Friday brief: Scientists will analyse whether Corby’s land is polluted by heavy metals
This week’s hot news
By Sarah Ward
An environmental charity will check for heavy metals in Corby’s soil next month.
Earthwatch Europe, which led the mass testing of various freshwater sites across Corby and nearby villages last November, will be staging a second round of water testing next month and will also be asking volunteers to collect soil samples.
The samples, which will be taken from the same areas as the water testing, will then be sent to a scientific lab for analysis, to find out whether the toxic chemicals found in the first round of water testing are also present in the land.
The initial testing was a national first and established there were some heavy metal pollution hotspots in freshwater areas linked to the town’s steelmaking history.
The current fear by some living in the town is that 15 years years on from a successful legal action, that ruled some children’s birth defects were caused by exposure to toxic waste, that the same waste, which was buried in a former quarry under the former Rockingham Motor Speedway, is still causing major health problems today.
As NN Journal reported in March, there are fears the toxic chemicals are leaking out of the containment cell at the former racetrack.
The second round of testing has been part funded by Corby Town Council after a proposal put forward by Lib Dem councillor Chris Stanbra and backed by campaigner Tracey Taylor, whose daughter Shelby tragically died 30 years ago, at less than a week old. The council has donated £4,000 towards the testing.
Claire Williams, head of programmes at Earthwatch Europe, said:
“The soil testing will be able to give an indication of what is getting into the land. It won’t give a historical reading, as we are not digging down deep, but it will be a sample of the top few centimetres.
“The same heavy metals that have been tested for in the water will be tested for in the soil.
“We will follow the same template as before and the water testing will be carried out in the same spots as the November testing for comparison.
“We anticipate a report will be published with the findings in the autumn.”
Following the first round of testing the council and environment agency acknowledged the findings but have not undertaken any of their own investigations in response.
A public health led investigation into whether Corby’s childhood cancer rates in the past decade have been higher than in other areas, did not find any evidence.
Campaigners want a public inquiry into what happened in Corby during the clean up and whether there are still issues today.
Volunteers are needed for the sampling which is taking place on Saturday, July 11 am. If you would like to get involved you can fill in this form here.
Other news
People are “exhausted, frustrated and rapidly losing trust in the police”, a Northampton resident told the county’s police and crime panel during a discussion of knife crime.
Over a six-year period from 2018 to 2024, there were 6,529 knife crimes recorded in Northamptonshire, showing levels gradually increasing across the whole period. Offences include carrying a knife, using a knife during robbery or burglary, and using a knife in an assault, or the involvement of a knife in gang-related offences.
Further Youth Justice data shows that 65 per cent of knife crime offenders also have evidence of substance misuse, and they are 2.2 times more likely to have gang associations than those not involved in knife crime.
A report, which went to the county’s Police, Fire and Crime Panel on Thursday (June 19), stated that communities clearly feel the impact of serious drug-related offending
It continued:
“This is consistently highlighted through public consultations and engagement activity, where residents describe the effect such crime has on their sense of safety and wellbeing.
“We have also witnessed the devastating consequences of knife crime within our communities, further underlining the seriousness of these issues.”
Appealing to the panel, Tracey Wilson, of Kings Heath Residents Association, said people were “exhausted, frustrated and rapidly losing trust in the police” due to their response to local concerns.
She added:
“Our most urgent and damaging issue is the open drug dealing and public drug use happening on our streets and in our parks.
“When drug use becomes normalised it becomes accessible, when it becomes accessible our young people become targets. These individuals know exactly what they are doing – they are exploiting the lack of visible enforcement.
“It is no surprise that many residents are now too scared to report anything at all. They do not trust that their information will be acted on, they do not trust that their identity will be protected, they do not trust that the police will follow up and they do not trust that reporting crime will make them safer.”
Cllr John East (Reform UK), who is a ward councillor for the area, added:
“Trust in the police is at an all time low, there is zero confidence in the police by the residents of Dallington Spencer.
“I’m told on numerous occasions at residents’ meetings that they have openly admitted to giving up reporting crime to police in general.
“The general consensus by residents is that they no longer feel safe in the community for fear of the drug gangs and the knife violence brought into the area.”
Data from the Northamptonshire Serious Violence Prevention Partnership (NSVPP) states that Northampton central was the highest recorded area for drug possession and trafficking in under-25s.
Police Fire Crime Commissioner (PFCC) Danielle Stone said she was aware of the “endemic problems” from her previous role as a councillor for the Castle ward.
“I don’t want to see drug use normalised and I don’t want to see our young people groomed and I am aware that we have a lot of drug dealing on our streets and in our parks,” she told the panel.
“I do expect the police to take positive action around these issues and bring, particularly the gangs, the gang leaders, the people who are grooming our children, bringing them through the courts.
“These are societal issues, they’re not just policing issues. I feel really strongly that our young people have been let down over a generation and it began when we disbanded the youth service at the county.”
Over the past two years, NSVPP has commissioned a range of organisations to deliver interventions, including sports mentoring projects working with children and young people who present risk factors associated with serious violence, as well as a co-produced knife crime campaign in 2025.
