Their West Northamptonshire Council has turned down the elaborate planning application. They then suggested the development of 20 affordable houses on a paddock outside the village of Potterspury, just outside Milton Keynes. At an in-person joint planning meeting on September 4, 2023, the council took an extraordinary step. They ignored the recommendation of their own officers, who had previously recommended that they approve the project.
The site at the moment is a grazing pasture for horses. Those residents are understandably worried that valuable agricultural land will go under pavement. The council’s decision came after officials reported receiving more than 40 letters of objection from the community, highlighting widespread opposition to the development. In complete opposition, just one letter of support had been filed before the planning meeting.
While the state’s Department of Transportation, or TcDoT, initially approved the housing project, the rejection emphasizes the council’s willingness to respond to community concerns about rural development. Council members held a spirited, active debate about the consequences of building more new homes at the village’s outer edge. They considered the extreme demand for affordable dwellings and what that would do to unique local character and land consumption.
The decision by Enfield council was widely reported by the Local Democracy Reporting Service which described the often controversial nature of such an application. Opponents of the proposal expressed fears that constructing homes on the paddock would alter the unique landscape of Potterspury and lead to increased traffic and congestion in the area.
