The Government and private sector plan to make significant investment into the Oxford-Cambridge Arc, a region of development encompassing Oxford, Milton Keynes, Cambridge and Northampton1.
Whilst the focus of this development might be on the cities of Oxford and Cambridge with their world-renowned universities, Northampton and its surrounding area have significant opportunities for growth which should not be overlooked by landowners and developers.
With a population of just over 225,000, Northampton is the largest town in England2. In 2016, it was considered to be the second best place nationally to start a business with only London doing better3.
Whilst being a historic centre for the shoe manufacturing industry, the town today is home to the headquarters of a range of large employers such as Barclaycard, Carlsberg and Panasonic and several members of the Midlands Aerospace Alliance4,5.
The town is in a strategic location nationally, with the majority of the UK population being reachable within a 4 hour drive time and London and Birmingham reachable within the hour by rail6. The Oxford Cambridge Arc development is set to improve these transport links by widening the A505 and A43 between Northampton and Kettering and constructing a new Isham bypass in Northamptonshire and an A5 Towcester relief road.
Northampton Borough Council also plans big improvements to housing provision in the region over the coming decade. The Northamptonshire joint core strategy has the ambition of delivering over 17,000 new dwellings in the coming decade and Northampton Borough Council has already allocated over 80 sites for future housing or housing led development7.
The need to support these housing developments with other infrastructure is expected to create other opportunities for developers in the town. The council plans to support the provision of between 7000 and 8900 square metres of retail floorspace by 20298 and to continue to develop the Northampton Technology Realm, an industry and university supported initiative to grow the knowledge based economy in the region1.
Whatever your needs as a developer or landowner, Hewitsons are perfectly placed to assist you with all of your legal requirements.
As well as Construction, Hewitsons has teams specialising in every major area of law, including Agriculture & Rural Property, Commercial, Litigation, Corporate, Employment, Planning & Environmental, Real Estate and Residential Property, among others. Our teams work together to provide a comprehensive and cohesive solution for each client from our four offices located in Cambridge, London, Milton Keynes and Northampton.
Footnotes
1 Page 4, "The Oxford-Cambridge Arc" Ministry of Housing Communities & Local Government. Published March 2019, accessed 9 Jan 2020.
2 Page 12, Northampton Local Plan Part 2,Submission Draft Consultation , Northampton Borough Council. Published 2019, accessed 9 Jan 2020.
3 Page 29, Cities Outlook 2016, Centre for Cities. Published January 2016.Accessed 9 jan 2020.
4 Page 16, Northampton Local Plan Part 2,Submission Draft Consultation , Northampton Borough Council. Published 2019, accessed 9 Jan 2020.
5 Page 10, Economic Vision: The Oxford-Cambridge Arc, South East Midlands Local Enterprise Partnership , Published April 2019 . Accessed 9 Jan 2020
6 Page 61, Northampton Local Plan Part 2 ,Submission Draft Consultation , Northampton Borough Council. Published 2019, accessed 9 Jan 2020.
7 Page 52, Northampton Local Plan Part 2 ,Submission Draft Consultation , Northampton Borough Council. Published 2019, accessed 9 Jan 2020.
8 Page 67, Northampton Local Plan Part 2 ,Submission Draft Consultation , Northampton Borough Council. Published 2019, accessed 9 Jan 2020.
9 Northamptonshire Technology Realm: Forward Strategy. 7 February 2007. Northamptonshire Enterprise Limited and Partners. Accessed 9 January 2020.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.
