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11 April 2024
The new road being built to replace part of Sandy Lane near Harpole could soon be open, using a temporary link while further work takes place.
Sandy Lane Relief Road, as it is currently known, was required to serve new housing developments being built in the area.
It will provide a new route for vehicles that might previously have used Sandy Lane which stretched from the Kislingbury roundabout on the A4500 to the junction of Berrywood Road and Roman Road.
There has been a clear impact on Harpole and Duston residents, who have seen an increase in vehicles cutting through those areas.
West Northamptonshire Council (WNC) agreed the construction of a temporary link as a potential solution some time ago with developers which has been progressed.
However, due to other work the council was not aware of, implemented by the developer to respond to resident concerns, we have had to reassess the safety of the temporary link to take this into account.
We can confirm the safety audit is complete and we now await timescales from the developers to undertake the resulting works prior to opening of the road
“We’re conscious that this work has caused lots of frustration and disruption and we have sympathy for everyone affected.Cllr Phil Larratt, Cabinet Member for Environment, Transport, Highways and Waste“We’ve been working as hard as we can to try and provide a temporary solution, to get the road open or at least partially open, but unauthorised work by the developers has made this difficult to achieve.
“We’re continuing to work with the developer as we would like to see the road open as quickly as possible, but of course it must be safe for residents and road users alike.
“We know there are businesses that have been affected by the works and we are confident that once everything is complete, they will see significant benefits. We are sorry that this has been so long in coming.”
We anticipate that a permanent link will be opened between Sandy Lane Relief Road and Sandy Lane by early summer. This is already under construction and once complete would allow the temporary link to be closed.
Sandy Lane Relief Road consists of two stretches:
- Southern section that runs north from the A4500 opposite Upton Valley Way North, on land owned by Homes England – partially completed in 2010
- Northern section that runs south from Roman Road, crossing Sandy Lane, and progressing toward the land owned by Homes England - due to complete in 2024
For construction of the northern section to take place, Sandy Lane had to close, and parts of it will not reopen to through traffic.
WNC continues to meet with Homes England to connect both stretches of the relief road as quickly as possible and thereby complete the route.
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12 April 2024
Bringing together events, activities and offers of support happening where you live, keeping information relevant and local to you.
The new ‘Live Your Best Life’ website, brought to you by local health, care, community, police, fire and voluntary sector organisations in West Northants aims to be a central point of information for all things local.
Currently in its ‘first phase’ of launch, the new ‘Live Your Best Life’ website explains the role of the nine Local Area Partnerships, also known as LAPs in West Northamptonshire and how by working together with partner organisations, as well as community and voluntary sector organisations we can ensure local services and activities are better coordinated and focused on the needs of each area they serve. By working in this way with local communities, we can design services that really make a difference, to help residents, their families and their neighbourhood, to live their best life.
If you live in West Northamptonshire, your area will be part of one of the following Local Area Partnerships:
- Northampton East: Billing and Rectory Farm, Riverside Park and Talavera
- Northampton South: Delapre and Rushmere, East Hunsbury, Nene Valley and Shelfleys
- Northampton West: Duston East, Duston West, St Crispin and Sixfields
- Northampton Central: Abington and Phippsville, Castle, Dallington, Spencer and St George
- Northampton North: Boothville and parklands, Headlands, Kingsthorpe North and Kingsthorpe South
- Rural North: Braunston and Crick, Brixworth, Long Bucky and Moulton
- Rural West: Daventry East, Daventry West and Woodford and Weedon
- Rural South: Brackley, Middleton Cheney and Silverston
- Rural East: Bugbrooke, Deanshanger, Hackleton and Grange Park and Towcester and Roade
You can see which one covers your area by using the interactive map. Simply, type in your address and click anywhere within the boundary and it will give you the information of your LAP.
Each of our LAPs covers communities of between 30,000 and 50,000 people, so your neighbourhood may be part of a LAP with surrounding villages or towns and will include some local organisations specific to your area. You can see the organisations involved in your area by visiting your Local Area Partnership page. (You can find links to all 9 LAP pages on the homepage).
Each of the LAPs has their own webpage that includes information about the neighbourhood, spotlights events and activities happening locally, partner organisations involved as well as what the priorities are and latest news / updates – bringing lots of local information together in one place. From Knit & natter classes, to Carpet Bowls, Family Fun sessions and creative expression workshops there is lots on offer within your local area – so take a look on the webpage for where you live to find out more.
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Northamptonshire Fire and Rescue Service have delivered a course designed to teach vital life skills to young people in Rushden.
Nine young people aged between 11-14 from RUSH 2The DEN Youth Club took part in a range of practical and classroom-based sessions designed to improve their relationship with uniformed emergency services.
Across three all-day sessions at Rushden Fire Station, the group carried out a series of fire service drills and were shown the equipment that firefighters use when dealing with an emergency incident.
They also learned basic first aid which included CPR, how to help someone in danger in the water and how to stay safe on the roads.
The Arson Task Force, a joint partnership between fire and police, also delivered a session highlighting the impact of deliberate fire setting on the community and the strain it puts on resources within the fire service.
As well as that, the group learned about the dangers of anti-social behaviour following a classroom activity from the Rushden Neighbourhood Policing Team.
The course concluded on Tuesday (April 9) with each member of the group being awarded a certificate from Arson Reduction Co-ordinator Andy Evans.
Lisa Bryan, Prevention, Safeguarding and Partnerships Manager at Northamptonshire Fire and Rescue Service, said: “Working with youth groups such as RUSH 2The DEN allows us to engage with young people in the right way at the right time. This is crucial to ensure our work leaves a lasting impact and helps them to stay safe in the future.
“Our sessions provide young people with opportunities to build confidence and learn new skills, we hope that through doing that, young people feel more able to deal with difficult situations and make decisions that keep themselves and others safe.”
