Kettering approves 9 in 10 applications and files HMO conversions at nearly twice the national rate.
North Northamptonshire approved 90.6% of the planning applications it decided in the 2024 to 2025 period, above the national rate of 87.6%. Refusals ran at just 9.4%, about 1 in 11, well below the national 12.4%. Two categories stand out: HMO conversions at 1.9 times the national share, and change of use to residential at 1.8 times the national share, reflecting active demand to bring more properties into occupation.
The year in one line
North Northamptonshire is an easier council than most to get permission from, with a 90.6% approval rate and refusals at just 1 in 11; Kettering's application mix is led by extensions but stands out on HMO conversions and change of use to residential, both running well above the national share.
What Kettering Is Building
Extensions lead, but HMO conversions and change of use stand out.
Home extensions were the most common application type submitted to North Northamptonshire in 2025, at 27.0% of all applications, close to the national norm of 29.1%. Beneath that, two categories run well above their national shares: change of use to residential at 4.0% against 2.2% nationally, and HMO conversions at 2.3% against 1.2% nationally. Both reflect sustained demand to bring more floor space into use as homes in and around Kettering.
Applications submitted to North Northamptonshire in the 2024 to 2025 period, by project type. Highlighted bars run above the national share.
Two categories stand out
HMO conversions at 2.3% are nearly double the national 1.2%, and change of use to residential at 4.0% is 1.8 times the national 2.2%. Both are driven by robust application volumes of 38 and 67 applications respectively.
The council verdict
An approving council with a low refusal rate.
Of the 1,132 applications decided across 2024 to 2025, 1,026 were approved and 106 refused, giving a 90.6% approval rate against the national 87.6%. Refusals ran at 9.4%, about 1 in 11 applications, well below the national 12.4%. The retrospective rate, for work already completed, was 2.0% against 3.7% nationally.
About 1 in 11 Kettering applications was turned down.
applications refused, a 9.4% refusal rate against the national 12.4%. Getting permission in the North Northamptonshire area is meaningfully easier than the English average.
Kettering vs The National Norm
Below-average refusals, above-average HMO and change-of-use activity.
Set Kettering's application mix against the national average and two gaps open up on the upside: change of use to residential at 4.0% versus a national 2.2%, and HMO conversions at 2.3% versus 1.2% nationally. On the downside, demolition at 6.3% and dormers at 3.5% both come in below their national shares. The retrospective share, work done before asking, is 2.0% here against 3.7% nationally, so the town builds more lawfully than the English average.
applications were refused, a 9.4% refusal rate against 12.4% nationally. North Northamptonshire approves more freely than the English average across the board.
Each bar is Kettering's share of applications submitted to North Northamptonshire; the marker is the national share. Change of use to residential is the clearest gap above the norm.
Meanwhile, the market
Prices rose alongside the building work.
Permission tracks above the national rate here, and prices have climbed steadily with it.
Kettering stands out on two measures: a refusal rate of just 1 in 11 makes North Northamptonshire one of the more permissive councils in the data, and the concentration of HMO conversions and change-of-use-to-residential applications, both running well above the national share, points to real demand to bring more floor space into residential use. For anyone planning to convert or change use of a property here, the conditions look favourable.
Where the numbers come from
Planning Data
Applications submitted to North Northamptonshire in 2025 (volume) and in the pooled 2024 to 2025 period (rates and shares), classified from each application's published description. Shares are each category as a percentage of all applications in scope.
Decision Rates
Approval rate is approvals as a share of approvals plus refusals, computed over all decided applications in the 2024 to 2025 period. The national benchmarks are computed the same way across all decided applications in England and Wales.
Sales Data
HM Land Registry Price Paid Data for the Kettering post town, the latest full year's completions, with growth measured against the previous year.
The Real Applications
Open the planning applications behind the numbers.
These are real applications submitted to North Northamptonshire in the Kettering area, illustrating the HMO conversions and change-of-use activity that stand out in the data, alongside a refusal. Open any one to see its full record.
14 Westhill Close NN15 7LD
A single-storey front and rear extension plus a two-storey side extension was approved, the home-extension work Kettering files most.
See this property's full record208 Blandford Avenue NN16 9AT
A residential home was approved for change of use into a six-bedroom house in multiple occupation, reflecting the elevated HMO activity in the area.
See this property's full record34 Balfour Street NN16 9LH
A workshop was approved for change of use from commercial to residential, part of the above-national share of change-of-use-to-residential applications in the area.
See this property's full record71a High Street, Titchmarsh NN14 3DF
An application to confirm ongoing use of land as a domestic garden was turned down, one of the roughly 1 in 11 the council refused.
See this property's full record4 Cherry Tree Close, Desborough NN14 2SF
A single-storey rear extension projecting 4.5m beyond the original wall was withdrawn before a decision was reached.
See this property's full record22a Main Street, Lowick NN14 3BH
Internal alterations and a garage conversion were approved on a village home.
See this property's full recordCurious about a home in Kettering?
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