DH Painter & Decorator covers New Duston, the northern part of Duston parish about 2.8 miles north-west of Northampton town centre in NN5. Dean has over 30 years in the trade and decorates its stone and red brick cottages, purpose-built flats, council homes and 1980s-2000s estate houses, with free written quotes.
How New Duston grew
New Duston is the northern half of Duston civil parish, on the north-west edge of Northampton. It grew up around the junction of Main Road, Port Road and Quarry Road and stretches north to Harlestone Road, the A428, which divides it from the Lodge Farm industrial estate. The parish council splits it into New Duston East and New Duston West wards.
Its past is industrial. Iron ore was quarried at Duston from 1854-55, with working on the north side of the Northampton to Daventry road continuing until 1908, and a limestone quarry north of Bants Lane had closed by 1901. One former stone quarry is now the Duston Wildes open space. The sale of the Duston Manor estate at the George Hotel in Northampton on 3 July 1919 opened the way for 20th-century growth, including New Duston itself and the British Timken roller-bearing works on Main Road. Timken opened in 1941-42, employed over 4,000 people at its peak and closed in 2002. The site was cleared for housing, and the works gates still stand on Main Road, owned by the parish council since 2022.
That history left a mixed set of houses, and each needs its own approach from a painter and decorator. The sections below go through them.
The stone and red brick cottages at the old centre
The original New Duston was a settlement of natural stone terraced cottages, some with long rear gardens, later joined by red brick cottages as it grew. They sit around the Main Road, Port Road and Quarry Road junction and towards Harlestone Road. A small newer development near Duston Wildes was built in local stone with brick detailing to match them.
What that means for the work:
- Natural stone should not be coated in plastic masonry paint. Where stone has already been painted, a breathable mineral or silicate system lets moisture escape instead of trapping it.
- Red brick cottages are usually left as bare brick. Painting a brick face is generally a mistake, so the exterior work is on joinery, sills, gates and boundary walls.
- Inside, expect older plaster on solid masonry, which needs adhesion checks and careful filling before our interior painting begins.
- Long rear gardens mean longer carries for ladders and materials on exterior jobs, which we plan into the day.
The Duston Neighbourhood Plan made New Duston a local character area. Its policy BE1 asks new building and extensions to respect this stone and red brick vernacular and the front boundary walls, so sympathetic colours on these cottages help keep the look the plan describes.
Purpose-built flats and council homes
New Duston has a much higher share of purpose-built flats and more council housing than Old Duston. Across the whole parish, the 2011 Census (quoted in the Neighbourhood Plan) recorded 82% of homes as owner occupied, 10% privately rented and 6% social housing, most of it Northampton Borough Council stock at the time.
For decorating, that brings two kinds of job. One is communal: stairwells, landings and flat entrance doors, usually arranged through a landlord, managing agent or the council. The other is the tenancy changeover, where a flat needs repainting quickly in durable finishes that are easy to touch in next time. Our landlord and letting agent decorating service is set up for that kind of work.
The western estates around Rochelle Way
On the western side, almost 3,000 houses were built around Weggs Farm Road, Wrenbury Road and Rochelle Way within 10 to 15 years. They are mainly two-storey brick houses with gable pitched roofs, many of them large detached homes set close together, with front and rear gardens. Off the main roads are cul-de-sac closes such as Loire Close, Bergerac Close, Avignon Close and Reims Court.
Because the houses went up together, their fascias, front doors and garage doors are of a similar age and often fall due for repainting or re-coating at the same time. The narrow gaps between detached houses limit side access for ladders, which affects fascia and soffit painting and gutter-level work most. Indoors, it is plasterboard, two-storey stairwells and open living spaces. Extensions are, according to the Neighbourhood Plan, the main kind of development on this side of the parish, and each one brings new plaster that needs a mist coat before decorating.
Shops, the pub and Lodge Farm
New Duston has no single high street. Instead it has several small parades: the Port Road local shopping centre, protected under Neighbourhood Plan policy B3, the Harlestone Road local centre with its post office, convenience store and The Hart of Duston pub, the Quarry Road units, the Main Road parade opposite Duston Eldean School, and the units at Woodley Chase. Shopfronts, signage surrounds and shutters on these parades are painted around trading hours, so shops can keep serving customers.
Across Harlestone Road, the Lodge Farm Industrial Estate has commercial units, offices and steel doors and railings that need industrial primers and coatings. Redevelopment sites, such as the former Duston Oil Works on Port Road and garage sites on Harlestone Road, add new homes with fresh plaster.
Weather, woodland and the A428
Duston sits at the top of the northern valley slope above the River Nene, and New Duston runs up to woodland at Harlestone Firs and the plantations to the north and west. Tree shade and leaf fall keep north-facing fences and walls damp, which encourages algae, so washing down and an anti-fungal treatment come before any stain or paint. Frontages on Harlestone Road collect traffic grime from the busy A428, so exterior colours there should be washable, and surfaces need a thorough clean before coating. Our guide to timing exterior painting explains how to plan outside work around the weather.
Planning rules and getting a quote
New Duston is outside the Duston Conservation Area, which covers Old Duston around St Luke’s Church and was designated in 1977. No Article 4 direction has been found for New Duston, so most ordinary repainting of houses there needs no consent. That is a real difference from Old Duston, where tighter rules apply. Car ownership in Duston is high at 85%, and parking is tight in many of the closes, so Dean will ask about van space when you book.
We cover New Duston from our Northampton base, about 2.8 miles from the town centre, alongside neighbouring Duston, Dallington, Kings Heath and Upton. Dean visits, looks at the job and gives a free written quote. Call 07539 779 036 to arrange a visit.
Last updated by Dean, DH Painter & Decorator.
