Friday brief: crime commissioner still drawing a blank on new Corby police station despite public pledge
Our roundup of news from across the county this wet Friday
Almost a year on from a public pledge and the county’s police, fire and crime commissioner still has not found a new police station for the Corby.
Labour‘s Commissioner Danielle Stone promised a new station for the town - which has a population of around 70,000 people - last March when she and chief constable Ivan Balhatchet said they were ‘urgently considering’ a variety of options for a new base.
But since then there has been little progress on finding a new station for the town, with a number of sites looked at, but no solution arrived at. And now the town’s MP Lee Barron has said he wants a working group between his office and the commissioner’s office to get the matter sorted.
The former station in Elizabeth Street closed in 2017 and was sold off three years ago for £1m. That money went back into the capital pot and was not spent in the town. The newest budget for the upcoming financial year does not allocate any money towards the new Corby station.
Currently the only way Corby people can contact police service in person is by attending the civic offices at Corby Cube, but this is only open five days a week and not after 4pm.
NN Journal asked a series of questions of the commissioner’s office and was told:
“We are committed to putting a visible police base back into Corby and have been working hard to try to find the right location. Work is continuing to identify a suitable site.
“The capital programme [for 2026/27] does include a nominal amount for any improvements that we may be able to carry out to our existing footprint in Corby Cube. We have not identified a suitable site, despite viewing many properties and working with agents and stakeholders.
“As and when an appropriate site is identified, and subject to the normal appraisal and governance process, we can bring the capital provision forward if needed.”
Her office said it was working with North Northamptonshire Council, about how to improve the facilities at Corby Cube and make our presence there more visible.’
They said:
“It isn’t appropriate to have those commercial discussions in public.”
But NN Journal understands from two sources that the Reform UK administration that runs NNC has told the commissioner that it does not want to agree to the commissioner’s suggestions.
The current office is on the fourth floor of the building. Downstairs is a reception, theatre and library, with the council chamber on the second floor. Many think a more visible police base, which could have people arriving in distress after experiencing crime, would not be an appropriate base for a permanent visible solution.
Corby’s Labour MP Lee Barron wants a station for the town.
He said today:
“I am extremely disappointed because I feel we have lost a lot of time. Last April we were told we would get a police station in Corby and I understand that is still the case. We were told they had a location and now it appears we haven’t. We made it clear that an extension of what we had was never enough.
“We need a station with a dedicated front desk and response unit. Not just a front desk, or a shop. The cube is not suitable. You can’t have Sweeney Todd [slang for the police’s flying squad| going through trying to catch criminals while the children are having rhyme time in the nursery.
“I am not going to just sit here and do nothing. I am proposing we set up a working group with my office, the town council and the commissioner’s office to identify locations in Corby. We have been promised a police station and now it is time to deliver.”
He said he would also be taking the issue up with policing ministers.
News in brief
A murder investigation has been launched after a woman died seven days after a serious attack.
The woman, who is yet to be named by Northants Police, received serious injuries after the attack inside a property in High Street, Chelveston on February 3rd. She sadly died from her injuries on Tuesday.
James Daniel Bird, 50, of High Street, Chelveston, was charged with attempted murder in connection with the incident and remanded into custody following an appearance at Northampton Magistrates’ Court on February 4. The charge against him remains attempted murder.
Senior Investigating Officer, Detective Inspector Matt Bly, said:
“Our thoughts are with everyone who loved this woman at what is a very distressing time and specially trained officers are supporting her family.
“Although we are not looking for anyone else in connection with her murder, I would ask anyone with any information to contact us.”
Anyone with information can contact Northamptonshire Police on 101 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555111.
Campaigners have been given permission by the High Court to proceed with a judicial review against a controversial warehouse development in the Northamptonshire countryside.
Staunch (Save Titchmarsh, Thrapston And Upper Nene Valley Countryside and Habitats) has led the fight against plans to build a 60-hectare warehouse park, known as Thrapston Business Park, on farmland next to the Haldens Parkway industrial estate.
The group launched its legal claim in December 2025, after receiving legal opinion from its barrister that it had a ‘relatively strong case’ to challenge North Northamptonshire Council’s (NNC) decision to approve the major plans.
The warehousing application was first submitted by developer IM Properties in 2021, and went to the authority’s planning committee in July last year with an officer’s recommendation for approval. Ultimately, the plans were voted through.
At the time, objectors described the decision as driving “an absolute bulldozer” through planning in North Northants.
Now, a High Court judge has ruled that the judicial review can progress, with a two-day hearing to be arranged. The campaign group previously said that it is “totally reliant” on donations to fund the legal action and has so far raised over £9,000 of its £30k target, according to its GoFundMe page.
Chair of Staunch, Kevin Shapland, told the LDRS:
“A big percentage of judicial reviews don’t even get to the stage of the hearing, so I think the fact we have achieved that is a victory in its own right.
“Judges will look purely at the law and whether the [planning] processes were followed properly. We still feel very confident that we can demonstrate that things weren’t done properly by the council.
“All our money is going on legal expenses and fighting this application. We would still welcome donations from people, no matter how small, because every little helps.”
