Monday 4 October 2004
Residents give thumbs up to Priors Hall
Two-thirds back plans for urban extension of Corby

Residents living in Corby and its surrounding villages have given their support to the plans for a sustainable expansion of the town at Priors Hall. In a major consultation exercise carried out over the last few months, 67% of residents expressed their support for the plans.

The consultation exercise included:

• Over 20,000 newsletters delivered to households in Corby and its surrounding villages
• Over 300 people attending public exhibitions at Corby, Weldon and Deene
• Almost 1,000 people visiting the project website www.priorshall.com
• Of those that completed a response form at the exhibition or on-line:
• 71% think the proposals will be good for Corby.
• 91% support the proposals for an extensive area of parkland.
• 89% agree that education and health facilities should be included as part of the scheme.
• 96% agree that there should be a green wedge between the new development and the nearby villages of Weldon and Deene.
• The proposals, drawn up by Corby Developments Limited, were submitted to Corby Borough

Council and East Northamptonshire Council earlier this year. The proposals include:

• Up to 5,100 high quality homes
• Around 3,000 new jobs.
• A comprehensive range of public services including health facilities and primary and secondary schools. Priors Hall will be the location for the new Corby Academy to be designed by Norman Foster & Partners.
• A wide range of leisure and community facilities and local shops to serve the new residents.
• Over 200 hectares of new parkland, the equivalent of about 230 full size football pitches.
• A comprehensive network of cycle and pedestrian facilities within the new community and new bus services linking the community to the surrounding areas such as Corby town centre.

From the 1940's, large parts of the site were quarried for ironstone for use in the former Steelworks. In 1982, following the closure of the steelworks, planning permission was granted for the WonderWorld Themepark, but it was never built. Ever since, the site has been disused and is a key element of Corby's wider regeneration plans. The site is identified for early development in Catalyst Corby's Regeneration Framework and the proposals are in line with the Government's “Sustainable Communities Plan” to build more homes in Northamptonshire.

Alfred Buller, from Corby Developments Limited, said:

“We are delighted with the response to the Priors Hall plans. I personally have thoroughly enjoyed meeting local residents and talking about the development proposals. One of the things that continues to impress me is the ambitions of local residents; they want to see their town succeed and welcome the prospect of regeneration, new jobs and new homes.”

Councillor Willie Smith, Leader of Corby Borough Council said:

“The work that Corby Developments have done in consulting with the public has been fantastic. We welcome the effort that they have put into helping people understand what the development will entail and how it will work, which is a vital part of the process.

“The development would make a massive contribution to our growth aspirations in Corby, but obviously the Council will need to carefully study the details of the application as it goes through the planning process.”

Bob Lane, Chief Executive, Catalyst Corby added:

"We are delighted by the positive response to the development plans and would like to thank all the residents who took part in the consultation exercise.  The proposed neighbourhood at Priors Hall will be a major contributor to an improved Corby town centre and the sustainable future of the whole Borough, generating quality new homes, new jobs, new schools and a complete range of community facilities.”

The proposals are currently being considered by Corby Borough Council and East Northamptonshire Council's planning officers and a report on the consultations will be made available to them.

ENDS

For more information, please contact Wyn Evans on 020 7861 3171 or 07909 974924.

Please note that illustrations of the proposals are available on request.

Notes to Editors

• Corby Developments Limited is part of Bee Bee Developments and was set up to promote development opportunities in the Corby area. Bee Bee Developments was established in 1992 and has extensive experience of regeneration and development issues, having been involved in over 100 projects. To date, most of their work has been in central London, Coventry, the North East and Dublin. They have offices in Northamptonshire, London and Ireland. The Priors Hall site was acquired in 2000.

2. Comments made by residents during the consultation included:

“An excellent development that will benefit the whole area, not just Corby.”

John Morrison, Brunswick Gardens, Corby.

“This area needs extra schools and recreation facilities. The sooner this development goes ahead the better.”

John Mannigan, Torksey Close, Corby.

“This development will benefit the village of Weldon - so long as school and medical facilities are put in place.”

Angela Hayward, Deenside, Weldon.