16 August 2023

People in Northamptonshire are being asked to look out for each other while using the roads in a new road safety campaign.

Northamptonshire Police, North and West Northamptonshire Councils and e-scooter company Voi have launched a campaign together to raise awareness of the rules of the road for e-scooters and e-bikes.

The key aim of the campaign is to ensure everyone using the roads know what to do in order to remain alert at junctions and roundabouts.

There have been nearly 5.5 million journeys on Voi e-scooters since the e-scooter trials started three years ago - and most are completed without any problems. VOI users must agree to a policy which states the regulations for using e-scooters and e-bikes including safety requirements. This is supported by recent safety training which has been delivered in the county. However despite these measures, there have been some accidents in Northamptonshire, prompting the launch of the campaign.
 

The Voi e-scooters have been in the county for nearly three years now and offer a greener, more sustainable way to travel.

Since they launched in 2020, we have worked closely with Voi on e-scooter safety and continue to have regular meetings with them to identify and manage any issues.

We wholeheartedly back this campaign as it’s really important for drivers to be aware that they now share the roads with e-scooter riders who are vulnerable road users.

This means ensuring that a driver is alert and aware of their surroundings, that they give e-scooters plenty of space when passing and to watch out for them at junctions.

Similarly, this campaign is also targeted at e-scooter riders who need to ensure they are also riding sensibly – not on the pavement, at safe speeds and fully aware of their surroundings.

Matt O’Connell, Safer Roads Team Manager

Since the e-scooter trials were launched, they have gone from strength to strength with more people using Voi’s e-scooters to travel around our towns.

We are always working with Voi to improve safety, but we also need everyone’s help and with more journeys taking place on e-scooters, it is important that we all think and are safe when out and about, including drivers, riders, pedestrians and other road users.

Cllr Matt Binley, North Northamptonshire Council’s Executive Member for Highways, Travel and Assets

We are pleased to be partnering with NNC, Northamptonshire Police and VOI to raise awareness of how road users can share the road safely together. This follows on from the recently delivered safety events which provided an opportunity for people to find out more about the VOI e-scooter scheme, how to participate safely, how they can do their bit for the environment by travelling sustainably and how to park without causing an obstruction for pedestrians.Cllr Phil Larratt, Cabinet Member for Environment, Transport, Highways and Waste at West Northamptonshire Council

E-scooters are designed to be ridden on the roads - it’s illegal to ride an e-scooter on the pavement.

It’s important for drivers and riders to be respectful of one another and to remember that we all share the road together.

E-scooters are a safe, affordable and convenient form of transport which don’t cause congestion and air pollution - and we hope this campaign will make them safer still.

Matthew Pencharz, head of public policy for Voi UK, Ireland and France

Find out more about the campaign by following the hashtag #WeShareTheRoad on social media.

Voi runs a series of safety events, both in person and monthly online safety webinars. The next in person event in Northamptonshire is in September. To book a place visit their Eventbrite page.

Voi shared e-scooters are available in Northampton, Corby, Kettering, Rushden & Higham Ferrers and Wellingborough.

Riders must be aged 18 or over and have a full or provisional driving licence to be able to ride a Voi e-scooter

15 August 2023

The former Job Centre located in Wood Street Northampton, has been purchased by West Northamptonshire Council (WNC) as part of the ongoing redevelopment of 35 – 45 Abington Street.

The site is in the heart of the town centre, set just behind Abington Street and the Grosvenor Centre. Having sat vacant for more than a decade the site has fallen into disrepair.

WNC has stepped in and bought the building to ensure that this site benefits from restoration and provides high-quality homes and services for the local community.

The £475,000 freehold price plus costs, was funded through the Towns Fund, which is allocated by Government to enable WNC to transform Northampton Town Centre. WNC has been able to acquire this site to form part of the wider regeneration of the former BHS and M&S stores.

The Towns Fund is part of the Government’s plan for Levelling Up the UK economy and the Council has secured £24.9 million to invest into transforming Northampton’s Town Centre.

The completion coincides with the Expression for Interests as WNC seeks a development partner for the site.

The sites will undergo extensive redevelopment to deliver modern leisure or retail spaces to the ground floor with new homes for resident above.

Through the densification of the site, it will bring forward new homes and flexible leisure space and which will lead to increased footfall into the centre to support the existing retail offer within the wider town.

The next phase of the project on the former BHS property will see the large central building, measuring approximately 60,000 sq ft undergo a full internal strip out and the removal of any asbestos containing materials. This will ensure the building is safe and secure and enable the Council to bring forward the exciting regeneration project at the earliest opportunity.

Ensuring that Northampton is a place where residents and businesses can thrive is a significant priority for us as a council, and the redevelopment of both Wood Street and 35-45 Abington Street will transform this area for our communities.

I would like to thank our partners Evolve for their support in acquiring and completing on the purchase of the building.

We look forward to beginning the next stages of the project to enhance this area and to shape the future of the town, ensuring that it offers opportunities for businesses and residents alike.

Cllr Dan Lister, Cabinet Member for Economic Development, Town Centre Regeneration and Growth at WNC

These works form part of the Northampton Town Centre Masterplan (2019). The wider regeneration of Northampton Town Centre includes the Market Square redevelopment which will see this area become a cultural hub for the town centre, and public realm works in Abington Street and Fish Street which will see the area transformed with new paving, improved seating, lighting and landscaping, and public art installations.

To keep up to date with regeneration in Northampton visit the We Are Northampton website.

10 August 2023

We were informed, alongside the rest of the public, on Tuesday, 8 August 2023, that the Electoral Commission has been the subject of a complex cyber-attack. 

The incident was identified in October 2022 after suspicious activity was detected on their systems. During the attack, unidentified individuals had managed to gain access to copies of the electoral registers, from August 2021. 

