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Furious residents today blasted a bungling council which approved the construction of a ‘monster’ warehouse right behind their homes – after they mistakenly consulted the wrong street.
Homeowners on Hooke Close in Corby, Northamptonshire woke up to discover the 60ft high metal frame on the site of a former Weetabix factory being built just feet from their back doors.
Bemused neighbours contacted the council to ask why they had not been informed – only to learn that bungling officials mixed up their street with Hubble Road around half a mile away.
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Locals say they are ‘living in hell’ amid fears the 160,800sq ft development will block sunlight from their homes and could cause average house prices – currently at around £200,000 – to tumble.
Resident Georgie Wallis said: ‘If they’d consulted and said, ‘We’re going to put a 160,000sq ft warehouse there that’s going to block your view’, I would have obviously objected to it, but they didn’t.
‘How can you get that so wrong? How can you make such an error and wonder why no-one has objected?
‘It’s enormous. Once the shell goes in it, that’s going to be a complete eyesore – and it already is, it’s awful.’
Portuguese-born Jose Cruz, 64, and his wife Olga, 59, moved into their two-bedroom semi-detached home in 2011.
They fear they will now be unable to sell their £200,000 house as a result of the warehouse looming over their back fence.
Supermarket worker Mr Cruz said: ‘It’s a nightmare – the building will leave our home in complete darkness.
‘There used to be a Weetabix factory on the site but that was half the size of this monstrosity and it had been dormant for a long time.
‘We get the sun in the morning into our kitchen, garden and bedroom but not anymore.
‘The works have caused our house to shake violently. It goes on for hours and hours. It’s terrible and we’re very angry we weren’t consulted about it.’
Operations manager Kieran Joseph, 30, has lived in the street with hairdresser Megan Cowan, 28, and their two children for seven years.
He said: ‘It’s been pretty hellish ever since they started building. While they have been laying the foundations, it’s been a constant ‘bang, bang, bang’ all day every day.
‘The vibrations have caused a crack in our roof so the kids’ bedroom leaks and when I or Megan work from home we’ve had to explain and apologise to customers because of the noise.
‘The galling thing is the council consulted the wrong road of residents and gave them detailed information and milestone dates while we were just kept in the dark.
‘We really don’t want to stay here any longer because even when the warehouse is finished, it’s going to be so big it blocks out the light and there’ll be cars and lorries coming in and out of it at all hours.’
According to the developer Block Industrial, the groundworks at Earlstree 160 are completed and progress has been made in the above-ground construction works.
The development is on track for completion later this year and the site is already being advertised as a distribution warehouse to lease on Rightmove.
The particulars say the warehouse will have a 12.5-metre internal clearance and a vast 50-metre-wide service area for lorries. The eight-acre site will also have enough parking for 109 cars and 25 HGVs.
While residents and councillors are up in arms about not being properly notified, the council insists the development is still legal.
Labour councillor Mark Pengelly said: ‘The council have admitted they consulted with the wrong streets on this application. Incredibly the North Northants planning officers consulted with homes next to a different Weetabix site.
‘My constituents are furious and would have objected to how close the buildings are to their homes.’
Conservative council leader Jason Smithers said: ‘North Northamptonshire Council has recently been made aware of an error which impacted upon our planning consultation process for the proposed redevelopment of an industrial site on the Earlstrees Industrial Estate in Corby and resulted in letters about a planning application being sent to residents in Hubble Road, Corby instead of Hooke Close, Corby.
‘We understand the frustration caused to neighbouring residents of the development site and apologise for the error. We can confirm that the permission remains lawful as a notice was placed at the site and a press advert was published – which fulfils the statutory part of the process.
‘We apologise again for the error and residents can be assured we are doing all we can to ensure a similar issue doesn’t happen again.’
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Robert Johnson is a UK-based business writer specializing in finance and entrepreneurship. With an eye for market trends and a keen interest in the corporate world, he offers readers valuable insights into business developments.
