- Details
14 November 2023

Residents of West Northamptonshire are being asked for their opinion on the school admission arrangements for schools run by academies and trusts which are planning changes.
Every year, academies, governing bodies and trusts who act as their own school admission authorities must review the way places are allocated at their schools. If changes are planned, they have to first be consulted on.
Monday 13 November, West Northamptonshire Council’s (WNC) School Admission Team have opened a formal consultation on the admissions arrangements for any mainstream schools whose admission authorities have asked us to co-ordinate their consultation for them.
The consultation will take place between Monday 13 November and Sunday 31 December 2023
I really encourage all parents, carers and guardians who may have a child at primary or secondary school to have their say in this consultation. The way in which places are allocated at a school is important to get right and that can only be achieved with the views and comments of those who have to go through the process included in the final decision making.Cllr Fiona Baker, WNC’s Cabinet Member for children, families, and education
Following the consultation period, admission authorities will review their proposed admission arrangements for 2025 and determine them by 28 February 2024, ensuring they are published on the schools’ websites by 15 March 2024.
To view the list of schools consulting this year and to respond to the consultation, please visit our consultation page.
Want the latest Council news delivered straight to your inbox?
- Details
A firefighter who took part in the Remembrance Day march at Whitehall this weekend has said the humbling experience was the ‘honour of his life’.
Station Manager Nick Gayton was selected to represent Northamptonshire Fire and Rescue Service at the ceremony and parade at the Cenotaph on Sunday (November 12) – one of more than 150 members of the Civilian Services Contingent made up of people from across the fire service, police, ambulance, prison service, coastguard and more.
Nick has worked for Northamptonshire Fire & Rescue Service for 15 years, and works countywide in the Joint Operations Team alongside colleagues from Northamptonshire Police. He has had since August to prepare himself for the event when he was notified that he had been selected, but said the experience was even more memorable than he could have imagined.
He said: “I’ve represented the Fire Service at local ceremonies before, but nothing on this scale, and it’s the first time I had been to London for the Remembrance Parade.
“It’s difficult to describe in words what the experience was like, words cannot do justice to the mixture of emotions that come over you during the ceremony.
“You try and take everything in as it’s happening, and there are parts that you do that you can remember seeing happen on the TV, but when the silence hits you it’s incredibly emotional – you could hear a pin drop in Whitehall during the ceremony.”
Nick had arrived in London on Saturday evening, where he took part in a few practice drills and a two-hour briefing on how the ceremony would be conducted.
Sunday morning was an early start, leaving for Whitehall by coach at 6.30am and taking part in drills for much of the morning. From there he took part in the march to the Cenotaph as part of the formal guard of honour, before the Ceremony, where wreaths were laid by King Charles III and Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.
The Civilian Services Contingency were the last to leave the Cenotaph, with Nick eventually relieved of his duties at 1pm.
His appearance at the Cenotaph marks the end of a successful few weeks for Nick, who was recently given a Chief Fire Officer Commendation for helping to rescue an elderly lady from a fire that was engulfing her bungalow in Burton Latimer last November.
Nick was also proud to take part in the ceremony due to his family links to the military. He added: “My brother-in-law has just left the Navy, my grandfather was a serving Grenadier Guard, and I did also have distant relatives who fought and died in some of the wars that we remember.
“All I can say is that it was the honour of my life to take part in the ceremony, and I’m massively humbled by the whole experience.”
- Details
13 November 2023

Small Business Saturday is back again and celebrating its 11th anniversary on Saturday 2 December, and to support local businesses we are offering free parking across all Northampton town centre carparks on this day.
Small Business Saturday aims to highlight small business success and encourages consumers to ‘shop local’ and support small businesses in their communities all year round.
The national day itself takes place on the first Saturday in December each year, but the campaign aims to have a lasting impact on all small businesses across the UK.
To help support our local businesses West Northamptonshire Council is offering free parking across Northampton town centre carparks so that shoppers won’t have to worry about the cost of parking when supporting our local businesses.
