Friday brief: Council ditches controversial library and gallery rebrand after hearing ‘the noise locally’
Plenty of news this week from around Northants
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The Reform UK administration at North Northamptonshire Council has ditched a controversial rebrand of Kettering’s historic library and gallery complex and gone back to the original names.
The former Conservative administration had decided without any public consultation in 2022 to scrap the old names of some of the towns cultural buildings in the historic Sheep street area of the town instead place and them under the generic umbrella of Cornerstone. The move caused uproar, although the Tories refused to pedal back.
The town’s Carnegie built library, museum and gardens and Alfred East Gallery - named after the Victorian landscape artist - have been undergoing a multi-million pound regeneration, which has been beset by increased costs, delays and building problems (Read our story from 2023 here).
This afternoon the authority has announced the gallery will revert to the Alfred East Gallery, the library will be called Kettering Library and there will be a Manor House Museum and Manor House Gardens. All four have had new logos designed in house at the council. The authority had previously spend more than £5000 on a rebrand from a Market Deeping based company.
The council carried out a public consultation earlier this year and said there was ‘clear direction’ that the historic names must remain.
The library, which had been re-sited, will reopen with its expensive new roof on July 6. The gallery will have a formal reopening in October.
Cllr Martin Griffiths, Leader of North Northamptonshire Council, said:
“I have always said we are a listening council and on this occasion - we heard the noise locally about the name ‘Cornerstone’ and committed to change.
“Following a detailed process, which included input and thoughts from a fantastic group of local people who care so passionately for heritage and these wonderful buildings, I am pleased with the end result. The new identity acknowledges the heritage of the site and each individual component in a modern, fresh way that will stand the test of time.
“This new identity is the final piece of a long, exciting project that has always looked to highlight the heritage of the town. I look forward to celebrating the whole site and the facilities on offer, alongside the new stunning library and art gallery roof which has come in well underbudget, at Northamptonshire Day in October.”
Other news
The lawyer representing former Northants Police chief Nick Adderley, appeared in court this week in connection with fraud and misconduct in public office charges made against him.
Adderley, who led Northants Police for five years from 2018, was excused from appearing at the hearing at Southwark Crown Court on Tuesday, due to mental health reasons. It was a short 12 minute hearing and the next court appearance has been scheduled for case management on September 3. He is due to stand trial next year.
Adderley was sacked from the Northants force following a gross misconduct hearing in June 2024 after being suspended the previous October.
It followed allegations he had lied about his naval career on his CV, including a claim he had served in the Falklands War when he was, actually, only 15 at the time.
A freedom of information request has found the West unitary authority made more than £50,000 just on weekend car parking charges in April, after removing its two-hour free parking period.
The council voted to approve parking charge hikes for Northampton in West Northants Council’s 2026/27 budget, which briefly saw a rise in hourly rates and the removal of free blue badge and two-hour free weekend parking in town centre car parks.
Despite the changes coming in from April 1, they were only in place for around three weeks after it was revealed that they were implemented “in error”, prior to WNC carrying out a statutory public consultation. The council has since reverted to the previous charges and said it will issue refunds for April as it looks to correct the legal process, however the higher fees could still be reintroduced.
According to a Freedom of Information (FOI) request submitted by the Local Democracy Reporting Service, April parking figures show the authority has seen an increase in its income compared to the same period last year.
Across the four weekends in April 2026, WNC made £52,628 income for its off-street car parks – an average of £6,578 each day. In comparison in April 2025, the council made £37,757 income for parking on weekends, roughly £4,720 per day.
Despite raking in almost £15k more in parking fees, the number of motorists using the town centre car parks actually dropped from an average of 5,000 per day last year to just under 4,000 using the council car parks on Saturdays and Sundays.
The large increase in income, despite lower usage, is likely due to the removal of the two-hour free period and the increase in the weekend day charge from £2.20 to £3.
The averages also include the final weekend of April 2026, when the council realised it had made an error in the legal process and temporarily paused all parking fees in affected car parks. When this final weekend is disregarded and compared as a three-week period, WNC’s car parking income this April was 80 per cent higher than the amount earned in 2025.
