Further to the meeting held on the evening of the 23rd March where we met with over 250 members of the local community to discuss Stanton Cross and most notably the impact of the new roundabout at London Road and removal of the trees, we have now reviewed the 84 completed feedback forms along with many of the questions on the night and have summarised these into 9 main points. There was a clear message from both the event and feedback form that where possible the existing trees need to remain.

Qu 1: Please can you outline what planning permission gives you permission to fell the trees.

Answer: North Northamptonshire Council (NNC) has posted a detailed statement on 30th March that these works are part of legal, consented plans. It can be viewed on the below link:

https://www.northnorthants.gov.uk/news/update-stanton-cross-development-wellingborough​

This also includes links to the relevant planning permissions. Should members of the public wish to request any further information, NNC can be contacted on: Planning.BCW@northnorthants.gov.uk​

Qu 2: Why does Route 2 have to connect to Embankment / London Road roundabout? Why can it not take a more direct route north – south or past Chester House Estate to the A45?

Answer: An Alternative Route Assessment was undertaken in 2006 as part of updates to the Environmental Statement to investigate the most appropriate alignment of the southern access route. A route past Chester House Estate was discounted for several reasons, the most prominent being heritage grounds. The Chester House Estate is Grade II listed and is a nationally significant heritage site, being one of the few places in the country which can demonstrate over 10,000 years of human activity.

Qu 3: What planting is proposed to Stonegate Meadow / adjacent to the splash park car park.

Answer: The most popular request within the feedback forms was for a single line of Lime trees to be planted adjacent to the highway proposals. Also, further planting and a potential landscaped buffer between the Embankment and the splash park were also suggested. Feedback noted the existing wet grassland habitat within Stonegate Meadow should be retained, and not be planted with trees. We will make these proposals to NNC as part of the necessary planning permission and highway technical approvals.

Qu 4: What are the proposed changes to the splash park?

Answer: There will be no changes to the splash park play provision, or any impact upon the car park capacity as part of the highway enhancement works. The pumping station which supplies the splash park with water will need to be relocated, but this will not impact upon the play provision.

Qu 5: Are underpasses proposed as part of the scheme?

Answer: No, all the proposed enhancements to pedestrian crossings will be at surface level. Currently there are no signal controlled pedestrian crossings at the London Road roundabout. To help bring about improvements, as part of the proposals we will look to introduce a signal controlled pedestrian crossing at each junction of the roundabout.

Qu 6: How will public access to the splash park be provided during the works and when completed?

Answer: Safe access will be maintained during construction, the approved design maintains both vehicular and pedestrian access to the splash park.

Qu 7: Why do the remaining trees need to be removed? And is removal of the trees over the gas main necessary?

Answer: As outlined in the above NNC statement, the trees currently identified as needing to be removed lie within the footprint of the proposed highway enhancements, including necessary utilities work. Under the current proposed plans, this includes improvements to the existing roundabout along the A509, introduction of a new additional carriageway to increase road capacity and better manage traffic flows. However, following the meeting and public concern shown we are looking at alternatives and will be making proposals to NNC to try and save as many of the existing trees as possible.

Qu 8: How many trees are being removed? We are told that that Environmental Statement says 11, and now the campaigners are saying 60.

Answer: This is a reference to ES figure 9.34: Southern Access Route: Retention and Removal of Trees. This is a schematic, representing in principle the removal of trees at London Road. The dashed line simply indicates the potential area of trees to be removed under the current plans. Inferring a specific number of trees from this would be inaccurate as this is not a detailed or to scale plan, and this is not its’ intended purpose.

The ES does record the loss of trees at Midland Road and the mitigation identified: ‘The greatest tree loss will occur during phase one construction, most of these associated with the River Ise improvement works and those associated with development of the Midland Road Extension and southern access route’. ‘A significant number of new trees will however be planted within this phase as part of structure planting…’ of which a significant proportion is the creation of the Town and Country Parks.

Stanton Cross has only ever proposed to remove a maximum of 46 trees to support the delivery of vital infrastructure improvements in Wellingborough, and this has been communicated though the press on several occasions. At no point have we proposed to remove 60 trees. We are looking at alternatives and will be making proposals to NNC to try and save as many of the existing trees as possible.

Qu 9: What are the next steps?

Answer: We will look to engage with NNC over the coming weeks to put forward proposals to save as many of the existing trees as possible.

Before any work is resumed, we will continue to keep the local community updated regarding these plans via this page.

Taking onboard public feedback from the event, we will also be setting up a dedicated project information email address for residents to request further information from us, and to direct questions.