On-street charging in Northampton Town Centre still applies. All other parking restrictions still apply, please ensure you read the signage before leaving your vehicle.
Small Business Saturday is a fantastic way to shine a light on what a great small business offer we have in West Northamptonshire, and to show that we are truly passionate about helping our local economy to thrive, we are funding an extension to our free parking offer to Northampton town centre for this important day.Cllr Dan Lister, WNC’s Cabinet Member for Economic Development, Town Centre Regeneration and GrowthWe have something for everyone – outstanding independent retailers, creative start-up businesses, family-owned restaurants, pubs and cafes, and a wealth of visitor attractions and activity centres across our entire area.
We want to make sure we are championing our small businesses all year round, not just on Small Business Saturday, and recognising the benefits for the whole community when everyone thinks locally and supports local employers. This creates local jobs, it results in benefits to the economy, and it helps our town centres and wider areas to thrive, benefitting everyone.
For this reason, we are also encouraging businesses to utilise all the free support and funding available through our Economic Growth & Inward Investment Team to continue to grow locally.
The Economic Growth and Inward Investment Team offer wide-ranging support for businesses throughout the year including:
- Business growth
- Accessing funding
- Employment, skills, and recruitment
- Help to start a new business
- A Business Toolbox packed with useful documents
We would urge all business owners to visit our Small Business Saturday page or contact us at [email protected] or on 01327 322230 to find out more.
To ensure that residents and visitors can explore every West Northants business, all employers are urged to register on the free Explore West Northants app.
The app showcases everything to enjoy all year round in West Northants, from independent businesses to cultural attractions and local events.
You can find more information and sign up to Small Business Saturday nationally via the Small Business Saturday website.
Want the latest Council news delivered straight to your inbox?
- Details
13 November 2023

West Northamptonshire Council (WNC) has launched a competitive commissioning round to identify partners to deliver key elements of its multi-million-pound investment plan which will benefit the local economy and support businesses’ sustainability goals.
The Council is inviting suppliers to submit tenders to deliver two leading projects; Decarbonisation and Growth & Innovation. Both projects have been allocated £625k from the Council’s UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF). The Fund, which is managed for the Government by the Department of Levelling Up, Housing and Communities supports the Government’s levelling up agenda.
Among the plans for the UKSPF funding include providing business support and revenue grants up to the value of £20,000. The fund will encourage businesses to innovate and understand how they can grow their sales, profits, workforce and business as well as supporting employers to understand their energy usage and the measures they can implement to reduce emissions, increase efficiencies, and save on energy costs.
The chosen supplier for the Decarbonisation project will distribute grant funding and work with local businesses to develop sustainability plans which specifically outline how they can achieve a Net Zero future and utilise Government funding to address carbon emissions: having a beneficial impact on their business, the local area and the planet as a whole.
The chosen supplier for the Growth & Innovation project will distribute grant funding and work directly with businesses to deliver measures to help progress their growth journey and implement actions to increase productivity, including 121s, training, webinars and dedicated expert advice.
In addition, over £800,000 of Rural England Prosperity Funding (REPF) will soon be available to support businesses in eligible rural areas. Across the three projects activities will target investment in supporting the drive to net zero, increasing business productivity and growth, and capital investment to support transformative rural initiatives.
We are a local authority that recognises local employers as the lifeblood of our economy and it is for this reason, we are thrilled to be delivering the majority of our UK Shared Prosperity Fund to support local employers, improve and create jobs, boost the local economy and raise the profile of West Northants as an area where everyone can thrive with the support of a Council which is dedicated to strengthening business growth and potential.Cllr Daniel Lister, Cabinet Member for Economic Development, Town Centre Regeneration and GrowthAs a Council, we’ve worked hard to carefully plan how to use this funding to realise our growth aspirations for our area and ensure this funding has a beneficial impact on the local economy whilst addressing specific challenges and opportunities as identified from the data and consultation which informed our UKSPF Investment Plan.