Council data on town centre footfall also indicates a 20 per cent drop in the figures from the previous year. The average number of visitors each weekend in April 2026 was 90,726, compared to 116,954 in the same month in 2025.
While the number of cars parked in the council’s town centre car parks does not directly correlate to town centre footfall, there is a visible trend that the higher the number of cars parked, the higher the town centre footfall will be.
Chief operating officer at Northampton Town Centre BID, Mark Mullen, said: “These figures reinforce the concerns raised by businesses over the potentially negative impact raising car parking charges can have on the town centre economy.
“Higher charges, and the removal of free parking periods, act as a barrier to entry for many visitors and make it harder for businesses to attract and retain skilled staff.
“In the context of these figures, we would appreciate the opportunity to voice these concerns with West Northamptonshire Council and work together to devise a parking strategy that works for everyone.”
Responding to the concerns, a spokesperson for West Northants Council said:
“The parking payment machines were turned off from 24 April to 01 May, so figures are not reflective of a complete month and reduced the number of vehicles counted.
“Based on the weekly average, March 2026 had 35,440 visitors per week and April 2026 had 35,887, which is a slight increase. The indications are that the increase in charges has not had a direct impact on reducing car park visitors.”
The LDRS also asked WNC if it could provide an update on the Traffic Regulation Order process, which the council must carry out to bring in the proposed 2026/27 fees, and what the next steps and timeline will be.
A spokesperson said that the consultation responses, which closed on May 14, are currently being reviewed and that a further update will be given once that work is complete.
By Nadia Lincoln, local democracy reporter
A man has been found guilty of child sex offences as well as stalking police officers and perverting the course of justice.
Simon Tilley was found guilty of four offences following a trial which finished at Stafford Crown Court on Wednesday.
The court heard how Tilley, of Kingsthorpe Hollow, was found to have engaged in online sexual communication with a boy he believed to be 13-years-old in June 2021. The ‘boy’ was an undercover police officer.
Tilley was arrested at his home address in November 2021 and was charged with one count of attempting to cause a child aged 13-15 to watch/look at an image of sexual activity and one count of attempting to engage in sexual communication with a child.
A media release put out by Northamptonshire Police media team, who covered the court case this week, said:
It was this that then triggered him into launching a relentless campaign of stalking and harassment against one serving and one former Northamptonshire Police officer, including the detective assigned to investigate the child sex offence case.”
“During this time, Tilley published false and malicious material online using his X (formerly Twitter) account as well as a WordPress website with the intent to cause damage to their careers and pervert the course of justice by attempting to discredit the investigation into his online behaviour. “
Tilley, who also investigated the former chief constable Nick Adderley and uncovered details of his past which in part led to the chief constable’s downfall, was in 2024 further charged with three counts of stalking and three counts of perverting the course of justice.
At trial, the indictment was changed to one count of perverting the course of justice and two counts of stalking.
Northants Police media statement continues:
“During the trial, the court heard how Tilley’s behaviour had affected the officers involved with one describing his behaviour as “horrendous” and the other citing Tilley as a major reason for leaving the police service.”
The jury found Tilley guilty of the two child sex offences, perverting the course of justice and one of the stalking allegations. The jury found him not guilty on the second count of stalking.
Detective chief inspector Nick Cobley said:
“After having been identified, investigated and charged for offences relating to sexual communication with a child, Tilley carried out repeated acts to try and undermine the credibility of the officer connected to the prosecution. His behaviour was persistent and a deliberate attempt to discredit the investigation, cause distraction and create additional work.
“Whilst the police are expected to have a slightly higher level of resilience due to the nature of the work they undertake, they are not immune to personal attacks on them or their personal life. They should be able to come to work and not be fearful for their own safety or the safety of their families.
“I would like to thank the investigation team for showing professionalism and resilience in very challenging circumstances and adversity. They have remained focused and ensured the prosecution against Tilley continued to progress.
“Tilley’s campaign thankfully has not succeeded.”
Tilley will be sentenced at the same court on September 18.
Committee members have called for more oversight on how the council is handling its finances for large capital projects and contract procurements at a meeting this week.
Concerns surrounding repeated overspends on large capital projects led by West Northamptonshire Council (WNC) were flagged at the meeting, held on Monday (June 1).
