Four police officers served disciplinary notices for handling of Harshita Brella's domestic abuse reports
Our end of the week round up from across Northants
Four Northants Police officers have been served disciplinary notices for their handling of Harshita Brella’s domestic abuse reports before her murder.
The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) has been investigating Northants Police over its contact with Harshita prior to her murder in November.
Harshita’s body was found in the boot of a car that had been dumped in East London. Her husband Pankaj Lamba, who has always been the prime suspect, then disappeared and is thought to be abroad.
Harshita, who is from Delhi, India, had been living in Corby with her husband on the Kingswood estate since April last year and had been working in a warehouse job.
This week murder and rape charges were laid at Northampton Magistrates court against her husband.
The IOPC has this afternoon issued a statement which says:
“Our investigation into Northamptonshire Police contact with Harshita Brella, and her husband Pankaj Lamba, prior to her body being found in November is progressing.
“We are continuing to gather and review evidence setting out the contact the force had and the actions and decision-making by police officers involved.
“After assessment of the evidence to date, we have served disciplinary notices on four Northamptonshire Police officers, two at the level of gross misconduct and two for potential misconduct. The gross misconduct notices on two detective constables cover alleged failings to progress enquiries and communicate with Ms Brella after her report of domestic abuse at the end of August 2024. The misconduct notices on two more senior officers relate to their supervision of the case and relevant risk assessments.
“Such notices advise officers they are subject to investigation and do not necessarily mean any disciplinary proceedings will follow. At the end of the investigation, decisions will be taken as to whether any officer has a disciplinary case to answer.
“Our thoughts remain with Ms Brella’s family and all those affected by her death. We have met Ms Brella’s family to update them on our investigation.”
A spokesperson for Northamptonshire Police, said:
“Our investigation into the death of Harshita Brella is on-going and our thoughts remain with her family.
“Our Professional Standards Department is in contact with the IOPC, however, it would be inappropriate for us to comment further while their investigation takes place.”
A statement issued this week by Samantha Shallow from the Crown Prosecution Service about the murder charge said:
“The Crown Prosecution Service has reviewed a file of evidence submitted by the Northamptonshire Police, and has authorised a charge of murder against 23-year-old Pankaj Lamba in relation to Harshita Brella’s death.
“Lamba, formerly of Sturton Walk, Corby, is also charged with two counts of rape, sexual assault, and controlling or coercive behaviour.”
“The Crown Prosecution Service reminds all concerned that criminal proceedings are active and defendants have the right to a fair trial. It is extremely important that there should be no reporting, commentary or sharing of information online which could in any way prejudice these proceedings.”
Senior Investigating Officer from Northants Police detective chief inspector Johnny Campbell added:
“We are committed to securing justice for Harshita and her family and continue to offer our support at this difficult time.
“This remains an active investigation and as such, there continue to be aspects of the case that we are unable to comment on at this time. We would urge all parties to respect the judicial process to ensure the integrity of the proceedings.”
As reported by the BBC this week, Lamba’s parents have been arrested under the ‘death dowry’ law after a complaint by Harshita’s parents.
News in brief
A care home that has provided residential short breaks and emergency care to disabled adults for decades is proposed to close and the building used for temporary accommodation.
Pine Lodge in Danesholme, Corby, currently provides a short breaks and care service for 29 adults, but North Northamptonshire Council is proposing to close down the in-house service and instead use it to house people who need temporary accommodation.
The 1960s building in Danesholme Square has become run down in recent years, which the authority puts down to a lack of investment by the former county council. Currently only two thirds of the building is in use and a building survey in 2022 found it would cost £4.2m to renovate the building to make it suitable. Since the unitary authority took over the running of the facility in 2021 it has gone from a good CQC rating to requiring improvement. The most recent CQC report found a staff shortage had led to adults staying in all day and not being taken for days out. Currently there are 20 full time staff roles at Pine Lodge, although there are a number of vacancies.
This is the only short breaks facility the authority runs and so if it is closed, the proposal is to use private providers. A consultation will begin shortly on the proposal and it is expected to shut down the facility within 12 months.
No costs have been given on how much will be spent to bring the building into use as a temporary accommodation unit.
The report says:
“Despite the officers working at Pine Lodge endeavouring to provide the best possible care and support, the service is not fit for purpose and is not sustainable in its current setting. Pine Lodge does not create the conditions for the staff team to be able to work creatively with people or enable people to achieve the best experiences or outcomes. The service does not reflect our commitment to providing modern, efficient and effective public services.”
