West Northamptonshire Council has launched a public consultation on its Local Plan 2043, giving people in Northampton and across West Northamptonshire a chance to say where new homes and other development should be built. The plan, which runs to 2043, outlines how the local area will handle an increase in population and what services will be needed to support it.
The draft provides for up to about 47,300 new homes — a figure driven by revised government housing requirements, according to reporting. A large part of the plan involves prioritising brownfield regeneration, including the 14-acre Greyfriars site in the town centre. The Northampton Chronicle reports that this area, which once held the town’s main bus station, is set to be turned into a new neighbourhood with homes and cultural spaces.
As well as town-centre regeneration, the plan also proposes major Sustainable Urban Extensions on the edges of Northampton to provide more housing and jobs. While the council says this will help attract investment, local groups have raised concerns about building on green spaces around nearby villages. The Local Plan is the first fully unified planning framework since the councils merged in 2021.
West Northamptonshire Council opened the public consultation on 29 January 2026; it runs until 27 March 2026. Residents can respond via the council’s Citizen Space portal, or view materials and submit feedback at public displays in local libraries across Northampton, Daventry and Towcester.