The next round of NSVPP funding was launched at the start of June, taking bids of up to £140k to fund projects to tackle serious crime.
By Nadia Lincoln, local democracy reporter
More than 30 people remain in hospital and three are in a critcal condition following the rail crash involving a train that departed from Corby last Friday.
The driver of the Corby train, Shaun Burton, died at the scene of the accident which happened on the East Midlands railway at Bedford at 5.15pm.
An investigation published this week by the Rail Accident Investigation Branch found the Corby train went past a red signal and hit a stationary train which had stopped unexpectedly because a fault had developed with the Automatic Warning System (AWS) equipment.
Data from the trains’ black boxes is still being analysed and investigators said in the report:
“This means that it is not yet possible to say what indication the driver received from the AWS equipment on the train or how they responded to this.”
More than 100 passengers suffered injuries in the crash.
Northampton General Hospital has been told it requires leadership improvement and concerns have been raised that staff don’t feel free to speak out about issues.
A Care Quality Commission (CQC) inspection in September last year, heard from staff that there was poor management and leadership appeared focused on targets and finances rather than the quality of care being delivered.
The care watchdog carried out the inspection in response to some concerns raised by whistleblowers.
The hospital, which is the ultimate responsibility of group chief executive Richard Mitchell, has said it accepts the findings of the CQC’s latest report and that it has since taken clear action to strengthen its leadership, governance and culture.
The inspector wrote in their report that they received in-depth accounts from staff, including senior staff and clinicians, relating to poor management styles, an unapproachable executive team and detriment which had been experienced.
A common theme was a reported lack of visibility from senior leaders.
Significant shortfalls were also found in the trust’s ‘freedom to speak up’ initiative, with the report adding that there was “evidence of a continued anxiety among some staff of being fearful about speaking up” and a lack of confidence in action being taken to address their concerns.
Carolyn Jenkinson, CQC deputy director of hospitals in the central region, said:
“ . . . We found leaders needed to do more to lead by example and build a positive culture across their workforce to help staff provide care and support. While there were some areas of good practice, the leadership team needs to make further improvements.
“At the time of our assessment, the trust was going through a significant transformation programme to align roles, working patterns and processes across the group. As a result, staff were confused about structures, including who their chief executive and chief nursing officer were.”
The trust will continue to be monitored.
Positives referenced by the report included the trust’s work in building relationships with partners, understanding their perspectives and delivering collaborative care. It also said a positive was the board’s strong financial skills and experience, with processes in place to manage financial resources against “demanding national financial plans”.
Richard Mitchell, who has been in post for two years, said:
“We accept the findings of the CQC’s latest well-led report, which rates Northampton General Hospital as requiring improvement, and we recognise that there are areas where we need to improve.
“The inspection took place in September 2025 and, since then, we have taken clear action to strengthen our leadership, governance and culture.
“This includes strengthening how we learn from incidents and feedback, further embedding our patient safety framework, and introducing an independent Freedom to Speak Up service to improve confidence, confidentiality and transparency for colleagues.
“There is more to do, and we are committed to delivering these improvements with focus and pace. This will support our aim to provide safe, high-quality care and a positive experience for all patients and colleagues.
“We will continue to work closely with colleagues, partners and the CQC to ensure these improvements are embedded and sustained.”
By Nadia Lincoln
The judge in the Northampton murder trial gave directions to the jury yesterday.
Michael Thompson, 56, is accused of raping and murdering his wife Kimberley, 43, at their home in Pinewood Road on August 8 last year. He is also accused of two counts of perverting the course of justice by attempting to cover up his alleged crimes.
Thompson denies all charges and has not given any evidence.
Tomorrow and Monday the prosecution and defence are expected to give their closing statements and the jury will go out to consider a verdict in the coming days.
Westminster Watch
Two Northants Labour MPs have backed newly minted MP Andy Burnham as the next prime minister.
PM Keir Starmer resigned this week following the Makerfield by-election win by popular Manchester mayor Burnham.
Kettering’s MP Rosie Wrighting and Corby’s Lee Barron have both said Burnham gets their vote. As yet no-one else has put their hat into the ring for leader and so Burn, who served as a minister in the previous Labour government, could be crowned PM without a contest.
Rosie Wrighting told the local democracy reporting service:
“I believe that leader is Andy Burnham. He’s shown what Labour can do when we’re inclusive, united, and in touch with the lives of working people.
“He understands the struggles people face. He knows how to lead. And he can win the fight against the forces trying to divide us.”
Lee Barron said:
“I didn’t ever ask for Keir Starmer to go, I didn’t sign anything to say he should, as we turned around and said that we’d end that kind of churn of Prime Ministers. But, when 90 of your colleagues write to him to say he should stand down the writing’s on the wall.
“As a result of that, I’ll be backing Andy Burnham for the leadership. We need to focus on the change that we promised two years ago. People don’t want the status quo.”
The departure of Starmer could lead to a demotion for Northampton North MP Lucy Rigby, who has risen quickly through the government ranks, being granted a KC title when she became solicitor general and currently chief secretary to the treasury. Wellingborough MP Gen Kitchen, who is a government whip, may also lose her position under a new Burnham flavoured regime.