Friday brief: Domestic abuse campaigners protest outside council chamber
Plus our regular round up of some news from across the county
Domestic abuse survivors, their supporters and politicians from across the political spectrum attended a silent protest yesterday in Northampton.
Survivor Hannah Martin had organised the march following the weeks of turmoil caused by allegations made against the then leader, Cllr Jonathan Nunn and the handling of the matter by the council’s chief executive Anna Earnshaw.
Yesterday around sixty people waving banners and placards took part in the silent march to stand with victims and charities, who say they felt ‘unheard’ after the chief executive said that ‘domestic abuse was a personal matter’. The charities said the senior officer’s comments were ‘dangerous’ and could set back their work by years.
The council’s newly elected police, fire and crime commissioner Danielle Stone also took part in the march.
Since the allegations surfaced following a story in Private Eye, the council leader stood down and also left the Conservative party after South Northamptonshire MP Andrea Leadsom stepped in. He remains an independent councillor.
Speaking after the march Hannah Martin said it had felt empowering and she now hopes it will achieve her aims of Cllr Nunn standing down entirely as a councillor and the police investigating the allegations made against him.
His departure meant the Conservative group had to find a replacement and at the annual general meeting last night Cllr Adam Brown was appointed.
Cllr Adam Brown, said his leadership would mark a new phase for the authority, which was formed in 2021 after the collapse of the former county council.
Many opposition councillors at the meeting referenced the damage done to the reputation of the council in recent months due to the handling of the allegations made against former leader Jonathan Nunn. Leader of the Liberal Democrats Sally Beardsworth also questioned the lack of change of the cabinet members, with Labour’s Emma Roberts referencing the imminent Ofsted report about the council’s SEN provision and suggested consideration was needed about whether current portfolio holders could deliver for the services they were in charge of.
In response, Cllr Brown said ‘sorry to disappoint for fewer Tory heads on sticks’ than some may have been expecting, but there was something to be said for consistency.
News in brief:
A new primary school built on a growing Northamptonshire residential development will receive £1.2m to add the finishing touches before its gates open for the first time this September.
North Northamptonshire Council (NNC) approved the million-pound budget for Glenvale Park Primary School, funded by the Department for Education (DfE), at an executive panel on May 16. The new two-form entry school will provide places for up to 420 pupils as well as a 75-place nursery.
The school’s opening date was made possible after the council backed plans to move Wilby CE Primary to the new facility, just on the northern edge of Wellingborough.
The massive urban extension to the north of Wellingborough is due to provide an additional 3,000 homes to the town, but with construction still ongoing not enough families have moved in. Had the village school transfer not taken place there would not have been enough demand in the immediate area to open the school until 2025 at the earliest.
The small village primary school in Wilby currently resides in an old Victorian school building built in 1854. After applying for relocation, current students will move to the new modern facility when they go back to school this September.
The £1,278,260 from the DfE’s Basic Needs Grant will go towards installing furniture for Glenvale Park School and contributing to buying equipment for the prospective students.
Following the move of the village school, further capital investment will be required to repurpose the old Wilby site and address condition issues. The council has indicated that it intends to use the building to deliver additional SEND or alternative provision places.
A separate report detailing the necessary funding and specific plans for the building will be brought forward by NNC at a later date.
Report by Nadia Lincoln, local democracy reporter
Evidence that dinosaurs walked through North Northamptonshire has been discovered at Irchester country park.
Staff from the Natural History Museum investigated the recent find of Steve Pulley, who came across the dinosaur footprint cast, and confirmed it to be a Theropod - a meat eating dinosaur and most probably a Megalosaurus, which would have stood at about 6m in length and weighed around one tonne.
Plans to revitalise a car park in the heart of Northampton into a heritage park and playground have been approved. Chalk Lane Car Park, near Northampton railway station, will be transformed to honour the town’s rich history and incorporate remains of the former Northampton Castle.
The Marefair Heritage Park lies in the shadow of Castle Mound, once the site of the historically significant Northampton Castle. The origins of the site can be traced back to 1084 and it served as the backdrop for numerous parliamentary gatherings in the Middle Ages.
The plans, which have been drawn by West Northamptonshire Council’s regeneration team, will use £1.5 million coming from the government’s Towns Fund.
The existing car park will be removed, making way for new green space, a castle-themed playground area, footpaths and a heritage mural to honour the local history. Further amenities include elevated community gardens, gateway features to reimagine the former castle and castle totems detailing a ‘heritage timeline’ that will be lit up at night.
According to WNC, the car park in its current state suffers from antisocial behaviour. They say the renovated heritage park will “unlock the potential” to put the site back in regular use and remove unwanted behaviours.
The new park forms part of the wider Heritage Gateway Project aimed at transforming the approach to Northampton town centre from the railway station. It is close to many other historical buildings including the Black Lion Inn, the Castle Hill United Reformed Church and St Peter’s Church.
Planning documents wrote:
“The new heritage park will provide much needed amenity space and addresses some of the negative perceptions of this area of the town.
“This will redefine the entrance to the town centre from the train station, offer open green space for families and the local community to enjoy while celebrating the heritage of the area.”
Planning officers approved the park on Tuesday, May 14. Work is due to start on the project in summer of this year with an opening date of spring 2025.
Report by Nadia Lincoln
Westminster Watch
Northampton North MP Michael Ellis has called on the leader of the house of commons to organise a debate to support Jewish art and culture.
His call came in parliament on Monday as he referenced the calls by those against Israel’s military assault on Gaza to boycott the upcoming Seret International Film Festival.
He said: “ . . . antisemites are trying to bully and intimidate cinema chains into not showing the films and, in some cases, are sadly succeeding.
“Would the Curzon or Picturehouse cinema chains decline to show films made by the black community because of a war in Africa? Obviously, the answer is no, and the reason is because that would be racist. So it is with those sick antisemites whose loathing for Jewish people is so extreme that they are now trying to boycott Jewish culture in the UK. Will my right hon. Friend agree to organise a debate in this place to support Jewish art and culture? Perhaps Parliament could even show one of the independent films, which have nothing to do with the conflict in the Middle East, here in one of the Committee rooms, for example.”
Commons leader Penny Mordaunt responded:
“I thank my right hon. and learned Friend for giving us a very good example of how antisemitism gets a hold. It starts with things like this, which might seem a reasonable thing for a venue to do but clearly is not. The way he sets it out illustrates why it is not. It is really disturbing and I hope that all Members recognise that this community is really under attack. We need to be absolutely unequivocal and say that we stand with them, and that we will do everything we can to protect them and call out antisemitism wherever it is.”
Adam Brown: "there is something to be said for consistency" - not of consistency is something to be ashamed of, no.
The departure of Nunn was the perfect opportunity to show the council is willing to learn. They've missed that opportunity. Same old same old.
Re Westminster Watch.
Disappointed that no Northamptonshire MPs participated in the Waspi debate yesterday.
There are some 43000 votes across the county at stake and potentially these ladies and their supporters could swing the General Election if they got a steer from the party candidates about where they are on this issue.