Residents fury after 60ft high 'monster' warehouse built behind houses after council blunder
- 3 months ago
Fuming locals say they will be living next to a 60ft-high “monster” warehouse which was built without their knowledge – after a council blunder.
Homeowners in Corby, Northants., woke up to see a huge metal frame of the industrial units being erected just feet away from their back doors.
Bemused neighbours contacted the council to ask why they had not been informed only to discover officials mixed up the street with another road half-a-mile away.
Officials mistakenly consulted people living on Hubble Road instead of Hooke Close to ask their opinions about the massive 160,800 sq ft development.
Residents say they are “living in hell” as the building works on a former Weetabix factory have caused damage to their properties.
Others fear the development will block sunlight from their homes and see house prices plummet.
Resident Georgie Wallis said: “If they’d consulted and said ‘we’re going to put a 160,000 sq ft warehouse there that’s going to block your view’ I would have obviously objected to it, but they didn’t.
“How can you get that so wrong?
“How can you make such an error and wonder why no-one has objected?
“It’s enormous. Once the shell goes in it, that’s going to be a complete eyesore, and it already is, it’s awful.”
Portuguese-born Jose Cruz, 64, and his wife Olga, 59, moved into their two-bedroom semi-detached home in 2011.
They fear they will now be unable to sell their £200,000 house as a result of the warehouse looming over their back fence.
Supermarket worker Jose said: “It’s a nightmare, the building will leave our home in complete darkness.
“There used to be a Weetabix factory on the site but that was half the size of this monstrosity and it had been dormant for a long time.
“We get the sun in the morning into our kitchen, garden and bedroom but not anymore.
“The works have caused our house to shake violently. It goes on for hours and hours.
“It’s terrible and we’re very angry we weren’t consulted about it.”
Operations manager Kieran Joseph, 30, has lived in the street with hairdresser Megan Cowan, 28, and their two children, for seven years.
He said: "It's been pretty hellish ever since they started building. While they have been laying the foundations, it's been a constant 'bang, bang, bang' all day every day.
"The vibrations have caused a crack in our roof so the kids' bedroom leaks and when I or Megan work from home we've had to explain and apologise to customers because of the noise.
"The galling thing is the council consulted the wrong road of residents and gave them detailed information and milestone dates while we were just kept in the dark.
"We really don't want to stay here any longer because even when the warehouse is finished, it's going to be so big it blocks out the light and they'll be cars and lorries coming in and out of it at all hours."
North Northamptonshire Council approved plans to build the giant warehouse on the site of the former Weetabix factory last November.
Homeowners in Corby, Northants., woke up to see a huge metal frame of the industrial units being erected just feet away from their back doors.
Bemused neighbours contacted the council to ask why they had not been informed only to discover officials mixed up the street with another road half-a-mile away.
Officials mistakenly consulted people living on Hubble Road instead of Hooke Close to ask their opinions about the massive 160,800 sq ft development.
Residents say they are “living in hell” as the building works on a former Weetabix factory have caused damage to their properties.
Others fear the development will block sunlight from their homes and see house prices plummet.
Resident Georgie Wallis said: “If they’d consulted and said ‘we’re going to put a 160,000 sq ft warehouse there that’s going to block your view’ I would have obviously objected to it, but they didn’t.
“How can you get that so wrong?
“How can you make such an error and wonder why no-one has objected?
“It’s enormous. Once the shell goes in it, that’s going to be a complete eyesore, and it already is, it’s awful.”
Portuguese-born Jose Cruz, 64, and his wife Olga, 59, moved into their two-bedroom semi-detached home in 2011.
They fear they will now be unable to sell their £200,000 house as a result of the warehouse looming over their back fence.
Supermarket worker Jose said: “It’s a nightmare, the building will leave our home in complete darkness.
“There used to be a Weetabix factory on the site but that was half the size of this monstrosity and it had been dormant for a long time.
“We get the sun in the morning into our kitchen, garden and bedroom but not anymore.
“The works have caused our house to shake violently. It goes on for hours and hours.
“It’s terrible and we’re very angry we weren’t consulted about it.”
Operations manager Kieran Joseph, 30, has lived in the street with hairdresser Megan Cowan, 28, and their two children, for seven years.
He said: "It's been pretty hellish ever since they started building. While they have been laying the foundations, it's been a constant 'bang, bang, bang' all day every day.
"The vibrations have caused a crack in our roof so the kids' bedroom leaks and when I or Megan work from home we've had to explain and apologise to customers because of the noise.
"The galling thing is the council consulted the wrong road of residents and gave them detailed information and milestone dates while we were just kept in the dark.
"We really don't want to stay here any longer because even when the warehouse is finished, it's going to be so big it blocks out the light and they'll be cars and lorries coming in and out of it at all hours."
North Northamptonshire Council approved plans to build the giant warehouse on the site of the former Weetabix factory last November.