Northamptonshire

Parents Help Shape New School Bus and Walking Plans in Northampton

By

Karen McGinn
11 February 2026, 10:50 am

The North Northamptonshire Council is asking parents and carers across North Northamptonshire for their views on how pupils travel to school, to help design better transport and walking routes. (The town of Northampton lies within West Northamptonshire Council and is not the primary area covered by this consultation.)

The council published the public survey on 10 February 2026 to gather feedback on daily journeys, including school-bus reliability, parking and drop-off safety, and the safety of walking routes to school.

Feedback will be used to help update the council’s plans for school travel, which could lead to more safe walking routes, changes to bus services, and revised parking or drop-off arrangements. The consultation forms part of a move towards a Sustainable Travel to Education approach as the council seeks to balance safety, cost and environmental goals.

The project comes as the council is forecast to spend about £23 million a year on home-to-school transport, and it is projecting roughly a £40 million deficit in its schools budget by the end of the 2025/26 financial year — pressures the council says are driven largely by rising costs for transport for pupils with special educational needs.

Families in Corby, Kettering, Wellingborough and the East Northamptonshire area can take part in the survey online via the council’s Citizen Space portal. The council’s offices are based at Sheerness House, 41 Meadow Road, Kettering (NN16 8TL), and written correspondence to the council can be sent there if required.

The survey closes on 24 February 2026. Responses will help shape travel arrangements for the 2026/27 academic year (beginning September 2026).

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