Northampton station plan

December 2025

Formal Objection to Planning Application WNN/2023/0083 – Redevelopment of Northampton Railway Station

Dear Planning Officer,

Living Streets Northamptonshire submits this formal objection to planning application WNN/2023/0083 for the redevelopment of Northampton Railway Station, including the construction of a multi-storey car park (MSCP), hotel, residential block, and associated public realm works.

While we support the principle of enhancing Northampton’s transport infrastructure, we believe the current proposals fail to meet key national and local planning policies relating to sustainable transport, heritage protection, and high-quality placemaking. We urge the Council to refuse the application in its current form or require substantial revisions and conditions to address the following concerns:

1. Failure to Deliver a Safe, Inclusive and Connected Active Travel Network

The proposed development does not comply with the requirements of the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF, paras 110–112), Local Plan Part 2 Policy 31, or the principles of Local Transport Note 1/20 and the draft Local Cycling and Walking Infrastructure Plan (LCWIP). Specifically:

  • The segregated cycle route terminates abruptly at a pinch point near the proposed hotel site, failing to provide a continuous, legible and safe connection to the wider town network, including Spring Boroughs and Spencer Bridge Road.
  • The “existing main cycle network routes” highlighted on page 8 are of poor standard and not currently part of any coherent network – the draft LCWIP details multiple improvements required there.
  • The applicant has not committed to any significant off-site improvements or contributions to the LCWIP network, despite the site’s strategic role as a multimodal interchange.
  • There is no evidence of an Inclusive Mobility audit or compliance with accessibility standards for step-free access, tactile paving, or cross-fall gradients.

These deficiencies undermine the development’s claim to support sustainable travel and represent a missed opportunity to deliver a truly integrated transport hub.

2. Harm to the Setting of Designated Heritage Assets

The site lies adjacent to the Scheduled Ancient Monument of Northampton Castle and the Grade II listed Postern Gate and Walls. The proposed MSCP and hotel, due to their scale, massing and proximity, would cause substantial harm to the setting of these nationally significant heritage assets.

The application fails to meet the statutory tests under Sections 66 and 72 of the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990 and the heritage policies of the NPPF (paras 199–202), as well as Local Plan Part 2 Policy 2 and CAAP Policy 19. No meaningful mitigation or public realm enhancement has been proposed to offset this harm.

3. Inadequate Public Transport Interchange and Poor Integration

The proposed layout does not deliver a coherent, legible or inclusive interchange between rail, bus, taxi, and active travel modes. Key concerns include:

  • Disjointed and unclear arrangements for taxi ranks, drop-off zones and rail-replacement bus bays.
  • Lack of weather-protected, accessible, and well-signposted pedestrian routes between modes.
  • Absence of a clear interchange strategy or design rationale in the submitted documents.
  • Absence of properly covered cycle parking of the standard seen elsewhere on the rail network, for example at Kettering station.

This undermines the stated objective of creating a “gateway to Northampton” and fails to meet the expectations of CAAP Policy 15 and Local Plan Part 2 Policy 31.

4. Unjustified Car Parking Provision and Weak Demand Management

The proposed 854-space MSCP is not adequately justified in the context of national and local policy to reduce car dependency. The applicant relies on “predict and provide” logic without:

  • Demonstrating current occupancy or spare capacity levels.
  • Providing a draft Car Park Management Plan to prevent overspill or misuse by hotel/residential users.
  • Addressing the air quality implications of increased car trips or proposing mitigation.

This conflicts with NPPF para 105, Local Plan Part 2 Policy 31, and the Council’s Air Quality SPD.

5. Poor Urban Design and Missed Placemaking Opportunities

The MSCP presents a blank, monolithic façade to Black Lion Hill, undermining the ambition to create a high-quality gateway to the town. The development lacks active frontages, animation, or meaningful public realm interventions to enhance the pedestrian experience.

This is contrary to NPPF para 130, Local Plan Part 2 Policy 2, and CAAP Policy 19.

Requested Actions

We respectfully request that the Council:

  1. Refuse the application in its current form due to the reasons outlined above.
  2. Require the applicant to submit revised proposals that:
    • Deliver continuous, LTN 1/20-compliant active travel connections to the town centre and LCWIP network.
    • Reduce the visual and physical impact on heritage assets through revised massing, setbacks, and public realm enhancements.
    • Provide a coherent, inclusive, and legible interchange strategy.
    • Justify car parking provision with robust evidence and commit to enforceable management controls.
    • Include a fully enclosed cycle parking area of at least the same standard as the parking hub at Kettering station.
    • Replace the proposed indirect route to the bus station with a route from the front of the station along Chalk Lane or Marefair and College St.  This is safer, more direct and more desirable.  It requires a wider shared-use path between the main station steps and the junction with St Andrews Road.
    • Enhance the public realm and building frontages to create a welcoming, human-scale gateway to Northampton.

We would welcome the opportunity to engage further with the Council and the applicant to support a revised scheme that better aligns with Northampton’s sustainable transport and placemaking ambitions.

October 2025

Here is our letter to the planning committee. Help stop this plan by sending your email to the chair of the committee scott.packer@westnorthants.gov.uk

Dear Councillor Packer

Northampton Living Streets strongly urges you to oppose the Rail Station Car Park application, which is coming before Planning Committee this Tuesday 21st October, 

The application  contravenes Policy 3 of the draft WNC Local Transport Plan which states that West Northants Council  “supports better integration between specific modes, routes and services at key strategic locations to create more seamless travel and transfers for journeys involving multiple stages or modes of travel.”(Local Transport Plan p.6)

The rail station is a key strategic location for creating a mobility hub  but the proposed plans for a hotel and multi-storey car park are inadequate for facilitating this:  

1. Access to the rail station for cyclists is is non-segregated and non LTN/120 compliant. It also involves a sharp and potentially dangerous right turn which would discourage cyclists using it.

2.    The cycle route through the development is also, in part, non-segregated and non LTN/120 compliant. The segregated part of the cycle path takes an isolated and potentially unsafe route   between the development boundary and the back of the multi storey car park again discouraging use.

3.     Cycle parking facilities are included but it is not clear that these will be fully covered or that there will be adequate provision for larger cycles and cargo bikes.

4.     There is no provision at all for travellers arriving in Northampton by rail and wanting to hire a cycle for their onward journey. 

5.     There is little “use of green infrastructure, in particular trees, where this can create a barrier between sources of pollution and receptors” as recommended in National Planning Practice Guidance Ref 1D 32 (Air quality).  Trees are to be planted to shield hotel residents from the traffic on Black Lion Hill, but there is no provision for shielding pedestrians and cyclists from the considerable number of private cars and taxis that will be using the site. 

6.     The plan will permanently prevent improvement in existing bus rail connectivity as the only space provided for buses are bays for rail replacement buses. 

In conclusion the proposed  plan for the rail station will not “create seamless travel and transfers for journeys involving multiple stages or modes of travel” and will not “support the access needs of everyone in our community to foster social inclusion and wellbeing.” (  Local Transport Plan p. 5) and as such I hope you will agree they should be  rejected 

Yours sincerely

Northampton Living Streets