Exact opening date finally revealed for controversially delayed 'relief' road next to Northamptonshire town

The Towcester Relief Road, which will connect the A5 to the A43, is set to open soon. Work first started on site in December 2020.

The road, which has been delivered by Persimmon Homes, who are constructing nearly 3,000 homes on the outskirts of Towcester, has been designed to divert traffic from the town of Towcester, alleviating traffic pressures on the town centre.

Zac Hurst, Regional Chairman, Persimmon Homes Midlands and South said: “We are delighted to be able to announce the opening date. The construction of the road has been complex, and we would like to thank our contractors for their hard work.

“In 2025 we gave our commitment to deliver the road in the spring of 2026, and I’m delighted we have been able to honour this commitment.

“We understand that construction activities can be disruptive and we would like to thank the local community for their patience.”

The road will open week commencing May 4, according to Persimmon.

During the week commencing April 20, the current lane closures on the A43 will re-open, the developer said.

Finishing works including the installation of street lighting and traffic signals, along with final line marking and high‑friction surface treatments are currently being undertaken which will involve some night closures in April.

Earlier this year, Independent councillor Ian McCord, whose ward the road is being built in, questioned why West Northants Council (WNC) had not taken enforcement action against the developer.

Councillor McCord previously said: “Since being elected to South Northants Council in 2007 this has been a key project.

"However, the fact remains that this will be 27 months late. The planning permission states that the road should have been open when the 1016th house was occupied. That happened in January 2024.

"Throughout this process Persimmon have played the system and the people of Towcester. They turned down grants to deliver the road early and showed complete indifference to their daily breach of planning conditions.

"Sadly WNC Planning Department has been too spineless to take any enforcement action.

"The road completion is welcome, there are plans afoot now in the new Local Plan to build a further 1,400 homes in Towcester, there are a lot of lessons to be learned from this saga.”

In response, councillor Thomas Manning, Reform’s cabinet member for planning and communities, previously said taking formal enforcement action would not have been ‘proportionate or practical’.

Councillor Manning said: “Taking formal enforcement action would not have been proportionate or practical here. There was clear evidence that the developer was using all of its means to bring forward the development of the road and the roundabout.

“Without reasonable justification, stopping development would have risked significant legal and compensation costs which would then have been a significant burden on the taxpayer, have reputational damage on the council and could have delayed delivery of the road rather than expediting it.”

Explaining the delay previously, Persimmon said the complexity of the technical approval process and faster-than-expected housing delivery had impacted its original timeline.

The developer said: “We recognise that the delivery has been delayed and for that we apologise. However, for the last two years we have worked effectively with all partners involved in delivering the road and are pleased that we are on track to open in the spring.”