Northampton News
The latest Northampton news: planning decisions, council and crime updates, business and community stories, each linked back to its official source.
Top story
Mayorhold Car Park Will Not Reopen: 1,073 Spaces Gone
Mayorhold multi-storey is closed for good after a survey found corrosion across the building. Its 1,073 spaces were a quarter of the town's council total.
More stories
Schools
Secondary School Places in West Northants: 10 of 23 Full
Ten of 23 West Northants secondary schools turned applicants away in 2026, and Northampton School drew 4.8 applications a place. The 2027 deadline is 31 October.
Planning
West Northants Local Plan: Council Replies, Out by 5 Oct
The council told the minister on 28 September his intervention is not needed. Its own timetable still opens the Local Plan consultation by Monday 5 October.
Transport
Northampton Transport Plan: 61 Schemes, Comments by 15 Nov
Bus priority on Harborough Road and Kettering Road, park and ride and a path on the old Brackmills railway are in the draft plan. Comments close 15 November.
Daventry
Malabar, Daventry: 237 More Homes Approved, 63 Affordable
Councillors approved 237 more homes at Malabar off Staverton Road on 22 September, taking the Daventry estate to 655 of 1,100. The mix, rents and concerns.
Northampton
Dallington Grange: 270 Homes, 10% Affordable, Say by 8 Oct
David Wilson Homes wants to build 270 homes on Parcel B3 at Dallington Grange, 27 of them affordable. Comments close 8 October. Why the share is 10%, not 35%.
Business
New Businesses in West Northants: 57 Firms, 3 Weeks
57 new companies registered in West Northants between 20 August and 9 September, led by services and online retail, plus the local firms now in liquidation.
Northampton
Earl Spencer Primary Lockdown: Arrest After Threat Call
A London man, 46, was arrested after a threatening call put Earl Spencer Primary into lockdown. Police say there is no ongoing risk to the school or the area.
Northampton
John Lobb Factory Plan, St Peter's Way: Comments to 15 Oct
John Lobb wants to leave Westminster Works for a new 4,831 sqm factory behind Horizon House, St Peter's Way. Comments close 15 Oct; decision due 18 Nov.
Planning
West Northants Planning This Week: 89 Applications Listed
A 30,857 sq m warehouse at M1 J18, solar panels on Royal & Derngate and nine homes in West Haddon lead this week's 89 applications. Comment dates for each.
West Northamptonshire
West Northants Nature Plan: Beaver Return to Be Studied
West Northamptonshire's first nature recovery strategy publishes on 24 September: 58 species to save, a beaver feasibility study and 124 practical actions.
Daventry
Amazon Daventry Pay: £15.10 Minimum From 27 September
Amazon raises frontline pay by up to 5.6% from 27 September. Minimum starting pay becomes £15.10 an hour, £2.39 above the legal minimum, covering Daventry.
Housing
Northampton Modular Homes: First 38 Ready This Autumn
38 modular homes at Lings Park are due this autumn, with 70 more at Claret Park. 672 West Northants households were in temporary accommodation in March.
Planning
West Northants Local Plan: Minister Orders It Back On
The Government has overruled the council's Local Plan reset: consultation by 5 October, submission by 31 December, and the plan cannot be withdrawn.
House prices
West Northants House Prices: Stuck at £292,000 for 9 Months
The July average of £291,929 is up just £247 since November. Flats fell 1.8% in a year, the only type losing value, and June was revised down £1,339.
Hardingstone
Hardingstone Affordable Homes: 87 Bought, Price Withheld
The council is buying 87 affordable homes at Landimore Park, Hardingstone. The cost sits in an exempt appendix. 61 are social rent, and not one is a one-bed.
Planning
West Northants Local Plan: Draft Scrapped After £1m
Councillors rejected the draft plan for 42,704 homes after £1.04m of work. A replacement takes 30 months, and officers warn of speculative development.
Northampton
Brackmills Waste Station Needs £1m: Props Cost £10k a Week
The tipping hall that takes Northampton's household rubbish has a failing floor. Cabinet backed a £1.2m repair; the temporary props cost £10,000 a week.
Northampton
Northampton Traffic Cameras: 10 New Sites, £70 Fines
Cabinet approved cameras at ten Northampton junctions on 15 September: six months of warnings first, then £70 fines. Not one site had majority support.
Brackley
Brackley Active Travel: Manor Road One-Way Proposed
Manor Road would go one-way northbound past four schools, with five raised zebra crossings. Drop-ins on 15 and 24 September, comments close 11 October.
Council
West Northants Council Budget: £13.1m Overspend Forecast
The Period 4 report is now out: £13.1m over after £8.5m of contingency, the Children's Trust £18.7m over budget and £4.7m of savings rated unlikely.
Air quality
Northampton Air Quality: Only Harborough Road Near Limit
Nowhere in West Northamptonshire broke the nitrogen dioxide limit in 2025. One spot came close: the kerb outside The Cock Inn in Kingsthorpe, at 37.1 µg/m³.
Heritage Open Days
Northampton Heritage Open Days: 9 Need Booking, 2 Now Full
Nine of the 49 Heritage Open Days events near Northampton must be booked in advance. Two are already full, one is cancelled, and 78 Derngate has ten places.
Transport
West Northants Community Transport: £101,000 Still Unspent
Five months after Ability CIC collapsed, £101,000 of the council's £173,000 transport pot is unspent and its minibuses unassigned. The schemes to ring now.
Towcester
Big Bark Towcester: Sunday's £10 Early Bird Is Still On
Saturday's £10 early bird has gone, Sunday's has not. The dog festival runs 10am to 4pm both days, and drivers must use a gate other than the advertised one.
Recycling
Baby Donations: 2 of 6 West Northants Tips Need No Booking
Sixfields and Farthinghoe have a reuse lane you can drive straight into. The other four need a booked slot, and none of the six lets you walk in on foot.
Roads
Northampton Speed Limits: Only One Deadline Left, 3 Sept
Six speed limit orders sit on the council's consultation page, including 24 roads at St Crispin's. Five have closed for objections; one runs to 3 September.
House prices
Northampton House Prices Within £508 of England's Average
West Northamptonshire averaged £292,754 in June, £508 under England's and closer than any other district. Terraces rose 3.5%, flats did not move.
Housing
Northampton Rough Sleeping: £1.9m and a Christmas Deadline
West Northamptonshire gets £1,902,747, the 20th largest council share in England, and a target of clearing the streets by Christmas. 53 were counted last autumn.
Council
Northampton Face Covering Ban: What the Draft PSPO Says
The council says the face covering rule bites only where harm is likely. Its draft order sets no such test. Fines reach £1,000, and views close on 22 September.
Parking
Northampton parking: a third of spaces out from 1 Sept
About 160 spaces close at Upper Mounts on 1 September and 36 at Newlands, on top of Mayorhold's 1,073: that is 1,269 of the council's 4,050 town centre spaces.
What's On
Wall Games Northampton: 330 artists, free, 29-31 August
Wall Games returns to Northampton town centre over the Bank Holiday weekend, 10am to 6pm daily and free to attend. Here are the 10 locations being painted.
Parking
Northampton premium parking: 4 streets up 25% from Monday
Abington Street, St Giles Street, George Row and Mercers Row cost 25% more from Monday 17 August: £2 an hour, £4 for two hours. Nearby streets stay at £1.60.
Jobs
Northampton claimant count 9,510 in June, flat on a year ago
9,510 people in West Northamptonshire claimed unemployment benefits in June, 3.4% of working-age residents, below England's 4.0%. Under-25 claims rose 130.