After firefighters were called to a spate of deliberate fires in Daventry town centre in 2017, the consensus was that something needed to be done to tackle a growing and worrying trend.

That year saw fire crews called out 77 times to public areas to tackle flames that had been deliberately started, putting not just the perpetrator at risk of injuring themselves, but also putting at risk firefighters and members of the public.

It was at this point that leading organisations in Daventry came together – and the end result was Operation Unite. The scheme works to reduce arson and anti-social behaviour in and around Daventry town centre and is run as a partnership that includes amongst others Northamptonshire Fire & Rescue Service, West Northamptonshire Council, Northamptonshire Police, Daventry Town Council and Neighbourhood Watch.

Norm James was a Watch Manager at Daventry Fire Station at the time Op Unite was formed and remains heavily involved in the scheme in his new position as a Community Safety Officer for the fire service’s Prevention team.

He said: “We were getting a lot of deliberate fires in the town centre, but I think it was one event that triggered it. There was an incident in the High Street and some bins were set on fire next to a House in Multiple Occupancy (HMO) and it stopped anyone escaping from the flats because it was smoke-filled.

“We started looking at deliberate fires and went to a council meeting where the Community Safety Partnership was, and we aired our concerns as there was a big discrepancy between our figures and the police’s figures – which was down to the different ways in which they were recorded.

“With the endangerment to life that these fires posed we started working with all these organisations and co-ordinated with each other to do what we could to drive those figures down.”

And the improvement has been stark. Those 77 deliberate fires back in 2017 had dropped down to 17 in 2021, a massive decrease of 78 per cent across the Daventry district. Equally as impressive was that 26 of the deliberate fires in 2017 were in Daventry town centre, but there have now been no deliberately started fires in the town centre in 2020 and 2021.

And Kirsten Bates, a Police Community Safety Officer (PCSO) in the Daventry Neighbourhood Policing Team, has attributed that success down to a new joined up way of thinking across all the services.

“It just highlights and demonstrates the positive partnership working we have here in Daventry,” says Kirsten.

“In the past we (police and fire) would have worked on our own, but now we work together.

“Where I have worked in the past there was very little partnership working and over the years that has developed and definitely since coming to Daventry we’ve worked together on a huge amount.”

Other aims of Operation Unite include promoting water safety – with partnership work from the Canal & River Trust and the Royal National Lifeboat Institution – as well as creating a safer environment in the Daventry district, reducing waste issues and fly-tipping working alongside Norse, and educating local businesses about fire safety.

Events that the partners have organised include a town centre survey to gain feedback on issues affecting the area, a day of action on the Southbrook estate to share fire prevention and community safety advice with residents and two Emergency Services Fun Days at Danetre and Southbrook Learning Village.

The success of Operation Unite is no doubt food for thought for Norm in his new role, which sees his patch stretched to the entirety of West Northamptonshire.

He said: “Everyone was doing their own little bit but there was no linking up and it was named Operation Unite as we wanted to unite all these partners.

“It was originally for Daventry town centre, and then we moved into areas like Southbrook and have continued to branch out. I see no reason why a similar scheme can’t be made to work in other areas of the county.”

And Kirsten Bates added: “It’s something that has been mentioned about doing cross county and a lot of different areas are now working with similar concepts.

“The partnership working didn’t stop during lockdown either. We’re proactive as well as reactive and we’ll look at each issue as it occurs, not just from a police or fire perspective but from a joint perspective.”

Northamptonshire Fire and Rescue Service were called at 12.33pm on Thursday 3 February, to a property in Grendon following reports of a horse being stuck in a swimming pool. On arrival at the incident crews from Moulton and Wellingborough found the adult horse had entered an empty 1.5m deep swimming pool and was unable to get out.

The horse, called Wizard, had come from the adjacent field through a broken gate. Animal Rescue Technicians, Watch Manager Ben Stone and Watch Manager Phil Jones formulated a plan with the owner of the horse and property, to assist it out of the pool. They constructed a stairway from old pallets and slowly lured the horse out using carrots, hay and sugar lumps. A vet was on hand to provide assistance if Wizard became distressed, but as the horse remained calm, they did not require Wizard to be sedated.

Large animal rescues can be quite challenging and dangerous due to the unpredictability of the animal. This is why the Fire Service have specially trained Animal Rescue Technicians and specialist equipment such as the Unimog. Due to the calm nature of the horse, crews were able to assist Wizard out of the pool without using any of their specialist equipment.  It took around 45 mins to rescue Wizard and crews left the scene at just after 1.30pm.

28 February 2022

Cllr Nunn signs the UK100 pledge

We have ambitious plans to improve the sustainability in West Northamptonshire and as part of that, we've made a national pledge to beat climate change targets.

We've signed up to the UK100 Net Zero pledge, focusing on tackling the climate emergency and reducing carbon emissions.

UK100’s Net Zero Pledge commits councils to cutting their own emissions to net zero by 2030 and those of their residents and businesses by 2045 - five years ahead of the UK Government’s 2050 target.

