DEVELOPERS have been given another three years to come forward and build houses on seven former middle school sites around Northampton.
Proposals to build on land at the former Abington Vale Middle School, Emmanuel Church Middle School, Blackthorn
Middle School, Ecton Brook Middle School, St Mary’s Middle School, Goldings Middle School and Millway Primary School were backed by the West Northamptonshire Development Development Corporation (WNDC) in 2008.
But because of the economic downturn, the former school sites remain undeveloped and because planning permission for the developments was granted so long ago, the time limit to carry them out had expired.
To keep the potential of redeveloping the sites alive, Northamptonshire County Council applied to Northampton Borough Council to extend planning permission for all seven sites by an extra three years.
Meeting on Tuesday night, the borough council’s planning committee unanimously agreed to extend the development time limit for all the sites.
The county council has said the Abington Vale site would take up to 112 houses while the Emmanuel site would take up to 109. St Mary’s would take 86 and Millway would take up to 80.
Precise numbers of houses for the other sites have not yet been decided.