A Message from the Furtho Development Objection Group
We are pleased to share that the Strategic Planning Committee voted to refuse the application for the proposed development at Furtho on 30th June 2026. This is an important moment for all our communities and a testament to what can be achieved when people work together with commitment and belief.
To the 3,400+ people who submitted objections, thank you. Every objection played a part. To everyone who delivered leaflets, organised fundraising events, donated to our Crowdfunder, stood with placards, shared our posts, and spoke to neighbours and friends, your support has been invaluable.
We are very grateful to the consultants whose expertise strengthened our case:
Dr Richard Hoggett (Heritage), Peter Radmall (Visual Impact), Bruce Bamber of Railton (Traffic), Harvey Rodder of Watres (Hydrology), and especially Dominic Woodfield (Ecology), who also spoke extremely eloquently on our behalf at the Committee meeting.
We also thank Lisa Foster of Richard Buxton Solicitors, whose strongly worded letter to the WNC Planning Officer the day before the Committee meeting helped ensure key issues were clearly set out.
Our thanks extend to Old Stratford Parish Council and Cosgrove Parish Council for their sustained support, funding towards Consultant reviews, detailed objections and powerful speeches. We also warmly thank Stony Stratford Town Council, Deanshanger Parish Council (both of whom were represented at the SPC) and Stoke Bruerne Parish Council, Grafton Regis Parish Council, and Castlethorpe Parish Council for their contributions towards our consultant reports.
We are grateful to our ward councillors, Ian McCord, whose statement at the SPC was nothing short of magnificent, and Ivan Dabbs, for their support, and to our MP, Sarah Bool, for speaking on behalf of local residents. Finally, we thank the Strategic Planning Committee for carefully considering the evidence and reaching this decision.
If you would like to watch the livestream of the SPC, you can watch it here
This campaign has never been about opposing development outright. It has always been about protecting our communities, countryside and roads, and ensuring that proposals of this scale receive proper scrutiny.
Although this decision is a significant step forward, it may not be the end of the process. The applicant may choose to appeal. We are already preparing for that possibility.
If an appeal is lodged, we intend to work closely with our parish councils, our ward councillor, and our MP, Sarah Bool, to help the Strategic Planning Committee defend their decision. Should that moment come, we will once again be asking for your support, and we know how much strength this community can bring when it stands together.
We remain committed to protecting this land and the character of our villages. Thank you for everything you have done, and for continuing to stand with Stop 3000 Trucks
“Quite extraordinarily incongruous to its location and threatens significant impacts on the landscape”
Environmental Consultant
Dominic Woodfield CEcol, CEnv, MCIEEM
YOU CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE
Or you can email to planning@westnorthants.gov.uk
or write to: Planning Department, West Northampton Council, The Guildhall, St Giles Square, Northampton, NN1 1DE
Always include the Planning Reference Number WNS/2022/1741/EIA
The Wrong Development in the Wrong Place
A group of concerned residents have got together to oppose the planned warehouse development at the A5/A508 roundabout between Cosgrove and Old Stratford. The proposal is for a 750,000 plus sq ft development of 9 warehouses, 5 storeys high. The land was earmarked, several years ago, for development as a light industrial zone offering employment and in keeping with the local area. Our view is the development meets none of the above criteria.
This massive development and related infrastructure will negatively impact on traffic using the A5, the A508 and the A422. It will cause air, light, noise and environmental pollution and destroy land inhabited by protected species. It shows no concern for people who live within a five mile radius and who will be most impacted by the development.
We chose the name
Stop3000Trucks for our campaign based on the developer’s original plan for 96 docking bays x 1-2 movements per hour x 24 hours (a truck can comfortably be unloaded in 30 minutes. Faster if it’s automated). So 3000 was a conservative estimate of the site's potential.
In the previous lot of plans dated 15th August 2023, the number of bays was reduced from 96 to 59. This works out to potentially 2800 trucks per day. This number could easily be revised upwards as there is no WNC requirement to limit the number of bays, or the number of truck movements, or the hours in which they operate! In addition, automated unloading is becoming the norm in warehouses across Northants and nationally. This means a lorry can be unloaded in 7 minutes rather than the standard 25 minutes.
In the latest planning documents dated February 2025, the number of loading bays is obscured. We maintain that there are 78 bays unless they provide clarification. Until the unit is sold, the exact number will remain unknown.
We need your help to stop the A5/A508 junction Warehouse Development leading to massive traffic issues in an already congested area.
Have Your Say
You can use the red button above (and on every page of this site) to go straight to the WNC comments site. You will need to register, which will take 30 seconds. You can then use any of the objections listed on the link below, or add your own reasons. We would encourage you to use your own words wherever possible.
“Our vision is to make West Northants…..a place where we have modern towns but where rural character is cherished”
West Northants Council Vision Statement
