A Guide to Living in Northamptonshire

Northamptonshire is a county in the East Midlands of England and is home to some attractive areas including Wellingborough with its lovely old buildings, Rushden with its many parks and lakes or Corby with its fantastic new-builds with modern amenities. The University of Northampton has an excellent reputation for teaching while there are top schools available all over Northamptonshire providing high-quality education for children aged 3–18 years old.

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Best places to live in Northamptonshire

HomeViews Top Rated Development ranking takes into account the Star Rating and HomeViews Transparency Rating of every development in the area

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Where is Northamptonshire?

Northamptonshire is a county in the East Midlands of England. It borders Leicestershire, Cambridgeshire and Rutland to the north, Bedfordshire to the west, Buckinghamshire to the south-west and Hertfordshire and Essex to the east. It has a population of approximately 868,000 people and covers an area of 2,074 square kilometres. The largest city in Northamptonshire is Northampton.

Areas in Northamptonshire

Northamptonshire is a county made up of several areas. Northampton, Corby and Kettering are the largest towns in this region which includes Daventry, Wellingborough and Rushden. There are also many smaller communities including Finedon, Irchester, Weldon and Little Houghton.

Some of the more popular areas for prospective homeowners include:

Northampton – This town is the largest in Northamptonshire and offers a great range of amenities including schools, shops and restaurants. It has a population of over 210,000 people.

Kettering – This town is located close to Northampton and has a population of around 78,000 people. It offers plenty of local amenities as well as good transport links.

Corby – Another popular town in Northamptonshire is Corby which has a population of around 60,000 people and offers many amenities including schools, shops and restaurants. It also has easy access to the A43 road network.

Wellingborough – This town is also located in Northamptonshire and has a population of around 53,000 people. It offers great transport links to the surrounding areas including London.

Daventry – This town is located close to Northampton and has a population of around 34,000 people. Daventry offers many shops and amenities as well as good transport links including the M45 motorway.

Rushden – This town is located within Northamptonshire and has a population of around 32,000 people. It offers great transport links to the surrounding areas including London as well as shops and amenities.

Wollaston – This small village in the East of Northamptonshire has a population of only around 2000 people but it does offer great links with Birmingham City Centre and the surrounding areas.

Universities in Northamptonshire

Northampton is home to the University of Northampton, a well-established university with a long history. The University of Northampton offers a wide range of courses across many faculties and has been praised for its teaching quality.

Top Schools in Northamptonshire

There are a number of excellent schools located in Northamptonshire, including the following:

Queens’ School – a girls’ school located in Northampton which is rated as ‘outstanding’ by Ofsted and has been ranked as the top-performing school in Northamptonshire.

St Andrew’s Roman Catholic High School – a mixed secondary school located close to Kettering which has been rated ‘good’ by Ofsted and is one of the highest achieving schools in Northamptonshire when it comes to GCSE results.

The King’s School – an all boys’ school also located in Northampton which is rated as ‘good with outstanding features’ by Ofsted and has been ranked as the top-performing school in Northamptonshire for A level results.

Magdalene College – a co-educational sixth form located in Oundle which is one of the highest achieving schools in Northamptonshire when it comes to GCSE, AS and A levels.

Population of Northamptonshire

The population of Northamptonshire is just over 630,000, mostly located in the south of the county.

Featured developments in Northamptonshire

Reviews in Northamptonshire

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Great development with potential to be even better

Verified Resident

Review Date Dec 2022

Out development is mostly quiet and friendly hun collections are on time and we don’t notice traffic noise. The open space at the back is great

Please review your development:

We moved in December 2020 and have had overall a great experience. When we have needed snags doing someone has come out promptly to see/fix any issue. The development is becoming a great one for families. There needs to be some dog bins for when dog walkers are taking them out as myself and others have noticed dog poo around the development. Also a post box would be really handy. We are located by the show home and really think they should have planted some shrubs as we are the first houses that people view as they come to the development. Overall we are very happy in our home and would buy another persimmon home again

Please share one thing (or more) which you wish you had known before you moved in:

I wish we knew what was going to be built opposite our houses as we still have no more information

What is the best feature of your home:

The stone we absolutely love the outside the size of the rooms are great but needed a bigger dining area as it’s very small

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Not too Bad but not Amazing

Verified Resident

Review Date Dec 2022

Very limited local shops, restaurants, bars & open spaces. Still pretty much a building site around the estate. A local shop would be good.

Please review your development:

Property management of the estate is okay. Design is average as it’s still pretty much a building site. Building management have been okay when we have had snags in all fairness to them. My thoughts on such aspects as design, facilities, building management and property management have been okay.

Please share one thing (or more) which you wish you had known before you moved in:

That the snagging process would be so tricky and the front door entrance gets extremely cold.

What is the best feature of your home:

The best feature of my home is how easy it is to warm in the winter.

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Lovely development

Verified Resident

Review Date Dec 2022

Great local shops and the roads links are great. Very quite neighbourhood and available visitors parking on street.also there’s places to walk the dog nearby.

Please review your development:

The development has a nice plan and currently in progress,I believe the development will look lovely once completed. The development near to schools, local shops and pharmacy. It’s also offering nice green space for walk with kids and also there are plenty of spaces to walk the dog nearby.

Please share one thing (or more) which you wish you had known before you moved in:

I would think about fitting the floor before moving in.

What is the best feature of your home:

House layout and design, rooms space also good size.

Facilities

Design

Location

Value

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Great location, some nice housing, overall recommended

Verified Resident

Review Date Dec 2022

Location is very good, semi-rural location on the edge of a town with lots of local amenities and great transport links with A14 and A6. Little to no traffic noise, bin collection is regular and reliable.

Please review your development:

The design is average but typical of most modern house builders, quite basic designs, the location was the main draw overall. Paying the maintenance fee is not great and not immediately clear what the benefits are from this. Access is good but a lot of building work constantly nearby is not ideal.