I fully share the grave concerns of our local community about the DHL application that seeks to erect warehousing close to Towcester, as well as a number of other planning applications that expose our historic area to inappropriate and insensitive overdevelopment.

Earlier this week I met with James Stephens, the Vice President for Corporate Affairs from DHL and several of DHL’s consultants from various planning consultancies. They presented to me their plans for adaptations to the Tove roundabout according to predicted traffic flows, with their predicted busiest hour to be between 8 and 9am. DHL and their consultants suggested that their proposed infrastructure improvements, a short two lane improvement going around the Tove roundabout then up the A5 towards the Bell Plantation will mitigate the potential traffic impact.  Access points to the roundabout are proposed to be widened as part of the scheme, and DHL claim that the traffic caused by their plan would as a result be 'no worse' than it is today. They do not intend to seek to improve the already congested road traffic situation in any way, which I am sure will be disappointing to many.

I was provided with tentative information about their plans for transport servicing the site - car shares will be encouraged and there is the prospect of a bus service to take workers to/from Northampton.  I was told there is an expectation of staggered shift patterns to mitigate highest flow and traffic congestion.

DHL’s consultants believe that the Towcester Relief Road will be available to accommodate much of their generated traffic. I made it crystal clear that this is not the purpose of the Towcester Relief Road – it is to divert existing traffic away from using the A5 Watling Street– not for developers such as DHL to facilitate their planned logistics developments.  

Entirely mitigating the traffic impact on Towcester from HGVs using our town as a rat run when motorways are congested should be within reach once the Towcester Relief Road is completed, provided it does not become overloaded by huge new developments that increase lorry and van movements even further. 

I will continue to support constituents in their strong objection to this and other insensitive applications, and I will provide updates on further meetings and correspondence with DHL.