A garage owner in Northamptonshire is furious after Kettering Borough Council approved speculative planning permission to build a new hotel on the site of his workshop – without consulting him.
Mark Beddows, owner of long-established family firm Beddows Motors located near Kettering town centre discovered that a national firm, Tykes Development, had submitted plans that would not only involve demolishing the garage, but would also raze an adjacent pub and remove a road. The former pub has since been acquired and demolished by the developer.
“It’s an unpleasant feeling” Mr Beddows told Aftermarket, explaining that he subsequently discovered that the hotel plans had not only been approved by the local authority, but a ‘feasibility study’ had been paid for out of the public purse.
Kevin Jones, a director of Tykes Development said to local paper Evening Telegraph: “Now our planning application is approved we can start discussions with the car dealership about acquiring the site.” He added: “This does not mean to say we will get it and nothing about the proposal is a foregone conclusion.”
A statement on Kettering Borough Council’s website says: “The planned improvements to the town centre will help to attract more shoppers and retailers” adding that it is the council’s stated goal to make the regenerated streets a: “pedestrian friendly area removing unnecessary traffic.”