04 January 2023

Women who are the cornerstone of West Northamptonshire communities and businesses are to be recognised in the 11th Inspirational Women Awards.

Organised by the West Northamptonshire Council (WNC) Women’s Forum, the awards aim to publicly recognise and promote those women who inspire and have a real impact on the lives of others in the community or the workplace.

Members of the public are being asked to get their thinking caps on and nominate women in their lives who inspire them.

There are two categories for the 2023 awards:

• Business Award
• Community Award

Potential nominees for the Business Award could include someone who has inspired through their paid employment, an inspirational business owner or someone who has inspired you in your career.

For the Community Award, it could be a family member who has been a rock during a challenging time, a neighbour who has set up a community group to support local children and families, a friend who has campaigned for better healthcare, or a colleague who fundraises for charity.

Nominations close on Monday, 6 February 2023, with the shortlisted finalists being announced week commencing 20 February 2023.

The awards will be presented at the International Women’s Day event at the Guildhall on Saturday, 4 March 2023. International Women’s Day falls on 8 March every year, and this year’s theme is #EmbraceEquity.

"International Women’s Day highlights the accomplishments of women and the steps being taken towards equality around the world.

"Here in West Northants, we are very fortunate in having so many women playing hugely important roles across our communities and workplaces, and we look to this special day to appreciate their achievements and say, ‘thank you’.

"We are looking for nominations for women from all walks of life who have been inspirational in the broadest sense and would like to know how they have inspired you or others, what they have achieved, or what they have done to help your community."

Cllr David Smith, WNC's Cabinet Member for community safety and engagement, and regulatory services.

For more information about the Inspirational Women Awards 2023 and to make a nomination, please visit our Inspirational Women Awards webpage.

04 January 2023

Our waste and recycling crews will collect real Christmas trees between 9 and 20 January when put out for collection on the collection day in your area.

• Residents in the Daventry and South Northants areas: Please put real Christmas trees out on the day that garden waste is due to be collected in your area. You do not need to be a garden waste service subscriber to take advantage of this service
• In the Northampton area, real trees should be put out next to recycling bins. If you are on a sack collection you can present trees beside your recycling boxes and green sacks on your collection day

Please ensure all decorations are removed, and that any trees over 6ft tall are cut in half, so they will fit into the lorries safely.

Garden waste subscribers are also reminded that the service will resume from the week beginning 6 January, following the Christmas break.

Real Christmas trees can also be taken to your nearest Household Waste Recycling Centre.

Find out more information about waste and recycling services.

23 December 2022

West Northamptonshire Council has expressed significant concerns to the Home Office over its decision to temporarily house up to 400 additional asylum seekers in the area, which has already welcomed many refugees, and as services already in high demand face increasing pressure.

In early December the Home Office informed the council of its intention to use a former hotel as a fourth site for asylum contingency accommodation in West Northants, with the possibility of it becoming operational at the start of January.

The council and its residents have welcomed many asylum seekers over the recent months and currently supports the largest number of hotel guests in the East Midlands. While we are proud of this record it is because of this that we expressed our concerns over the unsuitability of the proposed location and the added strain that providing access to essential services would place on already-stretched health, education and social care.

Proposed timescales also added to concerns, not allowing sufficient time to ensure basic statutory services are in place to support the move.

The council has consistently made its concerns and objections clear to Home Office representatives but these have been disregarded.

With the new influx of migrants, there will be more than 1,000 staying in hotel accommodation across West Northamptonshire. This includes 250 Afghan guests across two hotels, with the remainder in four of the Government’s Asylum Contingency accommodation. In addition, around 500 Ukrainian refugees, who also need access to local services, are staying with hosts in the area.

The location of the latest hotel means there are three in very close proximity to each other, creating a number of issues including:

• Incredible pressure on a single primary care network, which looks after the GP practices already covering two of the hotels
• Capacity issues in local schools already struggling to keep up with demand
• Additional strain on adult social care which is already struggling with unprecedented demand
• Irregular public transport, with the closest hospital nine miles away.

“The Home Office has decided to use a further hotel within our area to house asylum seekers.

"We have expressed significant concerns about this move, due to the unsuitable location and the impact that a fourth asylum contingency hotel would have on services such as health, education and social care, already in high demand from all our residents.

"We’re incredibly proud that West Northamptonshire has welcomed many families and individuals fleeing persecution and conflict into our area through our resettlement schemes, and residents tell us that they are too. But it’s only right that we have sufficient resources in place to meet their essential needs and help make the best of their situation.

"This latest decision by the Home Office has placed services in our area under unreasonable and unsustainable pressure.

