Manor Road would go one-way northbound past four schools, with five raised zebra crossings. Drop-ins on 15 and 24 September, comments close 11 October.
Manor Road in Brackley would become one-way northbound under proposals West Northamptonshire Council is consulting on now. Waynflete Avenue would become one-way westbound. Five raised zebra crossings would go in along Manor Road, which has four schools and two nurseries on it.
Comments close at 11.59pm on Sunday 11 October 2026. There are two drop-in sessions before then, on 15 and 24 September.
Brackley sits about 20 miles south west of Northampton, at the southern end of West Northamptonshire, so this is a Brackley scheme rather than a Northampton one. It matters more widely because the A43 between Northampton and the M40 runs through the town, and because the council is treating Brackley as the template for what it calls active travel work elsewhere in the district.
Three schemes, at three different stages
The council has put out three schemes at once, and they are not equally far along. That is the first thing to understand before responding, because a comment on one is answering a different question from a comment on another.
| Scheme | Where | Stage now | What happens next |
|---|---|---|---|
| Scheme 1 | Manor Road and Waynflete Avenue | Preferred option, drawn up | Detailed design, with a further consultation |
| Scheme 2 | High Street and Northampton Road | Early ideas, two options on one stretch | Feasibility design, consultation expected early 2027 |
| Scheme 3 | Halse Road | No proposals yet, open question | Feasibility design, consultation expected early 2027 |
Only Scheme 1 has been through a round of consultation already. The council consulted on three possible packages for Manor Road and Waynflete Avenue in summer 2025, produced a feasibility report, and has now published a single preferred package built from that feedback. Schemes 2 and 3 are at the stage before that. (West Northamptonshire Council, Brackley Active Travel Schemes)
Scheme 1: what would change on Manor Road
The council’s description of the problem is blunt. Manor Road runs beside the High Street, has four schools and two nurseries on it, and carries heavy traffic at drop-off and pick-up. It is also short of space, with narrow footways and high demand for parking.
The preferred package would add raised platforms to existing crossings and put in new raised zebra crossings at five points:
- east of the Waynflete Avenue and Beaumont Crescent junction
- Manor Road outside Magdalen College
- Manor Road outside The Winchester School
- Manor Road outside number 53
- Manor Road outside number 94
Footpaths would be widened and junction surfaces improved.
On parking, the council proposes marked-out on-street bays, a general review of the parking arrangements, and timed bays on Waynflete Avenue for coaches at school drop-off and pick-up. Outside those hours the coach bays would be available to anyone.
The change most likely to be argued over is the traffic circulation:
- Manor Road one-way northbound, between Waynflete Avenue and Halse Road
- Waynflete Avenue one-way westbound, between Manor Road and Beaumont Crescent
The concept drawings also show new give-way priority arrangements where drivers wait for oncoming traffic, additional waiting restrictions, and the removal of some guard railing. (Brackley Active Travel Scheme 1)
Scheme 2: a shared route, and a choice between two ways of slowing traffic
Scheme 2 covers the High Street and Northampton Road corridor, from the BP roundabout to where High Street meets Halse Road. The council picked it because it links the estates, the schools and the town centre, including the growing Radstone Fields area.
The main idea is a largely continuous walking and cycling route along Northampton Road, between the A43 junction and Halse Road. Existing footways would be widened into shared-use paths of roughly 3 metres. Side roads would get continuous footways, so people walking and cycling keep priority across them, and there would be new and upgraded parallel and toucan crossings.
Between High Street and Burwell Hill the council has not picked an approach yet, and is asking which of two it should use:
- Option 1, priority working. Traffic heading south towards the town centre gives way to oncoming vehicles through a narrowed section.
- Option 2, speed cushions. Cushions are laid to bring speeds down, and the road works as it does now.
That is a real choice being put to residents rather than a decision already taken, and it is the part of this consultation where an answer will change the design. (Brackley Active Travel Scheme 2)
Scheme 3: Halse Road, with nothing drawn yet
Halse Road links Manor Road to Northampton Road, which would make it the connection between Schemes 1 and 2 and complete a route across the town. The council has published no proposals for it. It is asking what sort of improvements people want to see. (Brackley Active Travel Scheme 3)
The dates that matter
How to have your say
- Online. The survey is linked from the council’s “Have your say on the Brackley Active Travel Scheme” page.
