Parish council expansion bid could draw in 860 Northampton homes and industrial estate

John Caswell, chair of Duston Parish Council

Duston Parish Council is to talk about the move at a meeting this week, which would see it take most of the houses between Tollgate Way / Bants Lane and Weedon Road. The stores on Sixfields retail park and Sainsbury's would be included too.

And two further bids could see Lodge Farm Industrial Estate come under the parish council as well as the Ryehill estate.

It comes after Northampton Borough Council took the position that, when a southern Northamptonshire council is created, it wants to see a parish model for Northampton to complement the new unitary.

The houses and stores Duston Parish Council is bidding for are within the boundary of 'NSOD5'

Councillor John Caswell, chairman of Duston Parish Council, said: “We very much welcome the proposal to create more parish councils in Northampton as they understand their own communities best.

"They are democratically elected by the community to serve the community.

"The 10 existing parish councils in Northampton do a great job for their residents and I have no doubt the new parish and town councils could also do such fantastic work.

"For its part, Duston Parish Council will be engaging in the Community Governance Review process, once the borough council formally starts the consultation.”

If the expansion is granted permission, the boundaries could shift after a parish council election in 2020.

The move would increase the income for Duston Parish Council, an opportunity it is unlikely to have again for until the next review in up to 15 years' time.