The group says the warehouse plans failed to properly assess the suitability of a parcel of land proposed as habitat mitigation, due to the loss of the functionally linked land (which is critical for the survival of protected species) on the Upper Nene Valley Gravel Pits special protection area.
A North Northants Council spokesperson said:
“The council has been notified that STAUNCH have been given approval to apply for judicial review and that there is to be a 2-day hearing.
“The council now has 35 days to consider any grounds we may wish to submit to contest the claim. As this matter is subject to legal proceedings it would not be appropriate for us to comment further.”
If planning permission is quashed at judicial review, the application could go back to the council to make its decision on the scheme again.
Report by Nadia Lincoln, local democracy reporter
A 19-year-old man has been found guilty of raping another teenager at a house in Weedon Road, Northampton.
Toby Councill, previously of Northampton, was convicted after a two-week trial which started on January 26 at Northampton Crown Court.
He was found guilty of rape and two charges of sexual assault against a girl in her late teens in on August 9 last year.
Lead investigator detective constable Chantal Carrington from Northamptonshire Police’s SOLAR Team, a unit dedicated to investigating sexual offences, said:
“First of all I would like to commend the young woman in this case for her unwavering courage. She had to take the stand at court and talk about what happened to her and I am so proud of her.
“When I asked her whether she wanted to share this result publicly she said she did because she felt it important to encourage victims of similar crimes to speak out and seek help. She also agreed that the shame does not lie with her but with Toby Coucill.
“Everyone in our team is so passionate about bringing offenders of sexual offences to justice and providing the highest quality victim care as well. I hope this result demonstrates that and we will continue working hard to put more people like Coucill behind bars.”
The survivor in this case said:
“This result is a demonstration of the amazing work DC Carrington and Northamptonshire Police do which is why it was so important to me to share it.”
He will be sentenced at the same court on March 20.
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West Northamptonshire councillors will take a fresh look at controversial plans for a bioenergy plant near a rural village, following concerns the application was not handled properly and could breach planning law.
The Acorn Bioenergy Ltd scheme will return to the local authority’s planning committee for the fourth time in just over two years, after it emerged that council officers had not considered important policy guidance on minerals and waste, despite the plans encompassing a significant amount of agricultural waste management.
In September 2025, West Northamptonshire Council (WNC) green-lit the development, known as Astwick Green, which would be located on land near Buckingham Road, Evenley. This came after proposals for the same location, with different-sized digestor units, were rejected in 2023.
The site will use feedstock to create biomethane, which is a renewable gas. The applicant says the anaerobic digestion process would use around 21,000 tonnes of farmyard manure and dairy slurry, 41,000 tonnes of maize and 21,000 tonnes of straw every year.
Acorn Bioenergy said this would generate enough energy to heat more than 8,000 households.
An update report going to the committee ahead of next week’s planning meeting explained:
“Following the committee’s resolution and drafting of the Section 106 Agreement, further third-party comments have been received, in respect of the resolution to grant planning permission for the proposed development.
“The letter sets out grounds for challenge on the Council’s decision in the event that planning permission is granted. This report seeks to address the concerns raised and the proposed grounds for challenge.”
WNC officers have acknowledged the application should have been assessed against the Northamptonshire Minerals and Waste Local Plan (NMWLP). They say that bringing the update report back to the committee will recognise that the proposed development does include an element of waste, but that it ultimately complies with NMWLP policies.
The plans will be looked at again next Tuesday (February 17) at the Forum council chamber in Towcester.
By Nadia Lincoln, local democracy reporter
The Communities Alliance on North Northamptonshire Council has gained a new member. Former Conservative turned independent Cllr Scott Brown (Earls Barton), has decided to join forces with independent Cllr Jim Hakewill and Liberal Democrat Cllr Simon Fairhall (Oundle).
Cllr Brown said he was delighted to join forces with ‘local government legend’ Cllr Hakewill and said it was clear the three of them had a shared vision and community focus.
NN Journal sat down for a chat with the three councillors this afternoon and will have a full report next week.
The people who will head up the boards for North Northamptonshire’s £20m pride in place are being sought.
Deprived neighbourhoods in Kettering, Corby and Wellingborough are all set to receive £2m a year from 2027 and applications are being sought for the people who will head up the three governance boards.
How the money should be spent should come from ideas within the local community, rather than paying for services or projects already funded or devised by the local authority.
North Northamptonshire Council will administer the projects in conjunction with the area’s three Labour MPs. Local councillors and members of the community will also sit on the board.
The chair is a voluntary position, with expenses reimbursed.
The council wants expressions of interest this month and more information can be gained by emailing prideinplace@northnorthants.gov.uk or visiting the council’s website.
The council’s executive will discuss the programme at its executive meeting on Tuesday (February 17). The boards should be up and running by the summer.
We're coming up for 2 years since Stone was in post, and she is fast eclipsing Mold in terms of how bad she is at the job. Its not the same as the Mold era affairs etc, but its just a different flavour of failure. Nothing is done beyond soundbites and a fistful of empty promises.