Managing housing growth along the A14

Martin Hammond

Kettering Borough Council

28 February 2013

Context • North Northamptonshire a growth area - homes,

jobs and infrastructure – a development agency (NNDC) and a Joint Planning Unit (JPU)

• Economically buoyant area – Business rates growth – New company formation – Historically high rate of housing growth

• North Northamptonshire Core Spatial Strategy – Four SUEs of 4000-6000 homes each – Significant development in three growth towns but also in five or six smaller settlements

• A14 goes through the middle, and is a European route – the E24

Kettering

• SUE of 5500 homes in East Kettering

• Outstanding permissions in the Borough 8000+ homes

• Two recent, two planned and two proposed new employment sites around the edge of town.

• A14 congested and prone to breaking – FTA say it is the road most in need of investment in the UK after the M25.

1. 5,500 New Homes at East Kettering

2. 300,000 sqm of new business space

3. A 60MW Low Carbon Energy Park

East Kettering Proposals

KT Kettering Town Centre

EKEast Kettering Sustainable Urban Extension (approved)

BP Business Park

EP Energy Park

Junctions 7-9: Widening required

Junction 10/10a: Infrastructure needed10

Unlocking Places and Delivering Responsible Growth, The Projects

7

910

KT

EK

BP EP

10a

7

8

The Impact of the A14 on Kettering

IRELAND

BELGIUM

E24

KETTERING

1st Problem

• The HA & DfT not signed up to the growth agenda

• As CSS developed the A14 became a showstopper for growth

• HA routinely started using their powers of direction

1st Solution

• CLG brought on board to engage DfT.

• County Council led technical work

• A14 study commissioned jointly for DfT and CLG to inform Core Spatial Strategy

• NNDC chaired a task group which kept everyone’s nose to the wheel.

• HA alongside the JPU at the Examination in Public

2nd Problem

• A solution no-one could afford

• Back to the start

• How to make life hard

• Agreement

• Election

• Two steps back

Poised for Delivery

East Kettering SUE – A junction too far?

• SUE and the need for a new junction

• The hidden policy and the public outcry

• Cobbled solutions

• Friends for a time

KT Kettering Town Centre

EKEast Kettering Sustainable Urban Extension (approved)

BP Business Park

EP Energy Park

Junctions 7-9: Widening required

Junction 10/10a: Infrastructure needed10

Unlocking Places and Delivering Responsible Growth, The Projects

7

910

KT

EK

BP EP

10a

7

8

Finding the solution • Developer had to find solution by end March 2013,

before development starts

• Six options to arrive at the preferred solution.

Finding the solution • Developer had to find solution by end March 2013,

before development starts

• Six options to arrive at the preferred solution.

J10 J10A

Finding the solution • Developer had to find solution by end March 2013,

before development starts• Six options to arrive at the preferred solution.

• Unhappiness by businesses • Ministerial approval required• Conditions discharged, ministerial approval granted

December. • Honorariums all round!

J10 J10A

KTKettering Town Centre

EK

East Kettering SUE• Approval given in April 2010• 42,000 sqm of employment space, creating

3,000 jobs• Widespread community engagement and

local support

BPBusiness Park• 250,000 sqm of employment space,

creating 7,000 jobs• Local developer has good track record in

delivery of business parks

EPEnergy Park• Community Scale low carbon energy• Phase 1 to produce 50MW• Potential replicability across other sites

Junctions 7-9: Widening already announced

Junction 10a and Weekly/Warkton relief road: Infrastructure needed10a

Unlocking Places and Delivering Responsible Growth,

7

10

KT

EK

BP EP

10a

7

8

35 Acres of Business

Consented+ Funding

promised by the LEPS

5,500 HomesConsented+ Funding

promised by the LEPS

90 Acres of Business

In planning

1100 Acres of Green EnergyPartially consented

9 high-efficiency wind turbines approved.

Pre-planning on future phases

£120,000,000 Public Investment in the

widening of the A14 between junctions 7 and

9.

£15,000,000 Private sector investment in

East Kettering

£165,000,000 Private sector investment by

General Electric

9