19 July 2022

Councillors have set out aspirations for faster and more frequent local trains for West Northamptonshire residents as they embark upon discussions with rail operators to shape future services ahead of HS2.

West Northamptonshire Council’s Cabinet recently agreed a ‘shopping list’ for how they want to see rail services improved at Northampton, Long Buckby, Rugby and Milton Keynes stations, to help guide ongoing talks with the West Coast Partnership (WCP) which operates the West Coast Mainline.

Phase one of HS2, now under construction and scheduled to open in stages between 2029 and 2034, will take long distance city-to-city traffic away from the southern end of the West Coast Main line and free up capacity for services to stations serving West Northants.

The Government’s Department for Transport (DfT), which is responsible for future consultation on rail services, has sanctioned a move by WNC to hold ongoing discussions directly with WCP, to influence the shaping of future proposals for the rail line once HS2 is completed.

Moving forward these talks for West Northamptonshire is Cllr William Barter, WNC’s Assistant Cabinet Member for environment, transport, highways, and waste, who said: “It may seem a long way off, but the decisions we make now will have far reaching implications and it is important the people of West Northants have their needs heard.

"Currently, rail services for our local area take second place to the long-distance trains, which means our local services are less frequent and have longer journey times than we would like.

"With HS2 on its way to divert city-to-city travel and the West Coast Partnership already beginning its work to advise the DfT on future local service patterns, it’s crucial our Council is also around the table and able to influence these future proposals.

"This is a real opportunity to influence emerging proposals in favour of West Northamptonshire and our aspirations agreed by Cabinet will underpin all our efforts in doing so."

You can view the rail aspirations set by WNC and further information within the recent Cabinet report.

18 July 2022

Companies which supply care to adults in their homes across West Northamptonshire are being encouraged to complete a survey on the fair cost of care.

The survey follows publication of the Department of Health and Social Care’s White Paper, ‘People at the Heart of Care’ in December 2021 which seeks to change how social care is arranged and funded.

To guide that reform the Paper requires local authorities to consult with home care companies in their local authority area to find out what it costs to deliver home care services.

West Northants Council (WNC) has circulated a survey to more than 100 home care providers in the area.

Cllr Matt Golby, WNC’s Cabinet Member for adult care, wellbeing, and health integration, said: “We have to look at a new way of doing things so that the care sector is more sustainable, workers have a job that is fulfilling and most importantly to provide the best possible care to adults who need it.

"I hope as many providers as possible complete the survey and the Government is given an accurate picture to support the changes required to how services are commissioned and delivered in a way that also grows the sector."

The survey is open to all providers working across the domiciliary care field in West Northants and closes on Wednesday, 27 July 2022.

Understanding home care operating costs will enable to the Council to meet Market Sustainability and Fair Cost of Care Fund requirements to report on fair and sustainable cost for purchasing care.

The Council must report on local care costs by Friday, 14 October 2022 in order to receive Government financial support in 2023-24 and 2024-25 and changes as a result of the social care reforms.

To take part, email [email protected] to request a survey.

People are being urged to take care of themselves and avoid putting additional pressure on health and emergency services in next week’s heatwave.

Hospitals are already experiencing unprecedented numbers of attendances to their Emergency Departments. This is partly due to an increase in COVID-19 cases and they are expecting an increase in heat-related health issues over the coming days.

East Midlands Ambulance Service is also stretched and will struggle to cope with potentially avoidable strain.

Northamptonshire Fire and Rescue Service is dealing with an increase in field fires caused by the heat and is urging people to do everything possible to ensure accidental or intentional fires are prevented.

The service is also asking people not to go swimming in open water during periods of extremely hot weather as this often leads to the need for rescue and can potentially cause drowning or serious injury.

And Northamptonshire Police is urging people to avoid excess alcohol as this can lead to dehydration and have a knock-on effect on their health and behaviour, causing additional pressure on policing resources.