"This is not acceptable when there are other areas with nowhere close to same kind of commitment, and we will continue to make representation to the Home Office over this issue in the hope that they recognise that fact and completely re-think this."

Councillor Jonathan Nunn, Leader of West Northamptonshire Council.

Since the Government’s initial approach, the council has been engaging with local parishes, community and faith groups to see what support can be arranged in the event that the Government failed to listen.

22 December 2022

Left to right: Corner or Lorner Road and Bailiff Street, Abington Place Carpark and Semilong Road.

People dumping their waste on streets and a carpark in Northampton, were fined a total of nearly £5,000 by Magistrates this week.

At Wellingborough Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday, 20 December the following people were issued fines in their absence:

• 22-year-old Exauce Kuri of Bailiff Street, Northampton was fined £250 and ordered to pay costs of £750 and a £34 victim surcharge after he was found guilty of dumping a large amount of waste on the corner of Bailiff Street and Lorne Road which was found by West Northants Council (WNC) Neighbourhood Wardens on Thursday, 30 June.
• 28-year-old Dana Paltere of York Road was fined £73 and ordered to pay £250 costs and a victim surcharge of £29 after she was found guilty of dumping refuse bags by a footpath at the back of the Abington Place Carpark which wardens discovered on Monday, 20 June.
• 23-year-old Chloe Page of Semilong Road was fined £250 and ordered to pay costs of £750 and a victim surcharge of £100 after previously pleading guilty to dumping refuse on the street in front of her house two days before the collection day.

In all cases the defendants had been offered the opportunity to resolve the matter with a £150 Fixed Penalty Fine but either ignored the notice or failed to pay.

"The vast majority of people make the effort to dispose of their waste properly.

"However, a minority of people choose to dump waste on our streets, we are determined to stamp out this environmental crime and should people not abide by the rules they should not be surprised to receive a fixed penalty notice or fine through the door.

"If they do not pay the fine, they could face prosecution for the offence."

Cllr David Smith, WNC’s Cabinet Member for community safety and engagement and regulatory services.

This month WNC launched its Fly-tipping Charter setting out how the council will work to tackle environmental crime.

It outlines the Council’s commitment to working with local communities to reduce fly-tipping, backed by a robust enforcement policy to discourage and prosecute offenders.

The Charter includes a detailed plan of action including targeted patrols, the use of CCTV, and working with residents, businesses, and town and parish councils to avoid fly-tipping and gather intelligence to prosecute.

It also sets out how the Council will communicate with businesses, landlords and householders to ensure they are clear on their responsibilities towards managing their waste responsibly.

The new Fly-Tipping Charter complements the existing Litter Charter, which was launched last summer to ensure the Council takes a coordinated approach to tackling litter across West Northants.

22 December 2022

Public Health officials in West and North Northamptonshire are advising residents to 'up their hygiene game' ahead of Christmas and New Year festivities in a bid to ward off infections and viruses currently circulating locally.
 

Handwashing regularly and covering your nose or mouth when you sneeze or cough may seem obvious, but they remain important yet simple methods of keeping the spread of lots of viruses at bay. This is particularly important at this time of year when we are spending more time indoors together.

Clean water is something we perhaps take for granted. However, handwashing is still a vital public health intervention to help prevent the spread of illness.

Hands are the gateway viruses use to enter your body, for example touching a contaminated surface and then your eyes, nose or mouth. This leaves us open to all sorts of bacteria and viruses.

For many in Northamptonshire food will play an important part in celebrating the festive season with families, friends, and communities, so protect yourself and others by washing hands thoroughly and regularly, especially when preparing food, and before eating it.

The simplest, most effective way is to simply wash hands thoroughly with soap using running water then drying them. How to wash your hands - NHS (www.nhs.uk)

Dr Annapurna Sen, Consultant in Health Protection for North Northamptonshire and West Northamptonshire Councils says:

“Coughing and sneezing increases the number of particles released by a person. as well as the distance those particles travel, and the time they stay suspended in the air. An infected person who coughs or sneezes without covering their mouth or nose significantly increases the risk of infecting others around them.

"Cover your nose and mouth when you sneeze or cough using a disposable tissue then dispose of the used tissue in a bin as soon as you can, then and wash your hands thoroughly, or use a hand sanitiser. If you don’t have a tissue sneeze or cough into the crook of your elbow, not into your hand.

"Sanitising your hands is a good temporary measure after coughing or sneezing but should only be used as a short-term alternative to thoroughly washing your hands.

"Washing your hands thoroughly for at least 20 seconds kills most germs, including those responsible for sickness bugs like norovirus which aren’t killed by sanitiser.”

Following this basic hygiene advice will let you enjoy the festivities safely, and also protect those you care about.