One of the young people participating on the course said: “This is really worth getting up for in the morning, it’s really fun!”
RUSH 2The DEN is an award-winning youth group based in Rushden that aims to support young people’s development by offering opportunities to gain and develop skills, knowledge, self-awareness, and confidence.
River, founder and manager at RUSH 2The DEN, said: “Our young people were put through their paces, not only in the lecture room, but also on the drill yard.
“The outside learning taught some of the preliminary firefighter skills as well as teamwork help to tackle the challenges and obstacles presented.
“Our volunteer Youth Leaders at RUSH 2The DEN are exceptionally proud of the young people who took part and completed the three-day course. They have all become more engaged, confident, responsible young people.”
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10 April 2024
West Northamptonshire’s fleet of highways machinery is preparing to roll out the summer road maintenance programme, focusing on major projects that require warm and dry weather conditions.
Like many councils, West Northamptonshire Council (WNC) faces the challenge of roads deteriorating during cold and wet winter weather, needing urgent action. Over the years, here as well as elsewhere, there has been a gradual decline in road conditions due to available budgets and funding not being able to keep up. WNC is prioritising essential work, alongside a comprehensive maintenance plan for the year. However, adverse weather conditions, including record rainfall since October, have hindered schedules.
WNC and its highways partner, Kier, will carry out various projects across West Northamptonshire, including road resurfacing, patching, improving surface drainage systems, enhancing our green spaces and increasing biodiversity, cleaning gullies, and emergency repairs.
In the coming summer months, in addition to essential road repairs and maintenance, major resurfacing schemes already scheduled, include the following locations:
- Yardley Gobion - A508 Northampton
- Daventry - Long March Roundabout
- West Haddon - Northampton Road
- Brackley - Radstone Road
- Blisworth - Stoke Road (3533)
- Northampton - A5123 Towcester Road
- Northampton - A508 London Road
- Northampton - A508 Harborough Road
- Everdon - Farthingstone Road.
Further information and a full rundown of schemes for the year ahead will be listed in the annual plan, which will be published shortly.
“We understand people’s frustration with the current condition of the roads, and we apologise for this. Maintaining our roads is a significant task, especially during the wet and cold winter months. Therefore, spring through to autumn is when we can undertake most of the necessary work.”Cllr Jonathan Nunn, Leader of WNC“It’s a real challenge for all councils to balance competing priorities with our limited budgets. We allocate £26m annually across our road and transport services, but this only stretches so far. Resurfacing all roads in West Northants would cost approximately £250 million, while our total budget for running all services, including supporting vulnerable children and adults, is just over £400 million per year.”
“This is why we've invested in new technology, such as the Pothole Pro machine, which has significantly improved the volume and quality of repairs. As a result of finding ways to use this machine more efficiently, we expect that this year the machine will use 16 tonnes of repair material per day, up from the 9 tonnes last year which was the amount anticipated when the machine was bought.”
In the Daventry area, whose road conditions were recently highlighted nationally by the ‘Daventry Banksie’ campaigner, WNC has received nearly 4,000 reports in the past six months. We’ve attended around 500 emergencies, repaired 2,500 defects, and completed over 10,000 square meters of road repairs.“In the past year, we've completed four major road repair schemes in the area, with further resurfacing work planned for this month. However, this work must be conducted in warmer weather to prevent repairs from failing. Some repairs of particular concern to Daventry residents are on busy roundabouts. We've repaired some already, with a further key roundabout scheduled for deeper repair later this month, as warmer spring weather is essential for proper repairs.”
“Considering these challenges, we continue to seek ways of increasing the money we have available for road repairs. We also welcome the news of the £162 million allocation from central government over the next seven years for our wider road network, as part of the HS2 phase 2 cancellation. We eagerly await further details on when we will get this money, the profile of how much we will get in each of the next seven years, and what criteria will be placed on the use of it, so we can start to use it on the local road and transport priorities that are important to us and to West Northants residents.”
For more information on major highway projects, upcoming works, or to report a defect, visit our parking, roads and transport page
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08 April 2024
People across West Northamptonshire are being invited to have their say on the draft Local Plan strategy which enables West Northamptonshire Council (WNC) to plan for the future of the area positively and sustainably by guiding decisions on future development proposals and creating places where people wish to live, work and visit and will thrive.
The draft Plan sets out a vision and objectives for the area, its ambitions for new development and commitment to dealing with climate change. The Plan allocates land for housing and employment and contains a series of planning policies for these and many other topics such as leisure, transport, health and wellbeing, infrastructure and the environment and where development can and cannot take place.
Once adopted the new Plan will replace current plans that cover West Northamptonshire and form part of the development plan against which planning decisions are made.
This consultation is gives residents the opportunity to get involved with this stage of the local plan process and will help WNC consider and address issues before a final draft is produced.
People can have their say from Monday 8 April to Sunday 2 June by visiting the Local Plan consultation.
“This is a really exciting opportunity for local businesses, residents and community groups to help shape the future of planning across West Northamptonshire.Cllr Rebecca Breese, Cabinet Member for Strategic Planning, Built Environment and Rural Affairs“The local plan provides the guiding principles for new development, dedicated green spaces and infrastructure across the area; and has an impact on everyone’s lives across the area. We invite the community to review the plans and have their say.”
The Plan is still being prepared, evidence gathered, and proposals considered, and WNC invite comments on the fully developed policies, the partly developed policies and any other parts of the Plan including allocations for housing and employment growth and guidance that applies to your area.
The draft Plan is accompanied by a number of technical documents and other evidence. All can be found on the dedicated New Local Plan for West Northamptonshire page.
The evidence will continue to be updated as the Plan progresses.
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