WNC Cabinet to sell part of Northampton park, and swap Albion House for East Island with a student accommodation developer Zone Developments

The council's cabinet has agreed plans to sell off public open space in a Northampton park and swap a prominent town centre building for important land in its future regeneration scheme, among other disposals.

Nadia Lincoln - Local Democracy Reporter | Monday 20th July 2026 11:26am

The council’s cabinet has agreed plans to sell off public space in a Northampton park and swap a prominent town centre building in return for important land in a future regeneration scheme, among other disposals.

A report went to West Northamptonshire Council’s cabinet on Thursday (July 16), asking for authorisation to sell a small area of land at Ladybridge Park as well as Albion House, on Victoria Promenade.

The proposed sales were included in a long list of other disposals of council property, which included commercial sales as well as transferring community spaces into the hands of local town and parish councils.

According to the report, Bellway Homes Limited approached the council to seek a freehold transfer of part of Ladybridge Park, as it is the only viable access route into an allocated 224-home residential site they hold to the south.

The potential housing site, which would still need planning permission, is ‘landlocked’ with no means of access to Ladybridge Drive without the use of the council land.

WNC has agreed to sell the developer the minimum amount of space needed for the access road for a minimum value of £1.5 million. Any land that is not required for the access route would then be sold back to the council for a nominal sum.

It is expected that the developer will come forward with a planning application for the site this summer. The cabinet agreed to the sale in principle, however the land would only be transferred if Bellway can build out the development and planning permission is approved.

In response to concerns raised by ward councillors at the meeting, cabinet member for finance, Cllr John Slope said: “I recognise this land is valued by the people who live near it. What transfers is around half an acre – the minimum needed for an access road, the embankments and a substation.

“The development as a whole will create substantially more open public space than is lost and the report proposes that once works are complete, the remaining open space is offered to the parish council, kept in community hands permanently.”

He said that refusing the transfer would not remove the proposed homes from the local plans, but would instead “throw away everything we’ve negotiated” and risk the developer pursuing other routes to get the land, which could result in the council being paid a fraction of its value.

Any local authority considering selling public open space has a legal duty to consult members of the public and consider any objections, which the meeting heard would come forward in due course.

The council was also given permission to pursue the sale of Albion House, which sits next to the St John’s multi-storey car park.

Instead of a straight sale, the report proposes swapping the multi-storey former office property for a parcel of land on the northern edge of the town centre known as East Island, which forms part of the council’s Greyfriars regeneration masterplan.

The owner of East Island is a developer of purpose-built student accommodation, Zone Developments. It previously transformed the East Island site into a new car park, however it voluntarily closed in early 2024 after it was found to be operating without planning permission.

The council report wrote: “The development proposed on Albion House would regenerate the area and would likely see the demolition of the property and the erection of a new facility in keeping with the local area.

“It is therefore proposed to dispose of Albion House and acquire the East Island, with the difference in value between the sites being made to the council.”

It added that if the swap was not approved, it would increase the risk of WNC not being able to secure the East Island site as part of its wider regeneration works.

Cllr Keith Holland-Delamere questioned if the council was “100 per cent sure” the sale of Albion Place “will not come back to bite us”, given the site was initially bought by the borough council under the premise it could be used to extend the nearby multi-storey car park.

Executive director of place and economy, Stuart Timmiss, said it had been investigated, but that there was no way to extend the car park onto the adjacent site.

The report also stated that the council had considered other options to refurbish the building for commercial letting, or redevelop it into social housing, however both schemes were deemed unviable.

Mr Timmiss added: “It is a prominent site on a major gateway and we are working with the developers and the university to look at the brief for that and make sure that it is something that we would be proud of.”

The LDRS contacted Zone Developments to ask what its plans are for the Albion House site if the asset swap goes ahead, but did not receive a response.

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