Desborough Developments Working Party DDWP

09/06/2026

Draft minutes of the DDWP meeting held on 20 May 2026.

08/06/2026

Sharing information on the forthcoming Wilbarston Parish Council and FAV (Friends of the Airfield & Valley) public meeting regarding the Innova Desborough Airfield proposed development - this coming Sunday 14th June 4-7pm

27/05/2026

NNC are starting off the process to develop a new area plan for 2024-2045 (yes it’s late already!) - there is an initial consultation process for the public open now through until 1st July. We encourage all residents to complete this given the importance of this plan for Desborough’s future an especially as the Desborough local Neighbourhood Plan is not in place.

The DDWP separately is confirming a proposal to support the local Desborough pla process - in the meantime please take a few minutes to complete this NNC consultation.

Find and participate in consultations run by North Northamptonshire Council

25/05/2026

Details of Rushton Road Development

At our latest DDWP we were joined by representatives Boyer Planning, David Wilson Homes and Barratt Redrow regarding their proposed development off Rushton Road, Desborough (although technically within the neighbouring parish of Rushton).
After the short presentation there were a range of questions asked of the developers from the public and DDWP – this is currently at pre-application stage but is expected that an application could be made shortly.

The full presentation can be viewed here (google drive link): https://drive.google.com/file/d/12V4mDwft1Q1KbcIr3BlJNnGYG_UZvLkv/view?usp=sharing

In summary, as expected there was significant concern expressed around issues: drainage/flooding on neighbouring areas; ecology issues; transport and traffic impact; highways/turn limitations in visibility turning out of the road; construction traffic and the impact on Dunkirk Avenue, Rushton Road and through into Rushton.

The DDWP will continue to engage with representatives up to and through the planning cycle – we will also be raising a cross-development ANPR scheme as something to be considered given the cumulative impact of potential developments across the town. We will share when any formal application is submitted for this or any of the other 3 potential developments we are tracking.

09/05/2026

A message from Cllr David Howes -
ISE VALLEY / DESBOROUGH SOUTH UPDATE
I am deeply concerned by information that has now been shared with Desborough Ward Councillors regarding the South Desborough / Ise Valley site.
After the previous administration chose not to extend the long stop date on the Bellway deal, local ward councillors believed we were moving towards discussions around enhancing and protecting this important green space for residents.
Instead, it now appears that behind the backs of local ward councillors, the Reform-led administration and officers have continued exploring options to bring forward housing development on the site once again.
The update we have now received confirms:
•⁠ ⁠Discussions have continued with the Co-op regarding bringing development forward
•⁠ ⁠Options included the disposal of Council land
•⁠ ⁠A new Section 123 open space consultation on the Hawthorns site was being considered
•⁠ ⁠Ward councillors were not proactively informed while these discussions were taking place
Residents deserve openness and transparency, especially when it concerns valued green space in our community.
As your ward councillor, I will continue pushing for full disclosure on what discussions have taken place, what proposals are being considered, and why local members were not properly kept informed.
I know many residents care passionately about protecting the Ise Valley and Hawthorns area, and I share those concerns.
I will update residents further as more information becomes available.

22/04/2026

Members of the DDWP trekked over to Rothwell last night to attend the public update meeting from the Rothwell Against Warehousing (RAW) group - it was a very well put together evening where the group shared more information about the objections they have submitted to the planning proposal for warehousing at the bottom of the A6 Bypass at J3 of the A14.

Needless to say the site is huge and will have a significant impact:
- The application is riddled with errors, cherry picked data and inaccuracies which are just copy and paste from other applications - Desborough in one section on local impact refers to the town of “Longport”, a map is used on local distances which has the M61 and is actually Chorley in Lancs, says no flooding risk or impact on right of ways when is a stream and two bridleways/paths on site. The CPRE say it’s one of the poorest quality applications they have seen in the county.

-Traffic is a huge concern- J3 of A14 with A6 will see sliproads and access roads carry between 40-100% traffic increase at peak times. This doesn’t take into account further growth for Desborough or Rothwell and we will see worse traffic than today on slip roads. Noise and impact reports were done in summer holidays with trees in full leaf, so are woefully inadequate.

- Significant detrimental visual impact and landscape impact - which seems almost indefensible from the poor report the applicant has submitted. The site will be three tranches of buildings - 15m, 18.5m and then over 100k m2 of 25m warehousing - the latter is taller than the church spire in Rothwell.

There is the opportunity for local residents to register their comments and concerns on the planning application right now, and will be a call for further public engagement before it comes to full NNC Planning Committee Consideration in the near future.

DDWP chair Ben Murphy-Ryan added some insight into our concerns at the cumulative traffic impact of future developments from Desborough onto local traffic routes and this critical local infrastructure choke point at A14 J3 (and likely J4).

As a group we have already added comments last year when the application first went in, but the DDWP plan to engage further when this comes to planning committee to support RAW's efforts.

Well done Rothwell Against Warehousing (RAW) for putting together such a professional and comprehensive update. We encourage anyone concerned in the Desborough and Rothwell area to go to the https://www.rothwellagainstwarehousing.co.uk/ site for more information on how to submit objections and comments in the meantime.

19/04/2026

Minutes of the DDWP meeting held on 15 April 2026.

20/02/2026

Gladman Developments is planning a new development of 245 homes with access from the north side of Braybrooke Road, Desborough and adjoining the current town boundary. This site was the subject of a similar application that was refused in 2018/19. The Gladman planning manager gave a presentation to Desborough Town Council on 19 February 2026 and advised that the previous concerns have been addressed and the development would contain mixed housing, with 30% being affordable homes. There will be a mix of tenures as part of the 30% affordable provision based on North Northamptonshire’s planning policies and advice provided by the Council’s housing officers. The affordable housing mix will likely include what is often referred to as intermediate homes, which includes Shared Ownership. He also said that Gladman is a planning promoter and that the site will be offered for sale to a developer once outline planning permission has been obtained. Gladman will engage in a public consultation exercise in March and expect to submit an outline planning application in the spring or summer. The DDWP will monitor and await further information.

10/02/2026

The DDWP is currently looking for new members to join the working party and support our work engaging with the community on current and future developments in Desborough. All are welcome - the organisation is by design non-political and has a range of experiences and backgrounds present and welcomes additional points of view.

As a group we do not necessarily focus on being for or against developments -although may take a view on this for planning comments or specific developments. The intention of the DDWP is to work positively and openly where needed with developers to share community thoughts and concerns before, and especially during the planning & construction lifecycle.

If you are interested in joining us or have any questions please email us directly [email protected] or message us here on Facebook - we hold meetings every few months and discuss matters between by emails and messages, particularly around planning applications.

Our next meeting is Weds 18th March at 7.30pm at the Services Club - we will be considering applications to join the DDWP at this meeting.