We have a comprehensive range of projects, initiatives and activities taking place between now and March 2025 which aim to deliver impactful interventions that will benefit the whole community; from public realm improvements to voluntary grants, to business support and upcoming funding dedicated towards supporting local people and enhancing skills.
We are looking for delivery partners who share our ambition for inclusive and resilient growth in West Northants and are particularly interested in suppliers that can provide innovative and creative approaches for both the Growth & Innovation and Decarbonisation projects.
We are delighted to be investing this UKSPF funding into local businesses. We want our funding to be inclusive and to really make a difference, to benefit the many thousands of businesses we have in this area to prosper.Cllr Jonathan Nunn, Leader of West Northamptonshire CouncilThese projects will not only help to grow our local economy and future-proof employment by creating a more inclusive market which is resilient to the impacts of climate change, they will also enable local businesses to diversify and invest in new technologies and energy saving measures which save them money and work towards reaching West Northants’ sustainability goals.
We strongly believe that by working together to implement sustainable practices, initiatives, and investments and considering the small but vital steps we can all make, together we can achieve our shared mission to become Net-Zero by 2045.
The tender closing date for the Decarbonisation and Growth & Innovation projects is Friday, 8 December 2023. Projects are expected to commence in spring 2024 and will run to the end March 2025. Further details and information regarding the tendering process can be found on the WNC website.
Want the latest Council news delivered straight to your inbox?
- Details
09 November 2023

A new incubation programme has launched to support would-be entrepreneurs in Northamptonshire.
Funded by West Northamptonshire Council and utilising £40,000 of the UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF), Vulcan Creatives is a free, six-month programme run by the team at the Vulcan Works flexible workspace in Northampton. It aims to support ambitious individuals with their business idea by developing the concept further, creating a business plan and teaching the skills needed to succeed in the world of entrepreneurship.
The programme will be led by Vulcan Works’ on-site business growth manager, Darren Smith, an entrepreneur who has started and sold businesses and worked in mentoring roles over the last 20 years. It aims to support a minimum of 40 entrepreneurs in becoming enterprise-ready over the next two years. It is open to residents of Northamptonshire aged 18 and above with an interest in exploring their own business ventures and an openness to new ideas and growth ambitions. Participants need to commit to a minimum of two days per week for the programme and actively engage in 1:1 business support and coaching activities. The programme commences with its first cohort in January 2024, with applications being invited from today and closing in December. Preference will be given to those looking to set up a creative business.
Those who take part in Vulcan Creatives will also receive free access to the Vulcan Works facilities during the course of the programme and up to 50% off workspace in the building after graduating.
I am hugely excited to open applications for the first cohort of Vulcan Creatives. As a Vulcan Works is a creative hub, this scheme is aimed at new businesses in the creative sector, or those with creative ideas for new businesses. As an exciting and dynamic sector, with many interrelated sectors, we’re hoping that many entrepreneurs will benefit from this programme.Darren Smith, Business Growth Manager at Vulcan WorksI look forward to working with local creative visionaries to bring their business idea to life and guide them through the process of exploring, validating and developing their idea into a fully-fledged business plan. Together, we will cultivate entrepreneurial skills that will enable this exclusive group of Vulcan Creatives to build a like-minded community of business owners who can confidently lead their very own enterprises to success.
We are invested in enabling the creation and growth of start-ups, entrepreneurs and local businesses. We are thrilled to allocate our UKSPF funding to this scheme that is focused on supporting creative entrepreneurs to start within West Northants.Cllr Daniel Lister, Cabinet Member for Economic Development, Town Centre Regeneration and Growth at West Northamptonshire CouncilThis scheme is in addition to the ongoing activities of our Economic Growth & Inward Investment Team who endeavour to support every local resident and employer to thrive in West Northants. The Vulcan Creatives programme will see new start-ups receive the support they need to grow and flourish, which has the potential to make a real positive change to our local economy.
For more information on Vulcan Creatives and how to apply for a free place on the first cohort starting in January, go to https://vulcanworks.co.uk/vulcan-creatives/. The closing deadline for applications is Friday 8 December 2023.
Want the latest Council news delivered straight to your inbox?