As part of the attack, hackers were able to access reference copies of the electoral registers. The registers held at the time of the cyber-attack include the name and address of anyone in the UK who was registered to vote between 2014 and 2022, as well as the names of those registered as overseas voters. 

The registers did not include the details of those who for security reasons qualified to register anonymously. 
The Commission’s email system was also accessible during the attack.
 
The Commission has since worked with external security experts and the National Cyber Security Centre to investigate and secure its systems.

In line with requirements under the law, the Commission notified the Information Commissioner’s Office within 72 hours of identifying that data on its systems may have been accessed. 

Members of the public can find out more by accessing this FAQ document, located on the Commission’s website. Members of the public and electors can also contact the Commission directly by using this webform and selecting the title ‘Cyber-attack’ to get in touch. 

08 August 2023

Kier and West Northamptonshire Council (WNC) has kickstarted its annual surface dressing programme today to improve the condition of 8 key roads across its network, covering over 101,200 sqm.

Surface dressing is a cost-effective, preventative treatment with greater carbon efficiency when compared to resurfacing methods. It is used to prolong the life of roads that are in the initial stages of deterioration, and can help to extend the life of a road by up to ten years.

Surface dressing is quick to apply, meaning disruption is kept to a minimum with temporary road closures. Once it has been applied road users can travel on the new surface immediately. All works are expected to complete in the next five weeks.

We are delighted to be working with our Highways partner, Kier to launch our annual surface dressing programme. These works form a key part of our strategy to balance reactive and proactive road maintenance to improve the condition of our roads, with greater investment to create a more positive experience for our residents and road-users.Cllr Phil Larratt, Cabinet Member for Environment, Transport, Highways and Waste at West Northamptonshire Council

Following the completion of the works, road users should adhere to the temporary road signage, and are required to take extra care. Loose chips are laid onto a layer of bitumen to seal the road surface and provide better grip for vehicles. There is a short-term heightened risk of skidding from the loose chippings so motorists must reduce their speed when travelling on the treated sections of road network.

This scheme forms part of West Northamptonshire Council’s budget to improve roads across the area this year, and is delivered on the network every summer. By using this cost-effective surface treatment, we’re able to extend the life of roads that might otherwise fall beyond the point of repair and require resurfacing.John Coombes, general manager at Kier Transportation

The roads earmarked for the 2023 surface dressing programme between 8 August – 13 September include:

• A428 Bedford Road East, Yardley Hastings
• A5076 Redhouse Road, Northampton
• A45 London Road, Weedon
• A5199 Welford Road, Thornby
• A508 Harborough Road, Maidwell
• Scaldwell Road/Lamport Road, Old
• B4031 Croughton
• Station Road, Aynho

The process is weather dependent cannot take place in the event of rain, so the programme is flexible. Residents will be informed 48-72 hours before work is due to commence. You can find further updates regarding works in your area via our Current Works page.

09 August 2023

West Northamptonshire Council is pushing ahead with a plan to harness renewable and wasted heat to tackle fuel poverty and make the Northampton area a more sustainable place.

It has announced work on a Sustainable Heat Network Feasibility Study to explore the possibility of a district heating system that can deliver lower-cost, low-carbon heat to homes and businesses.

District heating collects warmth from a variety of sources and uses a distribution system of insulated pipes to carry it from a central source to multiple buildings.

This can significantly reduce heating costs and carbon emissions compared with traditional heating solutions which use electricity or burn fossil and other fuels.

This Sustainable Heat Network Feasibility Study represents a significant step towards our ambitious goal of becoming a net zero area by 2045 while supporting our residents and businesses.

By exploring sustainable heat solutions, we can tackle the impacts of fuel poverty, reduce carbon emissions, and foster economic resilience within our community.

Cllr Jonathan Nunn, Council Leader

To bring this vision to life, West Northamptonshire Council has secured £112k from round 12 of the Government’s Heat Network Delivery Unit (HNDU) funding.

The project will also be match-funded by contributions of £20k from Northamptonshire Partnership Homes and £40k from the council’s Public Health team.

The project, built on work originally launched by Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (BEIS, now Department for Energy Security & Net Zero) in 2019, will now focus on the Northampton and Rothersthorpe Village area.

Its aims are to:

• Update the previous BEIS report, to include data from those located within the wider boundary now covered by the project
• Investigate opportunities for multiple energy centres, including recoverable heat from different sources such as commercial activities, sewer network heat recovery, and water bodies
• Produce a detailed feasibility study highlighting sustainable heat generation options, costs for providing the heat network, carbon savings, potential energy costs for users, operating costs, income and commercial viability,
• Identify where West Northamptonshire and other social housing stock can be supplied with heat from the network.

Sustainable engineering firm, Ramboll, will work on the project with infrastructure consultancy, AECOM, following a competitive bidding process.

Heat accounts for approximately 50 per cent of the UK’s energy demand, making projects to decarbonise heating critical to meeting net zero targets.

Ramboll has significant experience in planning and implementing heat networks to efficiently recover waste heat to provide clean, green, safe, and reliable heating and hot water to local properties.

We are looking forward to identifying the best opportunities for West Northamptonshire Council to realise their low-cost, low-carbon heating ambitions for the economic and social benefit of its residents.

Evagelos Korais, Associate at Ramboll

Heat networks have a huge potential to reduce carbon emissions and cut costs for consumers.

We’re pleased to be working with Ramboll to support West Northampton Council’s decarbonisation agenda and accelerate its transition to net zero.

Rodrigo Matabuena, Project Manager at AECOM

Upon completion, the feasibility study will provide critical data on sustainable heat sources, technical and financial costs, and potential funding opportunities.

The council aims to apply for funding from HNDU round 13 to cover the detailed project development phase based on the study's findings.