Darren Dovey, Chief Fire Officer and Chair of the Northamptonshire Local Resilience Forum (LRF) said: “Information from the Met Office suggests temperatures could reach the high 30s Celsius in the shade at the start of next week, and we’re really concerned about the impact that’s going to have.

“I think we can guarantee there will be pressures on emergency and health services, so we’re asking people to be sensible, take some simple precautions, and minimise the risks.

“It’s important to remember that our staff are people too, and many of them will need to be on the front line irrespective of the weather.

“Please make sure you don’t do anything that puts yourselves or each other in harm’s way, and if you’re a parent, I would urge you to make sure you know where your children are and what they’re doing.

“We would also encourage people to ensure they drink plenty of water to stay hydrated, and be careful when they dispose of items such as disposable BBQs or cigarettes as they can very easily lead to fires being started in dry temperatures.”

Very high temperatures can also affect the operation of vehicles, and can cause the deterioration of road surfaces, potentially putting additional pressure on recovery services.

“I think the simple message is, if you don’t have to travel during this extreme weather, it’s probably best not to as you might put yourself and others at risk,” added Mr Dovey.

Anyone who does need to travel should take some simple precautions such as ensuring they have sufficient water, and an emergency kit should they break down.

Also, please remember never to leave anyone in a hot car for any length of time, particularly children or pets.

People are asked to use 111.nhs.uk if illnesses or injuries are not life threatening. They will receive advice straight away and if required, a clinician (health professional) will contact them back.

You can find more top fire safety tips by visiting our #Safe4Summer campaign page here.

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15 July 2022

West Northamptonshire Council (WNC) completed its first year as a new unitary authority on budget, despite ongoing financial challenges and increased demand for services.

At this week’s Cabinet meeting, members heard how the Council, which was set up on 1 April last year, had managed to deliver upon its budget for 2021/22 with an underspend of just over £100,000 and without touching the £5m of contingency funds it had set aside from its general reserves.

The report to Cabinet, which presented provisional year-end figures for the Council’s first year as an authority, also highlighted how finances must continue to be managed as robustly as possible in the year ahead, with continuing challenges such as Covid, the cost of living crisis and rising operational costs set to cause financial pressures and increased demand for services such as social care.

Councillor Malcolm Longley, WNC’s Cabinet Member for Finance, said: “Budget forecasting for a brand new council can never be as reliable as forecasting for a well-established authority, so there was always going to be an element of the unknown until we started operating. Managing to deliver our first 12 months of services so closely to our initial budget figure and avoiding using our contingencies is therefore a remarkable achievement and a great start for our new council.

"We’ve taken a prudent approach and it’s important we continue to be strong and robust in managing our finances in our second year, whilst also enabling new investment in services and increasing the support we provide to our local communities.

"We know there are challenging times ahead. We’re seeing major growth at a time of a national cost of living crisis, with significant demand for social care services from a rising population of both the elderly and the very young and with some pressures of Covid-19 continuing but without the additional funding support of previous years. So we cannot rest on our laurels as we move forward."

Farmers are being urged to remain vigilant this weekend as hot weather increases the risk of field fires.

It comes after Northamptonshire Fire and Rescue Service were called to a crop fire in Glassthorpe Lane, Harpole, at 12.10pm yesterday (July 14).

Crews from The Mounts, Moulton, Mereway and Towcester tackled two fires in two fields that were involving standing crops. They used a hose reel jet and beaters to bring the fire under control – but crucially the use of a farmer’s plough was used to create fire breaks and stop it from spreading further.

The cause of the fire is believed to be due to the hot weather, and with temperatures set to be above 30 degrees in the coming days the risk of further incidents is possible.

Station Manager Scott Hirons said: “We know that farmers will be working this weekend due to the weather forecast, and we would urge them to be on guard as the hot weather does increase the risk of crop fires starting, and they can quickly become out of control.

“We would urge all farmers to be prepared by ensuring they have a plough attached to their tractor as this will help to create a fire break, and as we saw yesterday, this greatly helped us in tackling the blaze and preventing it from escalating.”

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