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Upton / South-West District, Northampton
Background
The town of Northampton has been identified as an area capable of accommodating household growth. The spatial strategy for the East Midlands identified the town as the major population and employment centre towards the south of the region. In addition, the government’s Sustainable Communities Plan published in February 2003 named the town as a key focus in the Milton Keynes & South Midlands Growth Area.
Upton is located on the south-west fringe of Northampton, bounded by the Weedon Road to the north, the Upton Way to the east, the River Nene and country park to the south and the Upton Park expansion area to the west. Upton totals approximately 44 ha (108.7 acres), delivering 1382 homes and was formerly a greenfield site.
Upton is part of the Northampton South West District expansion area which English Partnerships inherited from the Northampton Development Corporation.
The Commission for New Towns was granted an outline planning permission for development of Upton in 1997, this was updated in 2003 following formation of the partnership of English Partnerships with Northampton Borough Council (NBC) and The Princes Foundation.
The 2003 permission was a result of the Partnership hosting an Enquiry by Design public consultation event in December 2001 which established a revised Development Framework Plan promoting a high quality sustainable urban extension with the commercial element of the development located along the Weedon Road frontage.
The Upton Design Code was formulated by the partners and NBC adopted the Code as supplementary planning guidance for the Upton development area.
Current status
To date within Upton, 244 homes are complete. The final stages of the development, Sites F and G, comprising 6.019 ha (14.873 acres) of land represents the final land to be marketed within Upton offering 375 residential units and a mixed use commercial area. Delivered in these final stages will be:
- 375 homes – 88 of which will be affordable pepper-potted throughout the development, 10 units will be live/work, and 40 units will be FTBI.
- 380 sq.m. convenience store
- 620 sq.m. of small retail units
- Public house
- Approximately 3,200sq.m. office space
- Café/restaurant – 450 sq.m
- 70 place childrens day nursery
In other areas of the site, the playing fields have been levelled and seeded with grass and work is complete on a circular footpath.
Work is underway on another key feature of the development, the sustainable urban drainage system (SUDS). SUDS is an environmentally-friendly technique aimed at reducing the amount of "run-off" surface water generated by a development. These include measures such as the use of reed beds, which have the added advantage of creating attractive wildlife habitats.
Work has been completed on new infrastructure, including a roundabout on Upton Way and a spine road, which links the development site between Upton Way and Weedon Road.
Improvements have been made to the nearby Duston Mill reservoir to increase its effectiveness in line with new standards introduced by the Environment Agency.
Northampton Borough Council has begun work on the new Upper Nene Valley Country Park that lies to the south of Upton. This public park will provide approximately 43 ha of open space and will include footpaths, bridleways and cycleways and improved access to the River Nene, as well as new areas of woodland. Importantly, the land’s function as an existing flood plain will be enhanced.
Design for Manufacture Competition
The Design for Manufacture Competition was launched on 1 April 2005, when the Government announced the start of a competition to demonstrate that it is possible to build a good-quality home for a construction cost of £60,000.
Site D2, a 3.6 ha site at Upton, has been made available as part of the competition. The site will be processed as part of the Design for Manufacture Competition only if all the design code and design brief criteria laid down for Upton have been met.
