A landmark deal has been agreed that could see the University of Northampton move to a new £330m campus in Northampton Town Centre.

Located in the Northampton Enterprise Zone, the Avon Nunn Mills site covers 20 hectares of brownfield land along the River Nene. In March 2012, West Northamptonshire Development Corporation launched a compulsory purchase order for the whole site. However, the three main landowners; Avon Cosmetics, Taylor Wimpey UK Ltd and Persimmon Homes Ltd, have reached an agreement with the University of Northampton and WNDC. With the deal agreed, the proposed CPO now only covers land required for a new road through the site.

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Under the terms, the primary objective is a new University Campus, although the current landowners will be putting forward plans to potentially deliver an alternative mixed-use scheme in the unlikely event that the University plans do not come to fruition. If all of these joint plans fail, WNDC will have an opportunity to purchase the whole site.

Professor Nick Petford, Vice Chancellor of The University of Northampton said: "This new Waterside Campus will place us in the heart of the community. It is a hugely exciting project with an investment of more than £330m. If it progresses as we hope, we could be moving in to start ground work in 2015, with the campus opening sometime between 2018 and 2020."

A spokesperson for Taylor Wimpey and Persimmon said: "This is a groundbreaking agreement that we have reached with the University of Northampton and we will be doing everything we can to see the dream of the new campus becoming a reality."