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 […]

TALKING TO PEOPLE across St James, the answers are almost always the same: ● Do something about the parking ● Stop the flytipping, and rubbish blowing about everywhere AFTER the bin men have been ● Do something about the match day traffic ● Sort out the terrible roads ● Keep the flats in good repair […]

YOUNGSTERS play football in the multi games area in Victoria Park every Friday evening. At this time of year it’s not a problem, but once it gets darker it will be difficult for them to play without proper lights. THERE are streetlights on the path all round the multi-use games area, but the lights are […]

Nothing to report so far on the proposal to open the top of the street (Eastern End between M&S and St Giles Street) to traffic again. There is considerable opposition to this which the Borough Council Conservatives are ignoring or pretending doesn’t exist. If you here or see any activity please let me know – […]

RESIDENTS FROM HUNSBURY HILL  were thrilled on the evening of 6 May when councillors on the borough council’s planning committee voted unanimously to REFUSE planning permission for the extra 69 houses that Bloor Homes wanted to add to the bottom of their estate. There were many reasons, but the primary one was the access for traffic. Construction […]

AT THE ST JAMES RESIDENTS’ ASSOCIATION meeting on 27 March the police reported that their ‘Blockwatch’ scheme in the flats in St James was proving very effective. This is being used to pinpoint cannabis factories, drug dealing, anti-social behaviour. Decent residents want to get rid of tenants involved in these sorts of activities, and using […]

THE FOUNTAIN ON THE MARKET SQUARE has at last been refurbished and open. The work cost about £50,000. Was it worth it? Read what the BBC have reported.

LOCAL RESIDENTS attending the March meeting of the St James Residents’ Association complained of the state of so many garages in the area. There are 1,800 empty council-owned garages in Northampton, and at a time when people are keen to rent a garage from the Northampton Borough Council, the council has many, many garages that […]

A PROTEST AGAINST THE OPENING OF THE EAST END OF ABINGTON STREET TO TRAFFIC is to take place on Saturday 29 March around lunchtime. The protest will take the form of inviting people to leave a chalk message on the street. We are assured the messages will be water-soluble and wash away in the rain […]

YET ANOTHER DAY OF COMPLETE GRIDLOCK in St James, apparently because the Borough Council tried to ‘manage’ the traffic flows, with bollards at Sixfields that actually made matters worse. Traffic at a standstill for hours again. What about the pollution for local residents from traffic running engines and not moving? How on earth….