Selling Land in West Northamptonshire

At its meeting of 14 September 2026, the Planning Policy Committee chose to start its new local plan again under the 2026 framework and regulations, rather than carry on with the draft it had consulted on in 2024 and again from 29 January to 27 March 2026. The next day the housing minister, Matthew Pennycook, issued a direction requiring the council to:

• begin the final draft (Regulation 19) consultation by 5 October 2026, for at least six weeks;
• submit the plan for examination by 31 December 2026, with only minor changes;
• report progress to his officials every month; and
• publish a revised Local Development Scheme by 5 October 2026.

His letter points to the age of the 2014 plan and says the council's latest published supply position "puts the council at further risk of speculative development". The council's leader, Mark Arnull, said it was "deeply disappointed" and that residents "should not be forced to choose between having a Plan quickly and having a Plan that works".

What the Draft Contains

The draft put to the September committee makes provision for about 44,800 homes over 2026 to 2043, above a need of 42,704, which is 2,512 a year, the same figure the supply calculation uses. Northampton is the principal urban area and Daventry, Brackley and Towcester rural service centres, above the villages, small settlements and hamlets, with a separate allocation at Long Buckby station. It favours renewing the existing towns over greenfield land, carries forward earlier allocations and sets about 3,600 homes for parishes with primary or secondary service villages. The largest new allocations it names are:

A 300-home allocation at Collingtree Golf Course dropped out between drafts. The report also explains the rush: the draft follows the December 2024 framework, and changes to the planning system mean it must be submitted by 31 December 2026.

The draft plan's settlement order and the supply position point each kind of site towards a different route:

1. Inside Northampton, Daventry and the towns. Infill and backland plots fall to policy S4, where the answer should be yes unless the damage a scheme does would substantially outweigh what it brings.
2. On the edge of Daventry, Towcester, Brackley and the larger villages. Here the shortfall and policy S5 matter most. We check each field against nearby draft allocations, because a site beside planned growth reads differently from one that stands alone.
3. In the smaller villages. The draft says rural growth will be plan led, through a neighbourhood plan or, where that is not possible, a later development plan document; our paddocks and small sites page shows the kind of plot we mean.
4. Near the Nene gravel pits. The Upper Nene Valley Gravel Pits Special Protection Area, 1,358 hectares of former workings, reaches into both Northamptonshire councils. New homes near it need mitigation for visitor pressure on its protected birds, which is a cost to plan for rather than a bar.

Our guide on how long planning takes sets out the stages from a first look to a decision.

The Final Draft Consultation

The council's local plan page confirms the direction: the plan presented on 14 September must be published for at least six weeks from no later than Monday 5 October 2026, and that consultation is the window for comments on the allocations. The council was given until 29 September to put any exceptional circumstances to the government.

Submission by 31 December, Examination in 2027

The council's September report expects the examination in 2027. As it advances, the plan gains weight against large unallocated schemes; modest sites on a settlement edge raise fewer of the questions an examination settles.

The Next Supply Assessment

The council published its last two supply assessments in June 2025 and July 2026. We make no forecast of the next. If the supply stays short, S5 keeps its force; if five years returns, most unallocated fields will look to the plan instead.

The Next Delivery Test

The Housing Delivery Test 2025 was published on 17 August 2026, and a new edition follows each year. At 104% none of its consequences applies. A result under 95% means an action plan; under 85%, the buffer rises to 20% and the gap above grows; under 75%, S5 treats unmet need as evidenced.

No Reorganisation to Wait For

West Northamptonshire Council is itself the product of the 2021 reorganisation, so the council taking the plan to examination is the one expected to adopt it.