Milton Keynes City Council have awarded the Mears Group with a contract for council house repairs in the city.

Following a procurement exercise involving tenants and leaseholders, Mears has been awarded a five-year contract to repair and maintain 12,000 Milton Keynes City Council homes, with the option for a five-year extension. 

The new contract will start on 4 August. Before the start of this partnership, the city council and Mears will be running sessions with residents where they can meet the team and ask questions. 

The city council began the search for a contractor early last year and has asked all tenants and leaseholders for feedback on what changes to the contract would improve their experience.

MK City Council said the new contract was designed around the goal of achieving several improvements, including greater contractual focus on getting repairs done right first time, and a new 14-day priority repair to make sure repeat jobs are done quicker – between emergency repairs (4-24hrs) and routine repairs (within 28 days).

The council also stated they aimed to achieve stronger contract management oversight of how works and services are done, with robust performance management and aligning how the works and services are done to the new regulatory requirements for council homes. 

Cabinet Member responsible for housing, Cllr Ed Hume, said, “The new contract gives us an opportunity to overhaul how we monitor repairs and maintenance of council homes and to ensure tenants are getting a fair and responsive service, and more ‘right first time’ repairs.

“In 2025/26 we’re planning to invest nearly £90m in bringing more council properties up to a better standard; installing kitchens, fire doors and energy saving measures to make sure tenants have a good quality, affordable home where heating bills can be managed.”

Police have made four arrests after a major fire at a retail park in Northampton.

Fire broke out at the Dunelm store in the Nene Valley Retail Park on Towcester Road in the Far Cotton area of central Northampton just after 3pm on Saturday (31/05), with fire overwhelming the store and later spreading to an adjacent branch of Pets at Home that had to be evacuated of staff and animals.

Fire crews from all over Northamptonshire were called to extinguish the fire, which was eventually brought under control on Sunday morning. No casualties were reported.

Northamptonshire Police confirmed that the scene in place at the affected Dunelm store will remain on for the foreseeable future until it is deemed safe and police officers and fire investigators have concluded their investigations. The road going past the retail park has since been re-opened.

Three people were arrested on suspicion of arson on the day of the fire, who were identified as three boys aged 15, 14 and 13.

The 13-year-old boy has been released with no further action, while the two other boys have been released on bail pending further enquiries.

Northamptonshire Police confirmed earlier today (03/06) that they have arrested another 14-year-old boy who is currently in police custody.

Detective Inspector Nick Peters said, “This investigation continues at a fast pace however I would continue to appeal for anyone with information to come forward.

“If you were in the area at the time and saw anything suspicious, no matter how small, please contact us, either via 101 or anonymously via Crimestoppers on 0800 555111.

“We have spoken to a lot of witnesses already but we are still keen to hear from anyone else who has not yet contacted us.”

Witnesses or anyone with information should call Northamptonshire Police on 101 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555111.

Information can also be submitted online at www.northants.police.uk/RO and www.crimestoppers-uk.org/give-information.

Northamptonshire Police have asked that any callers quote incident number 25000315343 when providing any information to make sure it gets to the right person as quickly as possible.

Phil Pells, Assistant Chief Fire Officer for Northamptonshire Fire and Rescue, said, “We do not underestimate the impact this incident has had on these businesses and the people who work there, as well as the local community.

“I want to thank Fire Control, our firefighters, crews from Buckinghamshire and Lincolnshire who assisted us, and our colleagues in police for their hard work over the weekend in what was a large-scale response to this fire.

“We would ask people to continue to stay away from the scene so that our Fire Investigation officers can continue their work.

“I also want to thank those affected, the local businesses and residents of St James, for their continued patience over the last three days. Our Protection Team will be visiting local businesses in the area to offer support and advice regarding fire safety in their premises.”

Police are appealing for witnesses after a serious road traffic collision on the A5 between Milton Keynes and Northampton.

The incident happened yesterday morning (02/06) at about 6.50am involving two cars between Old Stratford and Towcester.

A collision occurred involving the driver of a black Vauxhall Insignia travelling northbound towards Towcester and the driver of a silver Ford Focus travelling in the opposite direction.

The driver of the Ford, who was identified as a woman in her 50s, was taken to hospital with serious injuries. The driver of the Vauxhall, who was revealed to be a man in his 50s, was taken to hospital with minor injuries.

Officers from Northamptonshire Police’s Serious Collision Investigation Unit would like to hear from anyone who may have seen the incident, or have dash-cam footage that may be relevant to the investigation.

Anyone with information is asked to email [email protected] or call the Drivewatch Hotline on 0800 174615, or Northamptonshire Police on 101.

Please quote the reference number 25000318122 to help your information reach the right person as quickly as possible.

Former MK Dons boss Liam Manning has left his position at Bristol City and has taken the role at their Championship rivals Norwich City.

The 39-year-old, who was born in Norwich, will be a permanent successor to Johannes Hoff Thorup, who left the club in April. Former Arsenal player and England international Jack Wilshere had managed the final games of last season, but left the club at the end of the campaign.

Manning takes over a Canaries team that finished 13th in the 2024/25 season. The move ends his association with Bristol City, who he had joined from Oxford in November 2023 and who he had lead into the Championship play-offs in his sole full season at Ashton Gate.

The Robins finished 6th last season, only to suffer a heavy 6-0 aggregate defeat to Sheffield United in the Championship play-offs.

Norwich have confirmed Manning has signed a four year contract at Carrow Road, taking him to the end of the 2028/29 season, with the Canaries paying a release clause in Manning’s Bristol City contract.

It is as yet unclear who of Manning’s first team coaching staff is also liable to make the move from Bristol to Norwich, with the Canaries only confirming Manning’s appointment rather than any further changes to backroom staff. One mover could be Chris Hogg, who was Manning’s assistant at MK Dons and Oxford, and was part of his coaching set-up in Bristol.

Manning previously managed MK Dons between August 2021 and December 2022, which was his firs role as a senior manager in English football. He initially impressed, taking the Dons to third in League One and narrowly missing out on automatic promotion in the 2021/22 season, only to leave the Dons after a difficult start to the following campaign.

He told the official Norwich City website that following discussions with the Canaries’ Sporting Director Ben Knapper, he was excited to make the move east back to Norfolk. Manning was born in Norwich, attended Norwich City games when younger and was a part of the club’s academy before joining their East Anglian rivals Ipswich.

He said, “I’m privileged and honoured to have the opportunity to work for this fantastic football club. It’s a wonderful club with a big history and tradition.

“When I spoke to Ben and the owners about the opportunity here, I was really impressed by their vision and strategy for moving the club forward. I felt a clear alignment in how they want to play and develop players – that is something I was really excited to be a part of.

“It’s clear, there has already been a lot of valuable groundwork laid in recent seasons – it’s now important we build further on that and move the club forward.

“I’m really excited to meet the supporters and will do everything possible to give them a club they can be proud of.”

In a statement, Bristol City Chairman Jon Lansdown admitted his disappointment at having a change forced upon him.

He said, “We are disappointed to lose Liam after such a successful campaign.

“I would like to place on record my thanks to Liam for his hard work and commitment over the past 18 months and the memories we have made together and wish him and his family all the best for the future.

“We are assessing all options as we look to replace Liam.”