'When will it open?': MP demands answer from national developer on opening date of major ‘relief’ road near Northampton

Conservative MP for South Northamptonshire Sarah Bool has written to Persimmon Homes Midlands demanding clarity over the opening of the ‘Towcester Relief Road’ and ongoing disruption on the A43.

In a social media post on Tuesday (March 24), she said: “We all need to know when the Towcester Relief Road will open. After more than a year of disruption on the A43, residents deserve answers.

“I have written to Persimmon Homes Midlands again to demand clarity on three key points: when the Towcester Relief Road will open, when current lane closures and traffic restrictions will be lifted and whether there are any further issues that could cause additional delays. I will continue to keep you updated.”

Persimmon Homes told the Chronicle & Echo that it was “making good progress” but did not provide a definitive date.

The Towcester relief road is part of major housing developments in the town by Persimmon and will link the A5 to the A43 to stop traffic, mainly HGVs, travelling through Towcester town centre.

In a letter sent to the developer, Ms Bool wrote: “Given we are now in spring, I have once again been contacted by a number of constituents regarding the opening of the Towcester Relief Road and the ongoing traffic disruption resulting from the works on the A43.

“As you will be aware and as my office has raised on several occasion - the prolonged roadworks on the A43 have caused significant disruption for residents of Towcester, Silverstone and the surrounding villages. This has now been ongoing for well over a year as construction of the new roundabout for the Towcester Relief Road continues. While residents understand that some disruption is inevitable, they would greatly appreciate any steps that can be taken to expedite the completion of these works, particularly to restore two-lane traffic flow in both directions on the A43.

“In order to update my constituents accurately, please can you confirm the following:

• When the Towcester Relief Road will open?

• When will the current lane closures and traffic restrictions on the A43 be lifted, allowing normal traffic flow to resume?

• Are there any remaining issues that could lead to additional delays?”

The Chronicle & Echo asked Persimmon for a response to Ms Bool.

A spokeswoman said: “Good progress continues to be made on the relief road, and we remain on track to open in the Spring.”

No definitive date was provided.

Persimmon previously told this newspaper: “The A43 works are currently on track to be completed in Spring 2026. We are in discussions with the relevant authorities with regards to the overall relief road opening process.”

Earlier this year, West Northamptonshire Council hit back at criticism over the delays to the project after Independent councillor Ian McCord, whose ward the road is being built in, questioned why enforcement action had not been taken against the developer.

“The fact remains that this will be 27 months late. The planning permission states that the road should have been open when the 1,016th house was occupied. That happened in January 2024,” Councillor McCord said.

He claimed the housing developer had let down the people of Towcester and said there were lessons to be learned, particularly as further housing is planned in the area.

But Councillor Thomas Manning, Reform’s cabinet member for planning and communities, 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.”

He added the council chose instead to continue working with the developer to ensure the road was delivered as quickly as possible.

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.”