Impressive images show how the huge new West Corby estate might look - with stream-side walks and linear paths

West Corby is a new estate that will be built on farmland to the west of the A6003. It’s a joint project between land owners Rockingham Castle Estates, Great Oakley Farm, and Taylor Wimpey and Barratt Homes.

The 4,500 home estate was given permission in 2019 but poor market conditions for house builders have delayed the development.

As well as the new homes, the estate will include a 100-bed care home, a brand-new market square, employment spaces, three primary and one secondary school, retail and community buildings.

A new roundabout will eventually be built at the Danesholme Road / A6003 junction, but not until the second phase of the scheme is under way.

Although members of the public have had glimpses of the new scheme, there have been no large-scale artists’ impressions of the site to show locals what it may look like.

Now, as part of the planning process, the consortium has released its 200-page design code, which shows the type of architecture that will inspire the estate, how the surroundings will look and gives people an overall impression of the feel of the community.

It shows wide primary streets, wildflower planting and stream-side walks.

There’ll be a trim trail with fitness equipment encompassing the whole site.

The design code states: “The new development at West Corby will be a new district, linked and connected with the town but with its own identity drawn from the character of the area. It will be planned to respond to the existing landscape and topography and will have a distinct and complementary relationship with the land beyond its boundaries.

“There will be an accessible, walkable and permeable network of streets, paths and cycleways that give priority to pedestrians and cyclists and provide convenient routes for public transport. This network will be fully integrated with a diverse pattern of formal and informal green spaces, water bodies and other public spaces that will serve their surrounding areas and support a varied ecology.”

The area will be split into distinctive sections, with inspiration drawn from the ironstone and limestone towns and villages around Corby including Uppingham, Rothwell, Oundle and Market Harborough. It will also feature buildings influenced by the Lloyds conservation area, East Carlton and Cottingham.