This week I met with representatives from Persimmon for an update on construction of the Towcester Relief Road. I am hugely disappointed at the problems that Persimmon are failing to address and the delays that are continuing to cause great distress for my constituents.

Persimmon have informed me that they have currently built 893 homes, with the Relief Road requiring to be open when the 1017th house has been constructed.

I have a genuine concern that when they reach this target (which I believe will be sooner rather than later,) West Northamptonshire Council will have no leverage over Persimmon to hold them to account for their failings in constructing the Relief Road. I have therefore written to the Council asking them to instruct their enforcement officers to prevent Persimmon from building any further homes until they return to meeting their commitments under the planning permission.

I have also asked Persimmon to produce an urgent action plan on how they will accelerate the works required to finish the tie in of the A5 roundabout to the section of the road that has been built, communicate with residents’ the programme of works that are still required, identify and potential ‘red flags’ that could cause unforeseen delays and plan for any national procurement that might be needed.

You can view these two letters below, and I will update constituents’ with an update from both WNC and Persimmon once they have been received.