoln) Sign up to our free email newsletter to receive the latest breaking news and daily roundups More Newsletters Subscribe Please enter a valid email Something went wrong, please try again later. More Newsletters We use your sign-up to provide content in ways you’ve consented to and improve our understanding of you.
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This may include adverts from us and third parties based on our knowledge of you. More info × Group 28 Thank you for subscribing! We have more newsletters Show Me No thanks, close See our Privacy Notice A car park in Northampton town centre which was built and run without planning permission has been thrown out by the council. Work on the 55-space car park, which was branded as "dangerous" by highways officers, started as early as December 2023 on East Island, a piece of derelict land near the Grosvenor Centre and the former Greyfriars bus station.
Plans were initially submitted by Zone Developments to convert the site into a car park for a three-year period, but the applicant has since changed to the 'East Island Partnership'. West Northamptonshire Council (WNC) today (August 13) issued them a refusal notice. Though it was initially open for the public to use, the site was voluntarily closed in March following media attention.
The planning application asking for permission to begin building was only validated by WNC in February this year. Read more: Northamptonshire councils will hold new government's 'feet to the fire' on Tory investment pledges Formerly the application site was green open space with dense trees and shrubbery and was used as a pedestrian connectivity route between Lady’s Lane and Greyfriars. The East Island site in September 2023, before construction started.
(Image: Google Maps) The WNC planning report stated that the site is known to consist of medieval historical remains of archaeological interest. It said that the applicant 'failed' to demonstrate it had not caused harm to "irreplaceable heritage assets". The highways department also picked out its poor layout and access arrangement resulting in an "unsafe" development.
"The fact that the access is at such an acute angle facing into traffic, is dangerous," it explained in its objection. "Motorists will have to enter the highways angled the wrong way and must perform a U-turn to follow the direction of traffic." The East Island car park was fully operational at the start of 2024 despite being described as "a work in progress".
(Image: Nadia Lincoln) Another complaint by the Northamptonshire Fire and Rescue Service and Northamptonshire Police said it was "disgraceful" that the site was being used, whilst remaining a "work in progress" with trip hazards and debris. Planning officers concluded the benefits are very limited and do not outweigh the harm identified. Therefore, planning permission has been refused.
The Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) has asked West Northamptonshire Council what will happen to the half-built application site now. Both Zone Developments and East Island Partnership have been contacted for comment. Story Saved You can find this story in My Bookmarks.
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