But the authority acknowledges ‘the current capacity in the market is very limited and the demand very much outweighs the availability’.
The report says a business case for a new in house service will be drawn up due to the need for short breaks to help carers.
It says:
“Whilst the environment at Pine Lodge does not support the provision of high quality care and support, it is recognised that there remains a need for people to be able to access Short Breaks services. There is also a need for people to be able to draw on a service at times of crisis and for a period of assessment and enablement prior to drawing on a longer-term package of care.
“We refer to this as a period of ‘Transition’. For some individuals it is a transition from living with family or carers to their own home with support, for others it may be transitioning from Children’s to Adult Services and for some, it is for a period of intensive support at a time of crisis before transitioning to another environment to meet their longer-term needs.
To retain in house capacity for this service, it is proposed to develop a business case for the development of an in-house bed-based service. This case is under development now and due for completion in April 2025 and it is anticipated the development of this will run alongside the phased reprovisioning of Pine Lodge.”
The report will be discussed by the council’s executive advisory panel for active communities next Thursday (March 27).
Plans for a new neighbourhood of homes have been deferred after concerns were raised about contamination on site and how it is being handled.
The site, off Mill Road in Wellingborough, would consist of an extra 47 homes in the new Stanton Cross development if approved. The ‘brownfield’ area consists of overgrown and unmanaged land next to the River Ise. It contains a disused building, which had previously been used for industrial purposes and has fallen into a state of disrepair.
Bluestone Properties Limited submitted plans to North Northamptonshire Council (NNC) to demolish the old building and replace it with a row of townhouses and a large apartment block four or five storeys tall. The homes would be divided into 30 two-bed apartments, eight three-bed apartments and nine three-bed townhouses.
Concerns were raised about the reported contamination on site, how it was being dealt with, and how the remediation works affected the project’s viability and overall offering. An assessment considered that ‘potentially contaminative sources’ may adversely impact future users of the site.
It added that it was “clear” that potentially contaminative activities are associated with the former use of the site. These could represent a risk to human health and to the natural environment.
As a result of the works that would need to be carried out to ensure the site is safe, a number of Section 106 contributions have been reduced. This includes no provision of affordable homes, lower financial contributions to local services and proposing half the number of parking spaces recommended.
Cllr Bert Jackson commented at the planning meeting on Wednesday (March 19):
“It states that the reason for the reduction [in contributions] is that they have to deal with contaminants on site. It doesn’t say how they intend to deal with it- whether it’s going to be carted off-site and put in a dump elsewhere, or the same as Corby did, put one meter of cover over it and hope it goes away.”
Members were assured that the council’s environmental protection officer who reviewed the contamination assessment did not object to the application, given that the developers would have to submit a suitable strategy to deal with the risks before construction.
Speaking at the meeting on behalf of Bluestone Properties Limited, Hannah Fawdon said:
“The application today is disused brownfield land and the building on site has fallen into a state of disrepair.
“The principle of residential development is acceptable and therefore establishes an exciting opportunity to bring 47 homes to Wellingborough in a location that desperately needs to be redeveloped.”
Going to a vote, members unanimously agreed to defer the application to receive more information from officers on how the parking will be managed and what the response to contamination will be.
Report by Nadia Lincoln, local democracy reporter
Nearly £600,000 of historic debt has been written off by North Northamptonshire Council (NNC) after it said it would not be able to get the money back.
According to a report heard by a council meeting on March 13, the debts related to nine accounts which were deemed to be “no longer collectable”. The debts that are being recommended for write-off total £589,959.61.
The uncollected payments were reported in private documents that are not available to the public, as the authority says the details could include sensitive or potentially confidential information. NNC has confirmed that the write-offs all relate to unpaid business rates and council tax, with the largest sum being £233,300.13 for a business that went into liquidation.
The report explained that, given the action already taken and the status of the businesses (administration, liquidation or dissolved), it is considered irrecoverable at this time and “would not be economical to continue to pursue”.
Claire Edwards, North Northamptonshire Council’s Executive Director of Finance stated: “The authority has a duty to maximise revenue collection. However, circumstances may arise in which amounts due must, for all practical purposes, be deemed uncollectable and therefore written off.”
An alternative option to periodically review and pursue the outstanding debt was considered. It was concluded that this would be ineffective.
The council’s executive panel is responsible for the approval of any debt write-off over £25,000. The Conservative administration voted to write off the debt at its committee meeting last week.