The UK100 network includes 100 councils across the country, enabling us to work directly with others facing the same climate challenges as well as having wider access to a range of new resources including climate research, campaigns, publications, innovative funding models and private sector expertise.

Leader, Cllr Jonathan Nunn, signed the Net Zero pledge this week as we move forward with a bold new strategy for tackling climate change and making West Northants a more sustainable place to live and work.

He said: “We’re delighted to be signing up to the UK100, and will be taking our Net Zero pledge really, really seriously.

“We need to make the future of West Northants sustainable, not just environmentally but economically and socially too. We’re setting bold, climate change-related goals, and if everybody works together we can do it.

“We’re developing a sustainability strategy and looking carefully at how we measure the council’s own carbon footprint, as well as measuring the wider impact of West Northants.

“The UK100 will be a good network for us to gain information on what other councils are doing to drive sustainability into their communities, but it’s also a check and balance to ensure that we’re doing things correctly and properly.

“This is a really important agenda, we’re committed to it, and we look forward to working with every resident and business across West Northants to achieve these important goals.”

Christopher Hammond, UK100’s Network Membership Director, said: “We’re thrilled to welcome West Northamptonshire Council to UK100’s network.

“By joining UK100 and committing to bold targets, the council has demonstrated that it is facing these challenges and playing a decisive role in tackling climate change ahead of the National Government’s target.”

28 February 2022

Two shops are facing investigation after being caught selling vapes to a 15-year-old girl during a test purchasing operation.

The exercise was carried out by our Trading Standards Team following complaints of underage sales at five shops in Northampton.

The teenager visited all five shops under the supervision of Trading Standards’ officers, attempting to buy vapes or cigarettes. The legal age to buy these in the UK is 18.

Three shops passed the test after asking the test purchaser for ID and refusing sale when she was unable to produce any. However two others face further investigation after they sold the girl vapes and failed to ask for her ID.

Shopkeepers across West Northamptonshire are being reminded that they must ensure they do not sell these products to under 18s. 

Most businesses do this by operating a Challenge 25 policy. If a customer looks under the age of 25, proof of age is required, and staff must be trained to verify the customer’s age before selling age-restricted products.

The vape test purchases were part of an enforcement project supported by the Department of Health & Social Care that aims to ensure e-cigarettes or e-liquids are not sold to people under the age of 18.

The vast majority of businesses are helping to keep our children safe by checking for ID before selling age-restricted products. Unfortunately a small minority continue to fail in their responsibilities, and it is those people that we target with test purchasing operations such as this.

Asking someone how old they are, or making an assumption about their age is not enough. We would encourage sellers to follow the Challenge 25 policy, by asking for a valid and recognised photo ID to be shown by anyone who looks like they could be under the age of 25.

Cllr David Smith, Portfolio Holder for Community Safety and Engagement and Regulatory Services on WNC

People can report underage sales to the Citizens Advice Consumer Service on 0808 223 1133 or phone Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

28 February 2022

People living and working across West Northants are encouraged to get involved in the biggest conversation yet about shaping local services and improving their community.

We have launched the Thrive West Northants Big Conversation – an online forum where you can have your say on anything and everything to help develop our future plans on a range of topics, including making the area more sustainable place to live and work.

Share your views

The conversation forum, which is totally anonymous and open 24/7 over the next three weeks, enables people to comment, discuss and suggest ideas about what things you think we should be doing and prioritising to help make West Northants a great place to live, work, visit and thrive.

You are encouraged to give your views on a range of topics, from tackling climate change and improving the local economy to caring for the young, elderly and vulnerable.

You can add your comments or ideas onto the online forum from your phone, tablet, or computer. These comments will later be analysed and fed back to help us shape our future plans. Those residents who are unable to access the internet at home or on their own devices can join in the conversation by visiting their local library.

You can join in the online conversation to post comments and suggestions anonymously, vote to support the ideas of others, or simply read what is being shared.

The conversation runs until 21 March when the comments will then be analysed. The age limit is 16 for registering but residents are encouraged to hold sessions with young people to get their views and then upload them onto the system.

Join in the big conversation at Thrive West Northants.

We want West Northants to be a place where everyone can thrive, but we can only do this by working together and listening to local people, enabling us to make the changes that residents want to see. We welcome all comments and ideas as part of our Big Conversation, whether they are innovative, controversial or critical, it’s important that people are honest with us.

Our Council is coming up to its first birthday, having been formed during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, at a time of challenges alongside huge community values and spirit. We want to empower our communities further to find local solutions to local issues.

We need to look at ways we can make our communities more environmentally, economically and socially sustainable for the future and we’re confident that our residents have some great ideas to help achieve this.

I can’t stress enough how important it is that everyone has their say. Please join in and give your views and ideas on how we shape services and support communities to help you all to live your best lives.

Councillor Jonathan Nunn, Leader of West Northamptonshire Council