More than 2,000 homes were given the green light to be built across Northamptonshire in major housing projects in 2024. The homes are due to be built across seven towns and villages in the county and many make up detailed plans for large sustainable urban extensions to Northants towns.
Over the entire year, West Northamptonshire Council (WNC) and North Northamptonshire Council (NNC) said yes to building 2,282 homes and flats, just in large planning applications concerning parcels of more than 50 properties. The councils will also have approved more housing sites within the county in smaller applications.
Here is a breakdown of exactly where these housing developments are due to be built across Northamptonshire.
50 homes, Oundle
At the start of the year, NNC gave the go-ahead for a full planning application to build a neighbourhood of homes on a site behind Oundle’s Cemetery, off Stoke Doyle Road. The scheme contains a mix of one to five-bedroom homes and was approved despite complaints from Oundle Town Council and 56 objections from members of the public.
120 homes, Norwood Farm, Northampton SUE
In March, Vistry Homes Ltd received permission to build 120 homes on the outskirts of Northampton, between Duston and Harpole. The houses will make up part of the Norwood Farm Strategic Urban Extension (SUE) site which will contribute 1,900 properties in total to the county’s housing stock when finished.
525 homes, Hampton Green, Northampton SUE
More than 500 homes were given the green light by WNC for a new Northampton housing estate known as Hampton Green. The project, which was led by Martin Grant Homes Ltd. and Harcourt Developments, is part of the Northampton South of Brackmills SUE and will be accessed from Newport Pagnell Road.
60 homes, Northampton
During the same strategic planning committee meeting, the council approved a further 60 homes on land on the edge of Northampton, by West Hunsbury, near the Milton Malsor motocross track and the Counties Crematorium. Developers Countryside Properties (UK) Limited said a third of the site would be made up of affordable housing and a children’s play area will be included on-site.
217 homes, Far Cotton, Northampton
Hundreds of new homes were approved in plans to reinvigorate an abandoned brownfield site above Ransome Road, in Far Cotton. The controversial housing estate was hotly contended during the meeting by ward councillors due to traffic impacts on existing residents. Despite being deferred initially due to their concerns at a meeting in May, the site was ultimately approved at a second meeting.
54 flats, Northampton
Plans to demolish the Tony Brooks car dealership in the centre of town and replace the site with an eight-storey block of flats were given the go-ahead by WNC. The development, which was approved in September, will contain 22 one-bed, 27 two-bed and five three-bed apartments.
110 homes, Towcester
Developers Pomfret Management Ltd progressed their plans to build more than one hundred homes near Towcester Racecourse and the town’s historic parkland. The housing mix consists of 68 retirement living homes, 15 apartments and 27 houses. The project will require further ‘reserved matters’ permission before building can begin.
101 student flats, Northampton
A planning application submitted to West Northants saw councillors say yes to a five-story block of student flats, on an unused town centre car park on College Street. The proposals went before the planning committee earlier that year but came to a standstill due to noise concerns from a nearby LGBTQ+ bar, Boston Clipper. Plans were green-lit in October at a second hearing.
128 homes, Malabar Farm, Daventry SUE
Housing developers Spitfire Homes pushed forward with their plans for a new 1,100-home Daventry-based estate, with detailed permission secured for a parcel of 128 affordable homes. Outline approval for the wider SUE was given in November 2021 and some houses are already been built. The neighbourhood will sit below Staverton Road, directly below the proposed primary school.
80 homes, Duston, Northampton West SUE
The 80 private rented sector homes will extend the outskirts of Northampton, on countryside to the west of Duston and New Duston. The site lies within the Northampton West Sustainable Urban Extension, where development has now commenced and a number of the dwellings are occupied. The entire residential extension will provide up to 1,750 homes, a primary school, and a local centre when complete.
68-bed care home, Long Buckby
In November, plans to build a 68-bed care home and 17 extra care units for elderly people and children with special needs were approved. The scheme, which encompassed empty land near the Long Buckby train station, received dozens of objections from locals but ultimately received the planning committee’s support.
73-bed care home, Towcester Grange SUE
Towcester Care Limited was told it would be allowed to build a new three-storey care home within the planned southern expansion of the market town, on Redcar Road. The 73-bed facility will be principally used for dementia care and was approved despite town council objections over traffic congestion and parking.
68 homes, Buckton Fields, Northampton SUE
The council also gave the green light to another 68 homes on the northernmost edge of Northampton, near Boughton. The proposed homes are a mix of maisonettes, semi-detached/terraced and detached dwellings with between three to five-beds.
150 flats, Corby
North Northants Council approved plans for a block of high-rise flats on a former Co-op supermarket in Corby town centre after they were previously wrongly refused by the committee. An incorrect vote was passed through in October for the six-storey apartment block, offering mostly one or two-bed flats, on Alexandra Road. Developers Glewnrowan Homes received NNC’s permission at a second planning meeting in December despite concerns raised about the ‘overbearing’ nature of the development on Corby.
72 homes, Rushden
Plans to redevelop land on a former quarry site in Haway, Rushden, into a residential site were approved by the council. The estate will be located next to the Rushden Academy school. Applicant Amberville Properties Ltd told the committee that it will offer 30 per cent affordable housing across a mix of two to five-bed properties.
406 homes, Towcester Vale SUE
In the county’s final strategic planning committee of the year, WNC unanimously backed plans for more than 400 new homes in a residential extension on the edge of Towcester. Barratt Homes Northampton will be in charge of building 160 homes and Persimmon Homes Midlands will take on the remaining 246, located on fields near Wood Burcote. The entire SUE was given outline permission in 2015 and will comprise 2,750 homes in total.