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Parklands Residents’ Association |
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Victory ! The
application made in 2006 by Northamptonshire County Council (NCC) to dispose
of the playing fields at NCC’S RESPONSE – KEEP ASKING UNTIL YOU GET THE ANSWER
YOU DESIRE NCC
are free to apply again, and have chosen to do so
only 2 months after this
humiliating defeat. As the
circumstances of local schools and facilities have not changed, the only way
NCC can possibly succeed is through community apathy. Don’t let them grind you down Find
out how to beat them at their own game in our leaflet HERE |
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No,
it’s not an April Fools’ day joke – we really have updated our website Village Green Application There
has been much activity recently regarding our application to register the
land at the former Section 77 Application We
visited Planning Application The
application has still not been determined, over 18 months after the
consultation closed - please follow the Local Concerns link on the left for
further details. |
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6 June |
Village Green Application Today
we submitted an application for village green status for the playing fields
at the former Letter from Sally Keeble,
MP Sally
Keeble has written to us to advise that, should
WNDC approve the planning application, the Secretary of State will review the
decision – further details are available in the Stage two planning section. Section 77 Application NCC
were required to consult users of the playing fields
before applying for permission to sell them.
Following our recent village green survey, we have been able to advise
DfES of a number of instances where this has not
happened – see the Stage one planning section under Local Concerns for
further details. |
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10 May |
Development
of The pages covering stages 1 and 2 of the planning
application, and progress of our village green application, have all been
updated. You will also find details of
revised recommendations from Sport England, including retention of a junior
pitch, a financial contribution towards the cost of improved changing
facilities, and provision of open space for residents. Following our meeting in March, we have written to WNDC
with our comments and suggestions. |
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18 March |
Major
update Following a very busy few months, we have updated our
website. Outline planning application –
progress update New sections have been added to cover each stage of the
planning application, and these may be accessed via the Local Concerns link
on the left. Application
for Village Green status As the County Council has declared the land at the
former Parklands Middle School as ‘surplus to educational requirements’, we
are now in a position to apply for the playing fields to be granted Village
Green status. If
successful, the land CANNOT be built on However, once again we need the support of the people of
Parklands – please visit the new page which has been added to keep you
updated, accessible via the Local Concerns link on the left. Meetings Details of scheduled meetings for 2007 have been added
to the meetings page. |
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16 November |
The Borough Council agrees with us too !! Northampton
Borough Council (NBC) have published their Surplus
School Sites Planning Statement (read it HERE). This report comments only on the playing
fields aspects, and says the following about Parklands “The area has shortfalls in junior football and
mini-soccer pitches. Retention of the school playing fields would also assist
in addressing shortfalls in the adjoining Partnership Area 3. Notwithstanding the need to make provision
for playing pitches, the site also has the potential to meet an open space
need for ‘parks and gardens’.” The
report goes on to say that the existing built part of the school may only be
redeveloped subject to the provision of 1 adult-sized football and 6-8
mini-soccer pitches on the school playing fields, the provision of improved
changing facilities at Parklands community centre, and the retention of
woodland as amenity open space. |
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25 October |
Mick
Tilley, sustainable transport officer at NCC, has written to NBC objecting to
the development of “Notwithstanding the conclusions of the transport
statement for the proposed residential use, I have serious concerns over the
additional traffic movements this site would generate” The
letter goes on to say that some of the statements made regarding transport in
the planning application are not valid, and that the assessments submitted by
Atkins on behalf of NCC must now be the subject of an independent review. |
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11 October |
Outline planning application –
progress update As
of today, West Northamptonshire Development Corporation (WNDC) and NBC have
received 344 letters regarding these applications – this level of support is fantastic
(around 1 in 3 households !), so well done to
everyone who took the time to write in. As
a further example of the support that we are receiving, the residents’
association have recently received a letter from the Parklands Tigers
Football Club which we have forwarded on to WNDC and DfES. More details may be found on the Local
Concerns page. |
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5 October |
Other local campaigns Member
of the residents’ association attended a meeting organised by MP Sally Keeble to discuss the proposals for surplus school sites
in the Kingsthorpe and Blackthorn areas. Most
people welcomed the development of houses on these sites, provided that
existing residents saw local benefits such as community centres and play
areas. Regardless of their individual
point of view, EVERYONE at the meeting spoke out regarding the lack of
consultation, both on the disposal of school sites and the future development
of the land. |
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25 September |
Section 77 Application A
copy of NCC’s application to the DfES seeking permission to sell off the playing fields at
Although
the outline planning consultation period has now closed, we continue to
receive support from across the political spectrum. Read the objections submitted by
parliamentary candidate |
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