Wellingborough Save the Trees campaign reaches High Court as new plans for Route 2 revealed

They’ve raised more than £70,000 over 14 months, but as Wellingborough’s Save Our Trees campaigners sit in the High Court new plans for the lime avenue have been revealed.

Wellingborough Walks Action Group (WWAG), formed to protect the historic living ‘monument’ in London Road, will make a dash back up north to attend a Wellingborough Town Council meeting tomorrow.

Councillors, some of whom who voted on the original planning permission, will discuss the variations to the original plans – but they are only a statutory consultee – with only power to pass on objections. The real power lies with North Northants Council.

WWAG director, Marion Turner-Hawes said: “From the documents we’ve seen 32 of the protected trees will be lost. The shape of the avenue will be destroyed. The whole area will be opened up.”

Mark Rose, director of Stanton Cross Developments LLP, the company building Route 2 – the Wellingborough Eastern bypass from the A45 at Turnells Mill Lane to the Stanton Cross estate – has confirmed their plans remain on hold until the High Court decision.

He said: “In accordance with Stanton Cross Developments LLP’s undertaking as part of the ongoing High Court case in relation to Route 2, any further applications to discharge the relevant outstanding conditions and Section 106 obligations (payments made by a developer for community benefit) relating to the delivery of Route 2 will not be submitted until such a time as the High Court judgement has been received.”

His letter says the ‘discharge of condition application’ submitted to NNC was ‘interim’ until such a point as ‘Stanton Cross Developments LLP have completed their technical review of the proposed Route 2 works’. Another application would be submitted for further changes.

Three new planning applications have been made by Stanton Cross Developments to NNC to discharge four planning conditions related to bats and landscape features, along Route 2, including the lime trees with Tree Protection Orders (TPO) in London Road.

The new planning documents relating to Route 2 and Wellingborough Walks are:

NW/24/00231/CND - the developers' tree retention/removal plans on the walks and discharge of planning condition 34.

NW/24/00229/CND - the provision of an up-to-date bat survey for Route 2 – condition 32.NW/24/00230/CND - soft landscaping and maintenance of that on Route 2 going forward – conditions 23 and 36.

Ms Turner-Hawes said: “This is the first and possibly only chance we may have to comment on Stanton Cross Development's plans for the TPO trees on The Walks.

“Colleagues from WWAG intend to speak at meeting on this very important matter, but of course we will have to dash back from the High Court to make it.”

She added: “This is a call to action, please tell all your friends, all the people who have contributed and all the people you know who want to save the trees, and encourage them to try to comment on the NNC planning portal and/or speak at the town council's planning meeting to show them the enormous strength of feeling in this town.”

Wellingborough Town Council meets at Swanspool House on Tuesday, April 30, at 7pm.

The closing date for comments on the conditions is May 8, 2024. To see the agenda for the meeting, click here.