- On paper. Copies of the consultation material are at Brackley Library.
- In person. Two drop-ins at the Brackley Women’s Institute and Girl Guide Hall, Manor Road, Brackley, NN13 6AJ, on Tuesday 15 September, 3pm to 6pm and Thursday 24 September, 3pm to 6pm. The project team will be there to answer questions.
The closing date is 11.59pm on Sunday 11 October 2026. After it closes the council says it will publish a consultation report setting out the feedback and how it has been used, and that the designs will then be progressed subject to funding and approvals. (Have your say on the Brackley Active Travel Scheme)
Cllr Richard Butler, the council’s cabinet member for highways and transport, said: “We want to make it easier and safer for people to travel around Brackley without hopping behind the wheel of a car. This is particularly for short, everyday journeys such as travelling to school, work, local services and the town centre.
“Brackley continues to grow, and it’s important that the town’s transport network provides safe and attractive travel options for everyone. These are ideas at this stage, not final decisions, and community feedback will play a key role in shaping what happens next.” (West Northamptonshire Council, 1 September 2026)
What it means for you
- If you drive Manor Road, the one-way is the change to read. Northbound only between Waynflete Avenue and Halse Road would reverse how a lot of school-run traffic circulates.
- If you park on Manor Road or Waynflete Avenue, look at the parking drawings. Marked bays and a general review of arrangements are both in the preferred package, and coach bays would take Waynflete Avenue space at drop-off and pick-up times.
- If you live between High Street and Burwell Hill, you are being asked to choose. Priority working or speed cushions, and the council has not decided.
- If you want anything on Halse Road, say it now. Nothing has been drawn, so this is the stage where a suggestion can still become a proposal.
- Nothing here is funded or approved yet. The council says designs will progress “subject to funding and approvals”, and only Scheme 1 has a further consultation promised before construction.
The wider policy background sits in the West Northamptonshire Local Plan, which is what individual applications across the district are judged against: see Northampton planning news. For what is closed and diverted around the district this week, including Brackley High Street during the Charter Fair, see Northampton roadworks and travel.
Frequently asked questions
When does the Brackley active travel consultation close?
At 11.59pm on Sunday 11 October 2026. Responses can be made online through the council’s “Have your say” page, or on paper using the copies held at Brackley Library.
When are the Brackley active travel drop-in sessions?
Tuesday 15 September and Thursday 24 September 2026, both 3pm to 6pm, at the Brackley Women’s Institute and Girl Guide Hall, Manor Road, Brackley, NN13 6AJ. The project team will be there to answer questions.
Is Manor Road in Brackley becoming one-way?
It is proposed, not decided. The council’s preferred package for Scheme 1 would make Manor Road one-way northbound between Waynflete Avenue and Halse Road, and Waynflete Avenue one-way westbound between Manor Road and Beaumont Crescent. If the scheme goes to detailed design there would be a further consultation before anything is built.
Where would the new crossings go on Manor Road?
Five points are named in the preferred package: east of the Waynflete Avenue and Beaumont Crescent junction, outside Magdalen College, outside The Winchester School, outside number 53 and outside number 94. Existing crossings would also get raised platforms.
Has any of this been funded?
No. The council says the designs will be progressed “subject to funding and approvals” once the consultation has closed and a consultation report has been published.
Sources
- Brackley Active Travel Schemes, West Northamptonshire Council, page last updated 31 August 2026.
- Brackley Active Travel Scheme 1: Manor Road and Waynflete Avenue, West Northamptonshire Council.
- Brackley Active Travel Scheme 2: High Street and Northampton Road, West Northamptonshire Council.
- Brackley Active Travel Scheme 3: Halse Road, West Northamptonshire Council.
- Have your say on the Brackley Active Travel Scheme, West Northamptonshire Council, for the drop-in dates and closing date.
- Residents invited to help shape active travel improvements in Brackley, West Northamptonshire Council, 1 September 2026, for the quote.
All three schemes are proposals. Dates and designs can change; check the council’s pages before relying on them.
Have your say