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14 June 2023
Schoolchildren of all ages in Northamptonshire are being asked to display their creative skills and share what inspired them about the King’s Coronation by taking part in the countywide Coronation Art Competition.
His Majesty’s Representative in Northamptonshire, the Lord-Lieutenant is inviting pupils to create a work of art based on their take on the Coronation celebrations that took place across the country in May.
The possibilities are endless: you can submit drawings on size A3 canvas, paper, board, or you can use oil or water-based paint, pencil, pastel, crayons, collage, and photography to show what Coronation meant to you and remember you’re limited only by your imagination.His Majesty's Lord-Lieutenant of Northamptonshire, James Saunders Watson EsqBeing Northamptonshire I expect we’ll see plenty of creative ways to use shoes and boots, and if you’re not creative with your hands, write a poem or a song or send across your computer graphics.
We are looking forward to receiving some wonderful and colourful submissions and I cannot wait to see the entries displayed at the final exhibition that will take place during the October half term.
There are four age categories for children with ages between four and sixteen with a cash prize of £100 per category, to be awarded at the final exhibition that will take place at The Stables at Lamport Hall on Thursday, 26 October. The top ten contestants in each category will be invited to exhibit their artworks at the exhibition. Residents, entrants, and their families will be welcome to visit the exhibition, which will run from Thursday, 26 October until Sunday, 29 October.
Entries must be sent to [email protected] by Wednesday, 30 August, and include the entrant’s name, age, the school, and the school’s postcode.
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14 June 2023
West Northamptonshire Council (WNC) is moving its Daventry offices from Lodge Road to the Abbey Centre to make more efficient use of office space and generate savings as well as improve service quality and to meet the changing needs of our communities.
The move will take place in two phases. Customer-facing services have now moved, to be followed by the move of the rest of the WNC teams and the Northamptonshire Children’s Trust later this summer.
The office relocation was informed by feedback from customers and employees about how office space is being used post-Covid. The move will bring together services more effectively for residents. This would include front-line teams like customer services, revenues and benefits, housing, adult social care, and children’s services being based within the Abbey Centre in St John’s Square. It is expected to save at least £200,000 a year in the Council’s revenue budget, which pays for the day-to-day running of services.
The Covid-19 pandemic presented its challenges but also presented opportunities too. It provided us with the insight and the opportunity to review the way we work as well as inform our future building needs alongside the technology advancements required to support our staff and communities.Cllr Mike Hallam, WNC Cabinet Member for Corporate ServicesOur office relocation to the Abbey Centre is a great chance to reduce our building space used and generate significant savings, as well as an opportunity to work with partners to deliver joined-up services for our residents.
Residents visiting the Abbey Centre can:
- Get advice about a wide range of West Northants Council services, from housing options to council tax and everything else in between.
- Report issues online, from potholes to concerns about a child or adult, using the website in our self-serve areas.
- Access LibraryPlus services and well as meet with our partners who can help with money advice, legal matters, or offer health and wellbeing support.
The full details of our new Customer Services Hub in Daventry are The Abbey Centre in St John's Square (behind the Leisure Centre), St John’s Square, Daventry, NN11 4XG.
Our customer service team alongside other key council services and partner agencies offer a wide range of drop-in options across West Northamptonshire. Find a drop-in session near you on our website.
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14 June 2023
Plans to increase spaces and provide improved facilities at Northampton Railway Station, by building a new 1,198 space multi-storey car park (MSCP), have moved forward as West Northamptonshire Council (WNC) approved proposals at the cabinet meeting on Tuesday, 13 June.
WNC is working closely with Network Rail and its development partner, BlocWork to bring forward the new MSCP which will provide much-needed parking in this area increasing capacity from 800 to 1200.
Following cabinet’s approval in December 2021, plans have altered while the Council has responded to lasting impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, war in Ukraine, and cost inflation. As such, the terms of the lease were not agreed. Therefore, the Council stepped in to deliver proposals which will see the Council manage the facility offering best value for money for residents.
There is a real need for a new multi-storey car park to replace the current arrangements which currently exist at Northampton Railway Station. By creating a multi-storey car park we can make space available for future development which will further enhance this area.Cllr Dan Lister, Cabinet Member for Economic Development, Town Centre Regeneration and Growth at WNCOver the last 18 months we have been closely monitoring the vast increase in inflation and responded to the affects of the pandemic and are now in a strong position to bring forward this development and manage the facility in-house.
Working with Network Rail and Blocwork, we can create a facility which is much better for rail users who access the station by car.
To keep up to date with regeneration across West Northamptonshire visit our regeneration page.
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15 June 2023
More than 3.5 tonnes of litter (which is the equivalent of seven adult camels) was collected from the verges of fast roads in Northampton throughout May.
Litter pickers from West Northamptonshire Council and it’s recycling and waste services partner, Veolia took to the verges to collect items which had been strewn on the roadside carelessly and illegally.
Over the course of four weeks, working while essential works were already being carried out in these areas to avoid disruption to road users, the team collected an impressive 3.5 tonnes of waste. This will now be disposed of responsibly and will no longer be causing a negative impact on the environment.
The litter picks took place at Lumbertubs Way, Bedford Road, Weedon Road, Mereway, Danes Camp Way, Upton Way, Oxford Road, Bants Lane, Rushmere Road, Talavera Way and Wellingborough Road.
It is disappointing that some people show such little regard for the environment and their local community that they drop litter wherever they like.Cllr Phil Larratt, Cabinet Member for Climate, Transport, Highways and Waste at West Northamptonshire CouncilWe’re committed to tackling this issue, and it is always heartening to see the great work of our partners, officers and volunteers who work so hard to keep their communities clean and green. We want to do all we can to support their excellent work, as well as encourage and assist other groups to join them. By working together, we send a strong message to offenders that their actions are not acceptable and will not be tolerated.
