North Northants garden village and town included in new homes cash boost

Development of acres of land for thousands of new homes across north Northamptonshire has been boosted with an injection of Government funding for so-called ‘Garden Communities’.

Included in the latest round of England-wide £15m funding are two areas in north Northants – one Garden Village and one Garden Town.

A total of £69m has been promised to deliver up to 16,000 homes per year from 2025 to ‘regenerate underused land’.

The Government has said the programme will drive growth across England, ‘breathing life’ into 43 towns and villages and putting ‘green, wildlife friendly spaces’ at the heart of new development.

Housing minister Stuart Andrew MP said: “Building beautiful new homes in the places they are most needed lies at the heart of the Government’s levelling up mission.

“Garden villages and towns are perfect examples of the vibrant, green communities we want to see right across the country and today’s funding will allow us to work hand-in-hand with local leaders and industry to deliver the high-quality new homes that we need.”

Today’s move follows reforms in the Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill introduced to Parliament last week, which set out how Government plans to ‘spread opportunity and prosperity to every corner of the country’. The Bill empowers local leaders to revitalise their town centres, taking control of empty shops and sparking an al fresco dining revolution.

An unspecified town in North Northants is to receive the funding boost, along with Tresham Garden Village – on the former Deenethorpe Airfield between Weldon and Upper Benefield.

Funding will be used to provide support to progress long-term housing projects from their earliest stages. It enables local authorities to recruit specialist staff, undertake the required planning and receive advice and support from the housing delivery body, Homes England.

The announcement builds on plans to put ‘beauty and nature’ at the heart of new development design, with the introduction of mandatory design codes, which will make sure developers respect styles drawn up and favoured locally – from the layout or materials used, to how it provides green space.

Tresham Garden Village could have up to 1,500 sustainable homes designed for a diverse community including affordable housing. The green space will include the addition of 100,000 trees and an integrated and accessible transport system will encourage walking, cycling and public transport.

The North Northamptonshire growth area consists of seven Garden Communities and is expected to provide a combined total of in excess of 25,000 homes including at Priors Hall, Corby, West Corby, Hanwood Park, Kettering, Stanton Cross and Glenvale Park in Wellingborough, High Hayden (Rushden East) and Tresham Garden Village.

Garden towns across the country that will receive a share of the £15 million funding as well as North Northants are are Hemel in Hertfordshire, Otterpool Park near Folkestone and Hythe in Kent, Manydown near Basingstoke, Harlow in Essex, Gilston, in Hertfordshire, Aylesbury in Buckinghamshire, Taunton in Somerset, St Cuthbert’s near Carlisle, Greater Exeter in Devon, Tewkesbury in Gloucestershire.

North Northants Council has been contacted for a comment.