Residents move into new 'quality' council homes at former office block in Northampton just in time for Christmas

Residents have move into brand new council homes in Northampton just in time for Christmas.

Northampton Partnership Homes (NPH), which runs the council’s housing stock, has been converting Riverside House, in Bedford Road, into 60 social homes.

The site is a 60,000 sq ft iconic former office building, which played host to Northamptonshire County Council staff before it went bankrupt.

Work started in 2022 and was expected to be completed in autumn 2022, according to NPH. However, despite delays of over a year, the building is now open and residents are moving in.

Kelly Fitzgerald, Head of Rehousing & Support at NPH, said: “The refurbishment project at Riverside House is now complete. The building is comprised of eight one-bedroom and 52 two-bedroom flats. We have started to welcome new residents into Riverside House, via our established allocations process. We look forward to allocating all the flats by the end of this year. Riverside House is just one of a number of projects that NPH is currently undertaking to provide quality social homes in central locations across Northampton.”

NPH has been asked how much the site cost to convert.

Councillor Danielle Stone, of the Castle ward, said that she was “absolutely delighted” with the project.

Work is also ongoing to convert the former Spring Boroughs site into 126 council houses.

The former council flat blocks were demolished in April 2021 after it was decided they were ‘no longer fit for purpose’.

NPH previously said the project would be complete by late 2023. However, works were delayed after medieval remains were found underneath the site. NPH has been contacted for an update.