Selling Land in Northamptonshire

• It sits next to, or is well related to, an existing town or village.
• A safe access onto a public road is possible, even if it needs work.
• Most of the land is outside the highest flood risk zone.
• It is not covered by a strong designation such as a Site of Special Scientific Interest.
• It is about 2 acres or more, or part of a larger holding.
• Everyone who owns it is willing to consider one clear, agreed price.

If your land does not tick every box, ask anyway. Many of the sites we take on have a problem to solve, whether that is access, drainage, a tenancy or an awkward boundary, and solving those problems is our job.

1. A first conversation. You call us or send the form on this page. We need only your postcode, your name and a phone number or email.
2. A free desktop review. Within a few days we look at your land, the planning position in Northamptonshire and the routes open to it, and tell you plainly whether it suits us. The review is free and confidential, with no obligation.
3. Heads of terms and the option agreement. If it suits, we agree a price with you in writing, then the option agreement itself. We contribute to your solicitor's and land agent's fees, so it costs you nothing to get it done properly.
4. The planning work, at our cost. We pay for the surveys, the design, the planning application and any appeal. You carry on farming, grazing or letting the land as you do now.
5. Completion. If planning permission is granted, we complete the purchase and you receive the agreed price on completion. If it is not, you keep your land and owe nothing.

How selling land for development works, step by step gives the detail of each stage and how long it usually takes.

The Upper Nene Valley Gravel Pits

The old gravel workings along the Nene between Northampton and Thrapston form a Special Protection Area and Ramsar site for wintering birds. New homes within 5.9 kilometres of it are expected to pay towards measures that manage visitor pressure. North Northamptonshire's rate from June 2026 is £371.17 per new home, plus a small administration fee. Very large schemes of 500 homes or more are expected to provide their own alternative natural green space. None of this stops development, but it is a cost and a design point that we build into our assessment for land in the Nene Valley.

The Nene and Its Wide, Flat Flood Plains

The Nene and its tributaries, including the Ise, the Tove and the Brampton branch that meets it at Northampton, have wide, flat flood plains. Northampton flooded badly in 1998, and parts of Wellingborough, Thrapston, Oundle and many valley villages sit close to the river. The Welland forms part of the northern boundary, and the Great Ouse rises near Brackley. Land in Flood Zones 2 and 3 faces the sequential test, but a field with one wet edge can often keep the homes on higher ground and use the lower part for drainage and open space. Our guide to flood risk on development land covers this in more detail.

Landscape and Heritage

Without a Green Belt or National Landscape, the landscape debate in Northamptonshire tends to be about local character: the setting of stone villages, gaps between towns, and views across open valleys. The county has many ironstone and limestone villages with conservation areas, and a number of country houses and parks. Heritage settings shape layout and density more often than they rule land out.

Roads and Infrastructure

Growth along the M1 and A14 has put pressure on junctions, and National Highways looks closely at schemes that add traffic to the strategic network. Schools, doctors and sewage treatment capacity also come up often. A good site is one where access can be taken from a road that can cope, and where drainage and utilities can be sorted out at a sensible cost.

So selling land for development here is usually about practical questions, an access that works, drainage that can be solved and a known Nene Valley contribution, rather than a designation that rules a field out.

Both councils are building just above their delivery target, so the Housing Delivery Test gives no shortfall argument. The five-year supply is a different test, and both councils fail it. Under policy S5, that shortfall is evidence of unmet need to be weighed, not an automatic finding, and with no Green Belt in the county it can apply at any settlement edge. The age of both core strategies matters too, as housing need has been recalculated nationally since they were adopted. The routes we see working best are:

1. The new local plans. West Northamptonshire's draft is heading for examination and North Northamptonshire's plan is at an early stage. Land needs to be put forward and supported with evidence at each stage. See our guide to calls for sites and local plans.
2. Neighbourhood plans. Northamptonshire has a large number of neighbourhood plans, and several allocate housing sites in villages. Parish councils are often open to a well-designed small scheme that meets local needs.
3. A planning application under policy S5. A field that adjoins a town or village, where roads, schools and drainage can cope, can be put forward while the supply is short. Barton Road shows that the site still has to work: a safe access and a fit with the landscape decide the case.
4. Previously developed land. Old yards, depots and farm buildings. National policy supports reusing them, and some farm buildings can be converted under Class Q.
5. Sites near stations. Northampton, Long Buckby, Wellingborough, Kettering and Corby all have stations. National policy supports higher density homes close to well-connected stations, and whether that applies depends on the station and its service.

Northamptonshire is not a Green Belt county, and that helps. The main tests are flood risk, access, landscape character and whether the site fits the council's strategy. Land that passes those tests, next to a growing town, can do well here, but the timing of the two local plans will decide when.