Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

1. What is Hanwood Park?

Hanwood Park is one of North Northamptonshire’s five consented Garden Communities which together are expected, and needed, to deliver the area’s growth aspirations in housing with a diverse mix of high-quality homes in well designed and beautiful settings.

North Northamptonshire is growing and so is Kettering. Once completed, Hanwood Park will be home to 15,000 or more residents and will form a key part of that growth. It remains our ambition that this growth is sustainable, attracts inward investment, and supports the creation of employment opportunities to promote the health and wellbeing of the local community.

Hanwood Park is proposed to deliver a total of 5,500 homes, three primary schools, a secondary school, shops, community buildings, employment centres, leisure facilities and parks. Outline planning permission was granted for the new development in April 2010.

The development is promoted and led by Hanwood Park LLP and is currently home to approximately 3,000 residents.

2. Why are you conducting this digital consultation?

Planning ensures that the right development happens in the right place at the right time, benefitting communities and the economy.

Hanwood Park has been carefully planned from the outset, to blend with the surrounding rural and urban environments. Engagement with local residents, businesses, and stakeholders form part of this planning process, to help improve the quality of the development.

We simply want you to give us feedback and tell us what’s important to you. What do you like most about Hanwood Park? What are you looking forward to?

We are currently planning the new district centre, so we’d like to hear what types of retailers and service providers you would like to see at Hanwood Park. Are you looking forward to having somewhere on your doorstep where you can meet friends for coffee, or are you more concerned about being able to book yourself in for a regular trim?

How would you like to use your outdoor spaces? Would you want to use outdoor gym equipment? We are planning new community facilities, what would you like to see come forward?

3. How long will this consultation run for?

We are keen to maintain a continuous process of engagement and consultation. Our polls remain open and are subject to change as the project reaches new stages. However, we will always be pleased to hear from you and can be contacted at [email protected]

4. Why do we need such a big new development?

Major new development sites are needed to deliver new homes, jobs, and infrastructure. Kettering was identified as a growth town in the East Midlands Regional Plan (2005). The North Northamptonshire Joint Core Strategy 2011-2031 (adopted in July 2016) reports that the population of North Northamptonshire increased by nearly 11% between 2001 and 2011 from 285,600 to 316,8001. This compares to a growth of 7.2% in the population of England. Corby has seen the largest percentage population increase (14.4%), followed by Kettering (13.7%).

Kettering is the main employment centre in North Northamptonshire, and after Corby, has the second highest level of self-containment in commuting patterns (52.3%) and the second shortest average journeys to work (15.8km).

As a growth town, Kettering is expected to deliver a large share of new housing and be the focus of employment, retail and leisure development.

5. Why was the Hanwood Park site chosen?

Kettering is well-set to accommodate growth; it has good accessibility by road and rail, a strong retail centre, a hospital and college, and a full range of leisure and recreation facilities. There is little marked social or economic disadvantage. The town has accommodated significant growth in the past; investment in local and strategic infrastructure is supporting growth in Kettering and North Northamptonshire and this is being further supported with infrastructure investment to support the delivery of development at Hanwood Park.

Kettering has a strong underlying structure that can be readily extended in a logical way. Hanwood Park can be well integrated and consistent with historic patterns of growth and previous expansion. The site offers plentiful natural features, open spaces and the ability to interweave green infrastructure.

The infrastructure in the east of the town is being upgraded to accommodate growth and will offer benefits to the town as a whole.

6. Is there really a need for so much new housing?

Tackling the under-supply of housing in England – a briefing paper published by the House of Commons Library in January 2021 – explains that the number of new homes needed in England is estimated to be up to 345,000 per year. The government’s target is to supply 300,000 new homes per year by the mid-2020s. This is to accommodate new households that are forming and to help address a backlog of existing need for suitable housing.

Tackling the under-supply of housing in England suggests that the need for more housing can be seen in a variety of ways:

• Increased levels of overcrowding.
• Acute affordability issues.
• More young people living with their parents for longer periods.
• Impaired labour mobility, with businesses finding it difficult to recruit and retain staff.
• Increased levels of homelessness.

7. How is housing need calculated?

The Government first introduced a standard method for calculating housing need, in a July 2018 update to the National Planning Policy Framework. Local Planning Authorities (LPAs) are strongly encouraged by the Government to prepare a “Local Plan”. This sets out planning policies for the local area, including an assessment of how much new housing will be needed to accommodate growth.

8. How many new homes is North Northamptonshire expected to provide? How does this compare with other counties?

The North Northamptonshire Joint Core Strategy 2011-2031 (adopted in July 2016) sets out each borough’s objectively assessed needs for housing. Kettering is expected to deliver an annual average of 520 homes each year – compared with up to 2,000 homes per year across North Northamptonshire as a whole.

Based on published housing delivery test measurements for 2018-2019, the average number of homes required by LPAs in England is 1,074 per annum. For comparison, the number required per annum in Kettering and other nearby LPAs is:

• Kettering – 520
• Corby – 460
• Peterborough – 942
• East Northamptonshire – 421
• Northampton – 796
• South Northamptonshire – 612
• Daventry – 697
• Wellingborough – 341
• Harborough – 542
• Rutland – 133
• Bedford – 1,319

9. How many new homes have been built so far?

More than 1,200 new homes have been built so far, with more new homes coming soon.

10. What types of housing are you building, and do you have prices?

The housing will be a mix of detached, semi-detached, terraced, town houses, bungalows and apartments in accordance with the approved Design Code.

In each phase of development, 20% of the dwellings will be affordable homes. 

The affordable housing will be a mix of detached, attached, terraced, town houses, bungalows and apartments in accordance with the approved Design Code.

Information about the availability and prices of new homes is often available on the individual developer websites:

11. How can I get in touch with the team at Hanwood Park?

We are keen to maintain a continuous process of engagement and consultation. The team at Hanwood Park will always be pleased to hear from you, and can be contacted at [email protected]