The Planning Policy Committee was scheduled to convene to discuss the Grand Union and Oxford Canal Conservation Area Review Report, and the Semilong and Trinity Neighbourhood Plan. The meeting was also scheduled to cover apologies for absence, declarations of interest, approval of the minutes from the previous meeting, chair's announcements, and any urgent business.

Grand Union and Oxford Canal Conservation Area Review

The Planning Policy Committee was scheduled to consider a report regarding the Grand Union and Oxford Canal Conservation Area. The report included background information on the review process, and the requirements for public consultation on the draft Conservation Area Appraisal and Management Plan Supplementary Planning Document (SPD).

The report pack included four appendices:

• Grand Union and Oxford Canal Conservation Area – Overview
• Grand Union and Oxford Canal Conservation Area – Appraisal and Maps Document
• Grand Union Canal (Leicester Arm) – Appraisal and Maps Document
• Grand Union Canal (Northampton Arm) – Appraisal and Maps Document

The report noted that West Northamptonshire Council has a statutory duty to review its conservation areas under the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990¹. The report stated that the section of the Grand Union Canal and Oxford Canal Conservation Area under review was initially designated in 1995, and has not been reviewed since. The report also noted that a section of the Northampton Arm of the Grand Union Canal, a 4-mile stretch between the M1 motorway and Cotton End in Northampton, remains undesignated.

The report stated that the current conservation area boundary covers:

the canal, towpath, historic wharfs and some adjacent spinneys and woodlands between Tarry’s Bridge, south of Hillmorton, and Braunston (Oxford Canal); between Braunston and Stowehill (Grand Union Canal); and the Leicester Arm, from Norton Junction to the River Avon near Welford (Grand Union Canal).

The report pack included a draft conservation area appraisal and management plan, and stated that public consultation was required to allow stakeholders to provide their views.

The report outlined proposed changes to the conservation area boundary in five areas:

• to include a small area of woodland at Heygate’s Lodge northwest of Elkington
• to include an area of woodland outside the west end of Braunston Tunnel
• to exclude a small area at Grand Union Way/Wharf Close in Weedon Bec to reflect recent residential development
• to remove a section of the canal between Braunston Wharf and Lock 3 that currently forms part of Braunston Conservation Area and include it within the Grand Union and Oxford Canal Conservation Area
• to include the undesignated section of the Northampton Arm between the M1 and Cotton End.

The report also noted that the draft appraisal and management plan proposes to include 31 buildings/sites along the Grand Union and Oxford Canal in the council’s Local Heritage List².

Semilong and Trinity Neighbourhood Plan

The Planning Policy Committee was scheduled to consider the recommendations of the independent examiner following the examination of the Semilong and Trinity Neighbourhood Development Plan (STNDP), and to seek approval to put the plan to a referendum.

The report noted that the Localism Act 2011 provided for Neighbourhood Development Plans (NDPs), which allow local communities to shape development in their area. Once adopted, NDPs form part of the development plan alongside the council’s currently adopted Local Plans.

The report stated that the proposed Semilong and Trinity Forum applied to Northampton Borough Council (NBC) for area designation for the purposes of neighbourhood planning on 9 June 2017, and that NBC’s Cabinet agreed the designation of the Semilong and Trinity area on 14 September 2017.

The report noted that when Northampton Town Council (NTC) was formed on 1 April 2021, it became the Qualifying Body for the purpose of preparing a neighbourhood plan. NTC submitted a new application for area designation on 6 June 2022, and West Northamptonshire Council designated the area on 18 August 2023.

The report stated that the draft NDP was published by NTC for public consultation between 18 August 2023 and 30 September 2023, and that following submission of the STNDP to WNC in July 2024, the plan was published for formal consultation between 14 October and 1 December 2024.

The report noted that Ann Skippers BSc (Hons) MRTPI FRSA FHEA AoU was appointed as the independent examiner, and that her report concluded that the STNDP met all the legal and statutory requirements, met the basic conditions, and should proceed to a referendum.

The examiner recommended 18 main modifications to the Submission Version Plan, to ensure that the plan policies are clear and robust, and have better regard to national policy, legislation and representations from statutory consultees such as Anglian Water. The examiner also recommended that the supporting text be amended to update the stages the neighbourhood plan and the emerging West Northamptonshire Local Plan have reached.

The report included a proposed decision statement, with a table summarising the examiner’s recommendations, and the actions to be taken.

The report stated that the referendum was provisionally set for 19 June 2025, and would be held at two polling stations:

• Semilong Community Centre
• Alliston Gardens Youth & Community Centre

The report noted that if more than 50 per cent of those voting in the referendum vote ‘Yes’, the council is required to make the plan.