This followed on from a report at the previous meeting of the committee, which undertook an audit on the county’s new mortuary. The facility opened in April this year and overspent by £1.25m on its £9.4m budget. In recent years, WNC has overseen rising costs for the Market Square regeneration project, as well as being forced to axe multiple NPH affordable housing projects as escalating costs have left them unviable.
Several recommendations were issued from the audit, including establishing documented methodology for setting, approving and periodically reviewing contingency levels, introducing clear procedures to track and give full visibility into how funds are applied to unforeseen project costs, and developing an overarching project management procedure.
However, concerns were raised again that there could be “systematic failing” in the way capital projects are conducted, with Cllr Adrian Little (Reform UK, Towcester) asking for assurance that the council would act on the lessons learned.
Cllr Vincent Clive (Reform UK, Duston) also commented that the audit recommendations on the mortuary were procedures he thought “would’ve been in place anyway”, which he said raised further questions around how robust the governance structure is. He told members that he would like to see another internal audit on an ongoing capital programme, which demonstrates that lessons are being applied.
Audra Statham, the corporate director of strategic projects and acting chief audit executive, warned the committee that there had been no findings of systemic failures and that they should wait for a proper analysis before passing judgment.
It was suggested by Cllr Cecile Irving-Swift (Conservative, Rural North East) to bring in the council officer responsible for the capital project to a future meeting for an update on which actions had been embedded, before deciding if further audit is necessary.
This was agreed by the committee, alongside a suggestion to refer the issue of capital overspends to the council’s triangulation committee for member scrutiny.
Further financial concerns about the authority’s use of waivers when approving contracts were also brought up later in the meeting.
The council’s Contract Procedure Rules set out the required process for the procurement of goods, services and works to ensure all contracts over £5k are subject to competition and transparency. The council can permit exceptions to its internal rules and issue waivers in exceptional circumstances, such as unforeseen events that pose an immediate threat, sole-supplier situations, or to prevent a disruption to services.
Almost £14m worth of contracts awarded by the council in 2025/26 were done so with a waiver or exemption – meaning they had to bypass the competitive tender processes, which are in place to avoid favouritism and ensure value for money.
The update came after WNC began using a new platform in November 2025 to keep track of waiver requests and provide an improved digital audit trail and earlier visibility.
In total, 219 waivers were approved in 2025/26, however officers wrote that there was a “positive reduction” in the total number of waivers approved in the later half of the year. However, the report notes that under the former platform both waivers and exemptions were included in the same reporting, so it is not a like-for-like basis.
Councillors asked for evidence on which departments use waivers most often and for more clarity on what contracts were issued as “unavoidable” waivers and how many had been put through because of issues such as poor planning.
It was resolved that another update report should come back to the audit committee in six months to look at the waivers data after a full year of progress with the new system, alongside ongoing work on benchmarking.
By Nadia Lincoln
A bid to change rules around free speech for West Northants councillors to give political views stronger protections, was debated and dropped from recommendations on changes to the constitution.
Under the proposed rule, a new line would have been added to the Members’ Code of Conduct stating that the right to freedom of speech “is a fundamental principle of democracy” and there is “no right not to be offended by lawful speech”.
It further states that lawful political speech, including speech that may be offensive or controversial to some, would not in itself amount to a breach of the code in relation to councillor complaints. A similar proposal was accepted by the Reform UK-led Durham County Council in October last year.
Independent councillor Ian McCord, who suggested the change said at the scrutiny meeting on Wednesday:
“The Code of Conduct for members is being weaponised by some members and sections of the political spectrum who don’t like what is being said. This is having a chilling effect on members, making them self-censor.
“There is no right for people not to be offended, to be outraged on behalf of the non-existent, or use the complaints system to close down political points of view they disagree with.”
Liberal Democrat Cllr Christine Ware, who also sat on the working group, said that whilse she did not agree with the constitutional amendment, there was shared agreement that people should have the right to express their views without censorship or legal penalty, which she said was covered by the Human Rights Act.
“Freedom of speech also means freedom to object and individuals have the right, with respect, to express their dissatisfaction with something,” she continued.
“My concern with the wording that Cllr McCord has put forward is that we are in danger of this being a race to the bottom, where there is a view that the system is weaponised and we are being ‘professionally offended’.
