LIKE MOST PEOPLE IN NORTHAMPTON I never saw this statue, and didn’t really understand what it was doing in a Northampton museum. I also understood the fact that the Borough Council was very short of cash – they have a £15M hole in their budget, partly because it was sold by the Tories to re-open […]

LIBERAL DEMOCRATS reacted with surprise today after a motion put forward by Lib Dem Councillor Jill Hope was not supported by Labour. The motion called for an end to parking charges for hard pressed residents. The motion called for Residents Parking Permits to be made free to residents and paid for from general taxation. It […]

THE BOROUGH COUNCIL has announced that demolition of the old bus station will be delayed by up to 6 months, as more asbestos was found in the building than they expected. Why did they decided to demolish it without investigating the asbestos issue beforehand? They have budgeted £4M for the demolition, but that figure will […]

I’VE TALKED to residents round the lift tower.  I have the following comments to make to the Borough Council about the planning application to make the temporary planning permission for abseiling from the lift tower permanent: 1  Residents are very keen that that the number of abseiling events being permitted is NOT increased significantly in […]

AT THE JULY MEETING OF THE ST JAMES RESIDENTS’ ASSOCIATION the subject of cycling on the pavement, particularly in Weedon Road, was raised yet again. Two local residents, who have actually been knocked down by cyclists, raised their concerns.  I am also aware of several other residents who have either been hurt or have been […]

RESIDENTS of Melbourne House and Abbey House have been waiting a long time for dropped kerbs outside their blocks of flats. One local resident Lesley Brett has been campaigning for a dropped kerb for 3 years. Last year an older resident Winifred Shipley fell over trying to pull her shopping trolley up the kerb outside […]

TWO MUSEUMS IN NORTHAMPTON have lost their accreditation status as a result of the Tory Council Leader David Macintosh’s decision to “sell the family silver”. Macintosh sold the priceless 4,000 year old Sekhemka Egyptian statue to a private collector for £16m to “help fund an extension to the town’s museum”. Read the BBC’s report here.

A REPORT AT THE RECENT COUNTY COUNCIL MEETING SAYS THAT PERMITS should go up by £35, from £25 to £60, with a second permit costing £80. The Conservative cabinet said the cost of running the permit scheme makes a loss, and the fee would have to rise. County Councillor for Sixfields and St James, Jill […]

Liberal Democrats claim the termination of a £300m retail development contract with Legal & General at the Greyfriars bus depot site is “worst thing to happen to the town in decades”. This comes on top of the decsion of House of Fraser to withdraw from the Grosvenor Centre ealier this year. LibDem leader Sally Beardsworth, […]

Cllr Richard Church has slammed the Tories failure over the Grosvenor Centre in a letter to the local press. Richard wrote: “I am delighted to see that Conservative Council leader David Mackintosh says he will do anything to save the Grosvenor Centre redevelopment. I just hope he actually means it.