Drone footage shows how major works at iconic clock tower in Northampton have progressed over SEVEN YEARS

“The developers are just incredibly slow. It's incredibly frustrating.”
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Take a look at drone footage which shows how works at an iconic clock tower in Northampton have progressed SEVEN years after planning permission was approved.

Irish firm WN Developments took over the St Crispin’s Hospital land in 2009 and announced major plans to bring it back to life, including long-awaited plans to replace the site with flats.

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Despite an inferno ripping through the former hospital block in 2014, two years later a planning application was lodged to demolish the existing ward blocks, restore the clock tower and build 137 flats and 98 houses on the site. Those plans were approved in 2017.

Drone footage over the site in summer 2023Drone footage over the site in summer 2023
Drone footage over the site in summer 2023

However, we are now in 2024 and, other than a strip of houses currently being built on site, which are advertised with Connells, it appears very little has happened.

Resident Michael Boulden, who set up the Facebook page ‘Save St Crispin's clock tower’, says the development is ‘moving very slowly’ and is worried the clock tower may fall into disrepair.

He said: “The developers are just incredibly slow. We absolutely have our hands tied, and it's incredibly frustrating. But there just isn't update. There's absolutely nothing.

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"The clock tower is supposed to be part of phase two, which WN Development is now working on, just incredibly, incredibly slowly. But as you can see, absolutely nothing has happened with it. It is supposed to be part of phase two works and supposed to be being restored. But we're just really worried that they're just going to leave it and leave it and leave it. And then they'll have to demolish it because it wasn't listed or it becomes unsafe.

"We've tried several times to get the clock tower listed, but it's not considered to be of architectural significance, but there was an agreement that it was to be restored.“If they demolish it… they'll have to put in the planning permission to demolish it, which will hold up the whole site being renovated again, to wait for that to go through and that could be months, could be years.“The council can't do anything because it isn't council owned.”

Conservative councillor Anna King (Duston West and St. Crispin ward) said she too has had no update from the developer.

Councillor King said: “During the end of the first round of Covid, the developers were really engaging and wanted to show the plans to the community. And then after the next lockdown, I didn't hear anything else.

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“It's disappointing that it has been left for so long. The community of St Crispin is a wonderful area and would love the beautiful area to finally be complete. There is so much history embedded in the old hospital site and the clock tower.

“We have a community safety and engagement day coming up at St Crispin community centre on Saturday, April 27, and would welcome the developers to attend with their plans to show the community.”

This newspaper has contacted WN Developments for an update on multiple occasions but has not yet had a response.

Watch the drone footage attached to this story, taken from Clare's Channel on YouTube, to see how the site looked like in the summer of 2023.

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