University of Northampton: Waterside campus gets go-ahead

The proposed new campus will have state-of-the-art teaching facilities and student accommodation

A £330m town centre campus for the University of Northampton has been approved.

Northampton Borough Council has granted outline planning permission for the development in the town's new Waterside Enterprise Zone.

The university plans to move from its sites in St George's Avenue and Boughton Green Road to a 55-acre site at Nunn Mills Road.

Vice-chancellor Prof Nick Petford said he hoped the campus would open in 2018.

He said the "ambitious" project was "vital for the future of the university and town".

An application for full planning permission will be lodged next year by the university, which has 14,500 students.

The university said the new campus would provide improved facilities, more opportunities to work with commercial enterprises and help boost the Waterside area with new leisure, education and business facilities.

Council leader David Mackintosh said: "The move will bring thousands of students right into the heart of town, creating a fantastic opportunity for businesses of all kinds."

The new campus will be situated on the Avon Nunn Mills site where the power station and Avon cosmetics factory were based.