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31 January 2024
Motorists are encouraged to pay attention to the rules of the road as traffic enforcement starts in several areas where some are ignoring or unaware of the restrictions in place.
New regulations came into effect in May 2022 through the Traffic Management Act (2004) and the Department for Transport (DfT) has changed legislation to enable local authorities to apply for powers to enforce against moving traffic contraventions.
The Government approved plans for West Northamptonshire Council to take on this responsibility, following a positive response to a public consultation around five proposed sites, three of which will be coming forward for enforcement in February.
Many of these are intended to aid traffic flow by ensuring carriageways don’t become blocked by vehicles, and to help avoid accidents taking place at busy junctions.
These powers have until now only been used by police but a recent change in the law makes it possible for councils to tackle those breaching regulations.
With our highways partner Kier and the police, we identified the first five spots which would benefit from this kind of enforcement.Cllr Phil Larratt, Cabinet Member for Environment, Transport, Highways and WasteThe majority of survey responses came from those who either strongly support or support the introduction of these measures, although some of those who responded to the survey disagreed, but their objections were largely around the introduction of enforcement as a concept.
As long as people are aware of and are following the rules of the road, they won’t fall foul of these new measures, and we should see fewer accidents and hopefully less congestion as a result.
Cameras will be installed in five locations, the first three of which will be:
Vehicles regularly block the hatched yellow box at the junction of St John’s Street and Victoria Gardens – anyone driving into a box junction must have means to exit it without stopping. Enforcement will start there on Thursday 1 February.
Right turns are not allowed from Fishponds Road into Great Billing Way and enforcement will start there around mid-February.
Hermitage Way is a bus only route which is routinely used by other motorists and enforcement is also set to start there later in February.
During the first six months of operation at each site a warning notice will be issued for first offences for any given vehicle, thereafter Penalty Charge Notices will be issued.
Two further locations already agreed are set to be added at a later stage:
Entry into the specified stretch of Deanshanger Road is prohibited except for buses. At the Horse Market junction with Gold St and Marefair, several right and left turns are banned, and drivers should also ensure they follow the blue directional arrow signs. Motorists should avoid stopping in the box junction at the eastern end of Gold Street.
Further sites for enforcement are under consideration, especially those that residents suggested during the consultation process.
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31 January 2024
Residents are being encouraged to give old or broken electrical items a fresh lease of life by recycling them through West Northamptonshire Council’s kerbside collection service.
From toasters to kettles, sandwich makers to hairdryers or irons, anything with a plug, battery or cable can be recycled and turned into something new via the service.
Research conducted by Material Focus revealed that nearly 40% of UK adults bought nearly 40 million items of household tech between Black Friday and Christmas. On top of this 2 million electricals are binned in this time and a further 2.2 million are put away in cupboards and drawers. Here’s what West Northants residents can do if you have bought new electricals over the holiday period and are doing a clear out.
Small items of waste electrical equipment and batteries, which will fit inside a carrier bag should be placed on top of your domestic waste bin as follows:
- Daventry area residents: on top of the black general waste bin
- Northampton area residents: on top of the blue-lidded recycling bin
- South Northamptonshire area residents: on top of either bin
Electrical items that are still in working condition can be donated to charity shops or sold second hand for someone else to reuse.
Residents can recycle their single use vapes at Household Waste Recycling Centres or return them to where they bought them from. Please do not place them with your household waste collection.
Large electrical items can be taken to recycling centres, or collected using the bulky waste collection service.
Unwanted electricals are one of the fastest growing sources of waste in the UK. People might be clearing out and decluttering, which can include old electrical items. These items usually include valuable plastics and metals, so if they can’t be reused, repaired or donated then they can be recycled with our easy kerbside collection service.Cllr Phil Larratt, Cabinet Member for Environment, Transport, Highways and WasteUsing this service not only helps the environment, but it also reduces the risk of fires in our bin trucks and waste facilities.
