Collingtree Park is a district in the

Borough of Northampton Northampton () is a market town and civil parish in the East Midlands of England, on the River Nene, north-west of London and south-east of Birmingham. The county town of Northamptonshire, Northampton is one of the largest towns in England; ...

in the

East Midlands The East Midlands is one of nine official regions of England at the first level of ITL for statistical purposes. It comprises the eastern half of the area traditionally known as the Midlands. It consists of Leicestershire, Derbyshire, Li ...

of England.

Location

Collingtree Park is located at the extreme south of the urban area, due north of the village of

Collingtree Collingtree is a village and civil parish in the West Northamptonshire district of Northamptonshire, England. It is part of the Northampton built-up area. Location and context The village is about from Northampton town centre, close to the ...

, which itself is in the Northampton borough. It is currently a small part of the

East Hunsbury East Hunsbury is a large residential area in the south of the town of Northampton, England, from the town centre and from junction 15 of the M1 motorway. For administrative purposes it is part of the unitary authority of West Northamptonshire. ...

area of the town.

History

Part of the area is the site of the former Collingtree Grange and park demolished in the 1960s but the many old trees from the original park grounds have been retained. The Grange was constructed in 1875 by a local architect,

Edmund Francis Law Edmund Francis Law, usually referred to as 'E. F. Law', (26 April 1810 – 14 April 1882, in Northampton) FRIBA was an English architect during the 19th century, notable for a large number of projects, particularly restorations, in the ...

, for Mr

Pickering Phipps Pickering Phipps is the name of three related men – father, grandson and great grandson – who were residents of Northampton, England in the 19th and 20th centuries. The first began the Phipps Brewery in Towcester in 1801. The company survives ...

, a local brewer. The house was immediately north of the church of St Columba, with the front facing north to north-east. The Sears family, a local boot and shoe manufacturer, purchased the house in 1913 and completely re-planning Glebe Farm. Only the entrance lodges and gateway remain on the A45 road close to an old bridge which carried the main road. The bridge crosses Wootton brook which flows west to join the

River Nene The River Nene ( or : see below) is a river in the east of England that rises from three sources in Northamptonshire.OS Explorer Map sheet 223, Northampton & Market Harborough, Brixworth & Pitsford Water. The river is about long, about of w ...

on the west side of Northampton. The park still retains a number of tall sequoia trees from the original landscaping but some have been lost by the encroachment of their roots on modern houses built too close. Collingtree Park is a short walking distance via a bridle path to the historic village of Collingtree. Mentioned the Domesday Book, Collingtree is recorded as 'Colentrev' and as 'trev' is the Celtic word for place, this could well derive from 'the place of St Columb' and be the likely origin of the village name. More details and information about Collingtree village can be found in their local website.

Facilities

There is a Virgin Active (formerly Esporta) Health Club in the park, a Care Home and Collingtree Park Golf Club. A number of large modern houses are an integral part of the golf course. The course was designed by

The Open The Open Championship, often referred to as The Open or the British Open, is the oldest golf tournament in the world, and one of the most prestigious. Founded in 1860, it was originally held annually at Prestwick Golf Club in Scotland. Later th ...

and U.S. Open champion

Johnny Miller John Laurence Miller (born April 29, 1947) is an American former professional golfer. He was one of the top players in the world during the mid-1970s. He was the first to shoot 63 in a major championship to win the 1973 U.S. Open, and he ra ...

. The area is close to other facilities in East Hunsbury and near to the

A45 road A45 or A-45 may refer to: * A45 Infantry Support Tank, the chassis of which was developed into the Conqueror tank * A45 Records, a German record label notably producing the band Real McCoy * Article 45 Concern Group, a political party in Hong Kong * ...

(re-numbered from the

A508 road The A508 is a short A-class road for north–south journeys in central and south central England, forming the route from Market Harborough in Leicestershire, via Northampton, to Old Stratford, just outside Milton Keynes (and the Buckinghamshir ...

in the early 21st century) and within a mile of M1 junction 15.

Expansion

In July 2008 a proposal. for a major urban extension of housing was being planned by

Bovis Homes Vistry Group, formerly Bovis Homes Group, is a British house-building company based in Kings Hill, England. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index. History Vistry Group was the result of a 2019 me ...

to the east of the

golf course A golf course is the grounds on which the sport of golf is played. It consists of a series of holes, each consisting of a tee box, a fairway, the rough and other hazards, and a green with a cylindrical hole in the ground, known as a "cup". Th ...

with some ''remodelling'' of the course. The extension includes some 2,000 houses of which around 35% will be

affordable housing Affordable housing is housing which is deemed affordable to those with a household income at or below the median as rated by the national government or a local government by a recognized housing affordability index. Most of the literature on affo ...

. Access to the site for residents is proposed from Rowtree Road and Windingbrook Lane in

. This still leaves a remaining area for possible future development. Concern has been expressed about access for vehicle to Collingtree Park and East Hunsbury as there are only four entrance/exit points at present and no plans for any more.Notable responses from residents of the area, Retrieved 7 January 2014
At the end of 2013 the Bovis proposal was reduced to 1000 houses in an attempt to resolve potential flooding, air pollution and traffic congestion in the area. The local neighbourhood continues to oppose any development whatsoever and this stance is supported by Northampton Borough Councillors and Northampton County Councillors representing the area. As at August 2014 the Independent Government Inspectors Report into the 'soundness' of the Joint Core Strategy for the expansion of Northampton is still awaited. Meanwhile, in late 2013 a large 2 million sq foot warehouse was speculatively proposed along a large section of the south side of the M1 at Collingtree. Expansion south of the M1 was excluded from the original Joint Core Strategy. A formal planning application was submitted in 2014.

References

External links

Collingtree Park Golf Club
* {{Northampton, state=collapsed Areas of Northampton