Looking Back: The shaping of Northampton New Town
In 1965, it was announced by Harold Wilson's Labour Government that Northampton was to be one the new towns offering housing to people living in poor conditions in English cities
Northampton Development Corporation encouraged people from over-crowded areas such as London and Birmingham to move to the town. The Corporation spent £205m building new housing estates with the population blooming from 130,000 people in 1971 to around 212,000 Northamptonians in 2012. With population growth, the town underwent a transformation including the clearance of some back-to-backs and old factories to make way for shopping centres, housing estates and industrial parks.