This communications campaign is one of 40 UK projects funded by Material Focus, the not for profit organisation leading the Recycle Your Electricals campaign. It will lead the way in West Northamptonshire, joining other projects around the country in making it easier for 10 million UK residents to recycle their electricals.
DEFRA is currently consulting on updated measures to require retailers and the supply chain to accept more electrical goods to be returned for recycling. These additional requirements are not yet in place and the Council’s collection scheme compliments any arrangements required for retailers, giving residents more choice.
More information about recycling electrical items and batteries can be found at www.westnorthants.gov.uk/weeerecycle and www.recycleyourelectricals.org.uk
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31 January 2024
A survey has been launched to help better engage eastern and central European people living in Northamptonshire to further understand how these communities access health services.
The aim of the project, which is being run by both West and North Northamptonshire Councils, is to learn more about their experiences of health and care services, as well as their wellbeing needs, after the pandemic highlighted a lack of relationships with groups within these communities.
The survey asks people what services they use, what services they would like better access to, and any challenges they face, as well as any improvement they would like to see.
The survey is available in multiple Eastern and Central European languages, and responses are completely anonymous.
People can find out more and complete the survey here
The closing date is 12 February 2024.
World Health Organisation (WHO) data shows that life expectancy in many Eastern European countries is considerably lower than in the UK, and with worse health outcomes such as smoking, HIV and TB.
The full extent of such issues locally is unknown and the pandemic highlighted a lack of relationships with various groups within this community. It is hoped the survey will help the Councils better understand the inequalities in healthcare access and outcomes.
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01 February 2024
Northampton is celebrating as it proudly receives the globally acclaimed Purple Flag accreditation, recognising its commitment to creating a dynamic, secure, and vibrant evening and night time economy.
This prestigious award highlights Northampton's blend of night time entertainment, dining, and culture, all while ensuring the safety and well-being of residents and visitors in the evening and night time economy.
Purple Flag, similar to the Blue Flag for beaches, aims to raise the standard and broaden the appeal of town and city centres between the hours of 5pm to 5am. There are 100 Purple Flag destinations around the world including world renowned tourist destinations to small market towns.
Receiving the Purple Flag accreditation can boost the local economy, increase tourism, and improve the overall quality of life for residents by providing more night time entertainment and social opportunities. It’s a way for cities and towns to demonstrate their commitment to creating vibrant and safe evening and night time environments.
West Northamptonshire Council, the Office of the Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner and Northampton BID, working with partners, have successfully retained the Purple Flag status for five years. Northampton is one of 10 areas in the UK to have received a Full Renewal accreditation with 13 others receiving an Interim Renewal accreditation.
Key successes in Northampton's submission include the impressive dedication of the Purple Flag partners, the licensed driver training scheme and the new night time economy strategy.
In the past 3 years, the council alongside partners has delivered a range of initiatives to improve safety in the town centre. This includes investing in ID scan technology in clubs and bars, improvements to street lighting at taxi ranks and other identified dark spaces, launching the Flare App, creating safer walking routes and help points in the Racecourse and Beckets Park, increased CCTV and Police Nightsafe crews around the town centre, and introducing a new Taxi Marshal service to promote safer travelling at nighttime.
The West Community Safety Partnership also led on the development of the It Only Takes One campaign promoting safety advice for women and raising awareness of the impact that harassment and inappropriate behaviour can have while educating bystanders to recognise unacceptable behaviour. In addition, the roll out of ‘Stand by Her’ training was delivered to young men in education to help them understand the impact of harassing behaviour on women.
With the help of partners we have delivered an incredible amount of work over the past 3 years to improve the night time economy in Northampton and ensure that residents and visitors feel safe at all times.Cllr David Smith, Cabinet Member for Community Safety and Engagement, and Regulatory Services at West Northamptonshire CouncilThe impact of this work is evident in the reduced crime rates and feedback from local businesses and I am delighted that this was recognised by the Purple Flag auditors on their visit to Northampton town centre during one of our peak night time economy weekends.
