Opening date set for delayed Towcester relief road

A ‘complex’ link road built as part of a 2,750 home residential scheme in Northamptonshire will open to traffic from 4 May, around six years after work first began on the site.

The Towcester Relief Road will connect the A5 to the A43, and has been built by Jacksons Civil Engineering on behalf of housing developer Persimmon Homes as part of an urban extension development to the south of Towcester.

Contractors moved in during 2020 with the road originally intended to be completed in 2024, however Persimmon said the complexity of the scheme and ahead-of-schedule housing delivery had impacted its original timeline.

“The construction of the road has been complex, and we would like to thank our contractors Jacksons Civil Engineering Group Ltd for their hard work,” said Zac Hurst, regional chairman, Persimmon Homes Midlands and South.

“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.

“Throughout the construction of the road, we have worked very closely with our partners at National Highways, West Northamptonshire Council and other stakeholders to ensure the programme remains on track.

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

Finishing touches are currently being added to the road, including street lighting and traffic signals, along with final line marking and high‑friction surface treatments.

Meanwhile, Cllr Ian McCord, the councillor whose ward the road being built in, accused the council of being “spineless” for not taking enforcement action to get the project delivered more quickly.

“The planning permission states that the road should have been open when the 1016th house was occupied. That happened in January 2024,” he told the Northampton Chronicle and Echo.

“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 a response, West Northamptonshire said that enforcement action “would not have been proportionate or practical”.