If you would like support to hold litter pick in your community, please get in touch with us to find out more about borrowing free litter picking equipment.
People can report fly-tipping and littering on our website, along with details of any information which can help to pinpoint the offenders.
To find out more see cleaner communities.
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There’s more to being a firefighter than needing to stay cool in the heat of the moment.
The normal day-to-day part of the role can sometimes be forgotten amidst the drama of dealing with a burning building or rescuing someone in distress.
We spent the day with four firefighters working out of Daventry Fire Station to see what a normal day for the crew looks like.
Daventry is one of two stations that have what is known as ‘variable crewing’. It effectively means from 7.30am until 6pm on weekdays they have a full-time crew working from the station. In the evening and at weekends, an on-call crew will respond to incidents when they are needed.
On the day that we spend with the crew (Thursday May 25) it is made up of Jim Young, Kieran Davies and Seb Ward – the trio have all joined Daventry within the last three years. They are under the command of Watch Manager Duncan Timbs.
7.30am – The day begins
The first thing is the morning parade, where they will report into Duncan, and he will tell them anything that is important for the day ahead.
“This is also where we’ll be assigned our roles for the day such as being the driver or the Officer in Command,” Seb explains. “Duncan will check that we are all well and then we’ll be given tasks for the morning that we need to do to make sure all the equipment is working as it should be.”
Morning checks change depending on the day – varying from doing a full inventory of the fire engine to make sure all equipment is present, to testing and auditing the BA sets to ensure they are in working order.
8am – Breakfast
Having completed their morning checks, the crew gather together to have breakfast and ensure they are appropriately fuelled for the day ahead.
9am – Fire engine gets new kit
After finishing breakfast, the crew are told that the Fire Service’s risk intelligence team is coming to fit a new Mobile Data Terminal to the fire engine.
The data terminal effectively acts as a mapping device showing the incident and current location of all fire appliances attending that incident with extra information that is needed for firefighters, information on nearby hydrants for water supply; and with any Site Specific Risk Intelligence (SSRI) for particular locations that they will get called to on a shout.
10am – School visit
With the fire engine now re-fitted and ready for the run, the crew take part in a community visit to Staverton Church of England Primary School, roughly 10 minutes away from the station.
Duncan Timbs says: “We try and get to all the schools within our patch at least once a year. Being out and about in the community is so vital, and it also gives us a chance to tell the children about safety messages they might need to hear.”
The quartet show the children the firefighters Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) that they wear when attending incidents, explaining how it keeps them safe, and show them the equipment such as the BA set, ladder, hoses, fans and jets. They also get a chance to have a go at using one of the hose reels, and it’s clear that the children are having a great time – some have even earmarked being a firefighter as a future career.
It complements a visit from the Service’s Prevention Team the day before, who handed out key safety messages ahead of half-term.
11am – A call from the Town Ranger
On their way back to the station, Watch Manager Duncan Timbs receives a call from the Town Ranger with reports of a number of items being fly-tipped outside a charity building in the town centre.
“This is an area we’ve been called to before,” explains Duncan as the fire engine is re-routed. “What can happen is that the larger items there can become targets for arson.”
On arrival, the Town Ranger greets Duncan and the crew head over to the charity shop to check if any of the items that have been dumped could be targets for deliberate fire setters and offer the owners advice on how they can prevent it.
The station at Daventry collaborates closely with local partner agencies around the town as part of Operation Unite, which has had a big impact in driving down anti-social behaviour and arson in the town centre.
12.00pm – Ordering in equipment
After returning to the Station, the crew then spend time ordering in new equipment such as washing materials for the BA sets and new blades for the saws that are used to cut people free from crashed vehicles.
1.00pm – Lunch
The crew cook their lunch and spend time together relaxing in the Station’s common room. Again, the crew sort their own lunch out most days – but every now and then they will do a group cook or order in from a local restaurant. It can’t be too common an occurrence though if they want to pass their fitness tests!
2pm – Drill time
Crews will regularly take part in drills to ensure they keep their skills up to date and are sufficiently prepared to deal with a real-life scenario.
This afternoon’s drill requires them to gain access to a crashed car on its side, that will then allow them to rescue a person – or in this case a mannequin – from the wreckage of the vehicle using the proper cutting equipment.
Once finished, the crew set up the drill again so that it’s ready for the on-call crew who are arriving for their drill night at 7pm.
4pm – Gym session
It’s important for firefighters to stay fit and healthy in order to be able to perform at the peak of their abilities.
Daventry, like most stations, has gym equipment for crews to use. One of the more popular additions is also a table tennis table, which adds some light-hearted competitiveness between crew members as well as providing a good workout.
5.30pm – Call to sheltered housing accommodation
Not long before their shift is due to end, the crew is called to deal with a fire alarm that is going off at a sheltered housing building in Long Buckby. Within seconds of getting the call the crew are changed, on the engine and on their way.
En-route, Duncan Timbs explains that the destination has been one they have been called to a few times before. On arrival, it becomes clear that it’s a false alarm, as the alarm has been set off by cooking fumes.
The crew take the opportunity while there to ensure that all the alarms are working and hand over cooking advice to the occupants – they want to try and avoid coming back if they have to.
6.00pm – End of the day
On arrival back from the 5.30pm shout, it’s time to head home. Make no mistake though, if they get a call at 5.59pm they’re heading out to it, which means that sometimes they work beyond the end of the shift. It’s all part of the job though – that minute could make all the difference in a life-or-death scenario.