Report by Nadia Lincoln
Permission has been granted to build two large warehouses on a proposed employment site near a Northamptonshire town, despite receiving over 100 objections from local residents.
The project, which will be known as Towcester Park, was given outline approval in 2022 for 45 acres of new employment space for small to medium-sized enterprises. The site is located to the north of Towcester, above the A43 bypass, and already has permission to create a new roundabout to help traffic filter into the site.
Applicant IM Properties was given detailed permission by West Northamptonshire Council on Tuesday to build two buildings on the green space, though many members voiced their concerns about the impact of the rural area.
In the first plot directly next to the new A43 roundabout, the metal cladding building would have nearly 15,000 sqm floor space and a height of 15.5m. Another larger building next to Tiffield Road, also known as Donkey Lane, totalling a height of 21 metres and a 43,500sqm floor space has also been given the green light.
Debating the proposals, Cllr Andre Gonzalez De Savage said he was concerned about the size of the proposed buildings.
“It’s clearly not an industrial site, it doesn’t border a motorway and it’s entirely out of character for Towcester,” he added, “Why is there a building of this nature being proposed at all?”
Cllr Rosie Humphreys added:
“Regrettably, there doesn’t seem to be any planning reasons- it seems to be set in stone pretty much already by the hybrid planning application.”
Both plots, which were voted on separately by the committee, were approved with eight votes in favour to two against.
Report by Nadia Lincoln
A Northampton resident who was a victim of serious flooding more than six months ago has demanded the council publish an investigation report into its cause and do more to support displaced residents.
Several families living near Dallington Brook have been forced out of their homes after flood water came rushing into their properties resulting in lengthy repair works. Heather Andersen, whose home makes up one of the many flooded properties in the area, said that residents are “utterly dismayed, angry and demand answers”.
Speaking on behalf of the affected homeowners, Ms Andersen appealed directly to WNC at a full council meeting last week to express her frustration with how the “devastating consequences” of the floods had been dealt with.
She asked:
“Where was everyone and where was our support?”
“Twelve homes in our village alone were displaced, including mine, yet we are still paying council tax on these properties which are uninhabitable, as well as the residents’ temporary homes. The council and valuation office has repeatedly refused relief.
“The value of our properties have been affected, my home’s now valued at at least 20 per cent less, and our insurance has tripled. As a kick in the teeth, we all received our council tax renewal letters with a five per cent increase.
“Sadly, the council’s response to our repeated requests for information has been deafeningly silent. We are lucky to have such a strong close community that rallied together that night to try and save our beloved home because there certainly was no support from anyone else.”
In a statement shared with the Local Democracy Reporting Service the council’s chief executive Anna Earnshaw said:
“Supporting those affected and our communities through these extreme weather events is our highest priority and we mounted an immediate multi-agency response to the many incidents of flooding. The scale and speed of those floods meant many agencies had to prioritise their intervention and we appreciate that this may have made some communities feel forgotten. They were not.
“Work on the section 19 flood incident reports began immediately after the floods with actions in progress against every area where flood water caused damage to properties. We have been working with a number of communities and town and parish councils to address issues in our control and the final report will include the actions that will require the Environment Agency or others to act.
“We have not waited for the report to begin work as we want to make sure the Council and our communities are as prepared as possible in the event of future floods. Having heard Ms Andersen’s concerns first hand at the meeting, I will be contacting her about the issues she raised and what we are doing.”
Report by Nadia Lincoln
Westminster Watch
Kettering General Hospital will be among the first to benefit from the government’s new energy company, it has been announced today.
The hospital in Rothwell Road will receive £713,000 from Great British Energy to fit rooftop solar panels, helping to save up to £2.8m on energy bills.
KGH, which will not be rebuilt for at least a decade, is one of four NHS trusts in the East Midlands to receive funding, with ten schools in the region also set to benefit.
MP for Kettering Rosie Wrighting said:
“Having spoken in support of rooftop solar and the potential it has in Parliament earlier this year I am really pleased to see this funding going to Kettering General Hospital.
“This is another excellent step in redeveloping Kettering General Hospital and part of a fantastic investment for the East Midlands that will see hospitals and schools saving thousands of pounds on their energy bills.
“Through Great British Energy, Labour is delivering on its Plan for Change by boosting our energy independence, investing in our public services and delivering lower bills for our communities.”
Excellent reporting…..
For every 1°C we increase the temperature of the climate we see 7% more moisture in the atmosphere. This causes more intense rain and leads to a greater number of flooding events. We need our politicians to stop listening to oil billionaires and start listening to climate scientists.