“We need to make sure that we are using what we have now in the boundaries of the law, and in the case of council the code of conduct, and I think we are well placed at present to allow people freedom of expression.”
The additional free speech provisions also made suggestions to edit the council’s contract procedure rules and community rights. This would see the council’s premises and facilities available on an equal basis to individuals and organisations irrespective of their lawful views, as well as a note that contracts with council partners should not be terminated or declined based on opinions that they have expressed.
Head of democratic services, Paul Hanson, warned members that the policy changes would need to be “properly flight-tested” before implementation to understand the unintended consequences. Giving an example, he said that a group that wanted to promote denial of the Holocaust would be allowed to book a room in the Guildhall under the updated constitution.
He added:
“Similar to the code of conduct, it is there to provide a moderating effect on the worst excesses of behaviour. It’s clear on our website that disagreeing with a councillor does not mean they have breached the code of conduct.
“The statistics do bear out that we are not taking punitive action against members for expressing political views.”
Ultimately, councillors finished their debate on the issue and there was no resolution made to add the extra free speech provisions into the constitution.
The committee recommended a number of changes to the constitution, which could be approved at full council later this month.
The recommended changes include clearer guidance on public speaking at meetings, including a requirement for multiple people from the same group wishing to speak to organise a spokesperson, as well as a word limit on the motions put forward from political groups and the need for them to involve matters directly under the council’s control.
Further debate was held on changes to the amount of time allotted to direct questioning of cabinet members during the meetings.
By Nadia Lincoln
A planning inspector has ruled that an unauthorised Travellers’ site near a Northamptonshire village should be stripped apart, upholding a council’s enforcement notice which was issued nearly two years ago.
Travellers had previously expanded their site at Oakley Park, near Middleton, to house 10 caravans without planning permission. The larger park was given retrospective planning permission through the appeals process after an initial refusal from North Northants Council.
Despite receiving the approval, the owners continued to expand the site even more. Aerial photos taken in 2025 showed that the number of caravans and landscaping works on the land exceeded the express limitations that were set.
Following pressure from Middleton Parish Council and the Middleton Residents Action Group (RAG), NNC issued enforcement notices on the site in September 2024, which were then appealed by the owners.
Planning inspector Mark Harbottle concluded that there had not been a lawful commencement of the 2023 retrospective permission, saying that “it appears that a different residential caravan site development has been carried out”.
He also highlighted that fundamental conditions for the development, including details of the road access, landscaping, biodiversity, foul and surface water drainage, refuse storage and lighting, had not been complied with.
The owners of the Travellers’ site must now comply with the council’s enforcement notice, which alleges a breach of planning control and requires them to remove all caravans stored on the land and remove all hardstanding, structures and physical infrastructure within three months.
Full restoration of the land to the condition it was prior to the unauthorised development is also required within a maximum of five months.
Responding to the decision, a RAG spokesperson said that it welcomes the ruling and that it will continue to ensure that NNC follows through with the enforcement notice.
“Local councils have a duty to uphold planning regulations and cannot turn a blind eye to egregious and intentional breaches such as Oakley Park,” they said.
“Incidents like Oakley Park are not isolated. Across North Northamptonshire, similar cases have emerged in recent years, reflecting a broader national issue of intentional unauthorised development (IUD).”
A North Northamptonshire Council spokesperson said that the authority welcomes the inspector’s decision to uphold its enforcement notice.
“The decision confirms that unauthorised development and the unauthorised use of the land for caravan storage have occurred and that the associated engineering works and infrastructure do not benefit from planning permission,” they added.
“The inspector also concluded that the 2023 planning permission relied upon by the appellant had not been lawfully commenced. The upheld notice became live from the date of the inspector’s decision on 12 May 2026.
“Council officers will now consider the inspector’s decision in full and take any necessary steps to secure compliance with the upheld enforcement notice.”
By Nadia Lincoln, ldr
NN Events
🍦A church fete is being held tomorrow at the Courteenhall estate from 1pm to 4pm. There will be a BBQ, brass band and pony and trap rides. Entry is £2 and under 10s go free.
🏎️ A classic car show is taking place at Deene Hall, near Corby, on Sunday. Tickets are from £5 and can be bought here.