Row of 24 modern council houses in Northampton fenced off and vacant despite being completed months ago

In March, construction at the former Spring Boroughs council housing estate, off Horsemarket, had finished, according to Northampton Partnership Homes (NPH), which is part of West Northamptonshire Council (WNC).

The modern three-storey properties have since been transferred to WNC for allocation but are still fenced off and vacant.

A WNC spokesperson said: “The properties are now complete, and we are in the process of making letting arrangements.”

Of the 48 council tenants who have moved out of the Spring Boroughs estate – which comprised Berkeley House and St Mary’s Court flat blocks which were demolished after being deemed ‘not fit for purpose’ – 21 have reportedly expressed a desire to return to ‘The Roof Gardens’ when it is completed and ready to live in.

The Roof Gardens scheme is the the second phase of the Castle Street redevelopment, which involves the construction 100 apartments and a rooftop garden.

When Chronicle and Echo asked about future tenants, a spokesperson for WNC said: “For those that are eligible, they have already been offered first refusal.

“Like many construction projects, this development did experience a delay due to contractual delivery and building safety checks outside of the Council’s control.”

This newspaper however is awaiting a response as to why it is still fenced off despite completion in March.

The authority previously stated that the housing scheme was expected to be completed by December 2024.

Before that, the 24-home development on Castle Street was initially projected to be finished Spring 2024.

According to NPH, Castle Street experienced significant labour shortages and changes in legislation meant certain aspects around compliance needed to be re-visited.

As a result of the delays, NPH previously said that some cost implications are anticipated but the total figure has not yet been finalised.

In a judgement published in November 2024, The Government’s housing regulator found “serious failings” in how social housing is managed in Northampton and has told the council that “significant improvement” is needed.

According to the regulator, a C3 grading states: “Our judgement is that there are serious failings in the landlord delivering the outcomes of the consumer standards and significant improvement is needed.”

The council then decided to bring control of its major social housing developments back in-house to “secure the best outcomes for our residents and communities”.

A spokesperson previously said: “We are currently finalising proposals to determine the future direction of these developments, which includes the roof gardens element of the Castle Street site, and a detailed report outlining proposed changes and their financial impact will be presented to cabinet in summer 2025.

“A new Housing Delivery Board has also been created comprising members from a range of sectors within the housing industry, with the aims of promoting innovative approaches to housing delivery and quality enhancement across West Northants.”

WNC also recently said it had launched an affordable housing plan at the end of last year, setting out its commitment to accelerate delivery and supply a minimum of 650 affordable homes per year by 2029/30.

The council will be subject to a full inspection by the Regulator after receiving the C3 ‘serious failings’ grading last year, however the timing of this is currently unknown.