The council is committed to working with businesses to ensure we remain a safe and vibrant evening destination and we look forward to continuing this vital ongoing work to make West Northamptonshire a safe, enjoyable and welcoming place for all.
We all want to make Northampton a place where people feel safe, and there has been a lot of work undertaken by a number of different organisations to contribute towards that.Stephen Mold, the Northamptonshire Police, Fire and Crime CommissionerThe OPFCC has worked with West Northamptonshire Council to invest in a number of safety measures in the town centre, including new CCTV help points and well-lit safe walking routes.
It’s a fantastic endorsement for Northampton to be awarded Purple Flag accreditation and demonstrates that the many efforts to improve safety in the town centre are having a very positive effect.
Creating a safe and welcoming environment for our visitors is key to a successful night time economy and I’m delighted the efforts of multiple partners to do just this has been recognised.Mark Mullen, Operations Manager at Northampton Town Centre Business Improvement District (BID)We enjoy a close working relationship with local authorities, emergency services and the volunteer groups who all play an integral role in ensuring visitors can enjoy a night out in Northampton.
We look forward to developing that further as we prepare for the exciting plans afoot for our town centre with the reimagined Market Square, the opening of STACK and a refreshed Fish Street and Abington Street.
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01 February 2024
Over the past year West Northamptonshire Council’s (WNC) contractor for the Market Square works, Stepnell, have been engaging with businesses to add social value by upskilling our workforce and investing in small and medium businesses.
As part of an ongoing commitment to ‘Level Up’ West Northants, WNC ensures that the contractors for our regeneration projects add social value to the community they are working in. This social value requirement means that investment from the Towns Fund not only enables us to deliver great projects such as the Market Square redevelopment, but some of this investment directly benefits communities across West Northants.
A number of colleagues working on the project live in Northampton. Dan, who is a Site Engineer at Danaher and Walsh, (Stepnells main sub-contractor) is coordinating and overseeing aspects of the construction.
It is nice to work in my own town, it’ll be good to be able to bring my family down to the Market Square once it’s open and show them my work. I have gained a lot of new skills while working on the project.Dan, Site Engineer
It is great to work in my local town, within the community. Working on our turf rather than further afield. Employing local people to support the project, they are eager to work in their own town.Lewis, Paving Supervisor
Delivering on these social value requirements has included partnering with schools to deliver engaging workshops, providing employment and placement opportunities as well as supporting local businesses to grow the local economy.
By delivering expert advice through over 8 hours of workshops and webinars Stepnell developed expertise and upskilled the workforces of local businesses. This has provided the businesses with the knowledge to be able to better operate and compete as part of public and private sector supply chains.
To ensure that the benefits of investment in Northampton are felt across West Northants, Stepnell is committed to spending over £1.5 million with local small and medium businesses over the course of the Market Square project.
In addition to investing in our local businesses, the contractor and main sub-contractor from the Market Square project helped to renovate a nearby green space. St Katherine’s Gardens is a green space in central Northampton that provides a walkway between the bus station and Horse Market.
As part of the Coronation ‘Big Help Out’ last year Stepnell and their subcontractors Danaher and Walsh donated and installed benches, hanging baskets, garden decorations and railings for the green space.
The regeneration of the historic Market Square is set to transform the heart of Northampton Town Centre. By working closely with Stepnell and their sub contractors we have boosted our economy by investing in local businesses, upskilling local colleagues and adding social value to our region as part of the construction project. We will continue to work together to ensure that the benefits of the scheme reach across West Northamptonshire.Councillor Daniel Lister, Cabinet Member for Economic Development, Town Centre Regeneration and Growth at WNC
Adding social value and engaging with the communities we work in is a fundamental part of our ethos here at Stepnell. We strive to promote local skills and support the growth of responsible local businesses. It’s great to see the positive impact that we are having in West Northants through these social value projects.Adrian Barnes, Regional Director at Stepnell
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