Large solar farm proposed for disused WWII airfield
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A disused airfield in the north of the county could be turned into a large solar farm.
London based Innova wants to build a 255 hectare acre renewable energy farm on the Rockingham estates owned Desborough airfield which sits off the A427 close to the villages of Wilbarston and East Carlton. The site was one of hundreds of temporary airfields built to help the 1940s war effort, and served as a training base for the Royal Air Force. Since then it has reverted back to farmland and is a popular leisure site for runners and dog walkers.
Innova is in the pre-application phase and currently in discussions with planning authority North Northamptonshire Council about the scheme.
In February it made a presentation to villagers at Wilbarston about the scheme, which if approved could feed enough power back into the national grid to power 32,000 homes. It told villagers a planning application was due to come forward last month, but has not as yet submitted the proposal.
Wilbarston Parish Council has set up the Friends of the Airfield and Valley to inform the community about the proposal.
Innova has been contacted for comment.
News from across the county
The family of Harshita Brella, who was murdered in Corby, have met with Northants Police and the town’s MP this week.
Harshita Brella’s body was found in the boot of a car that had been dumped in Ilford, London in November 2024. Her husband Pankaj Lamba fled the country back to his home of India and has been charged by police for her murder, rape and corecive control, but still remains at large.
Harshita’s sister Sonia Dabas and family parents Satbir and Sudesh arrived in the UK last week to try and get justice and answers from Northants Police.
They have been supported by the Northamptonshire Rights and Equalities Council.
They met with Corby’s MP Lee Barron in Westminster on Tuesday and yesterday met with Northants Police deputy chief constable Ash Tuckley, police, fire and crime commissioner Danielle Stone and members of the investigation team.
After the meeting Lee Barron said:
“I have pledged my ongoing support to her family and friends and have shared the shocking case with the HomeSecretary and raised a question at PMQs.The ongoing investigation means I must restrict any public comments to avoidprejudicing the case, but I have assured the family that behind the scenes I willbe continuing to fight for justice for Harshita.”.
Harshita had been working in a Corby warehouse before her death and had been abused by her husband, who had been given a domestic abuse protection notice in September 2024.
Four Northants Police staff are under misconduct proceedings related to their actions involving the domestic abuse case before Harshita’s death. Police watchdog the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) held an investigation and decided the officers may have potentially breached police standards.
A sergeant and chief inspector were involved in a misconduct meeting yesterday. The outcome of which has not as yet been made public.
Two detective constables are due to face a gross misconduct hearing.
After the meeting with Harshita’s family detective superintendent Johnny Campbell said:
“This has been and remains an exceptionally complex case and we are continuing to work with the appropriate agencies in both the UK and internationally. During the meeting, I was able to update the family on the live criminal proceedings, answer the questions they had, and reassure them of our absolute commitment to secure justice for Harshita.”
A memorial event for Harshita will be held tomorrow at 3.30pm at Hazelwood Community Centre in Corby.
The Northants care home at the centre of a charity commission investigation has been rescued by a Milton Keynes based care company.
William Blake House was placed into administration earlier this year, following an unpaid tax bill of more than £1.5m. Yesterday Camphill Milton Keynes, announced it had exchanged contracts to take on the care and support services of Willam Blake House and said all staff will keep their positions and be transferred over. Across four homes William Blake House cares for young adults with learning disabilities.
The Charity Commission is investigating the financial governance of the charity and also two other Northants charities, Shoosmiths Gallery and Steiner Friends, as trustee Bushra Hamid was involved in all three organisations.
New chairmen were appointed for both unitary councils last night.
Reform UK cllr Maurice Eglin was appointed as chair at the North council, and as NN Journal has revealed earlier this week Conservative Cllr Fiona Baker was appointed as chairman (the term used by the council) at the West. Reform UK’s Cllr Peter York had been due to take the role, but was overlooked after the sexist remarks he made at the council’s international women’s day event earlier this year.
North Northamptonshire Council also appointed a number of aldermen and women. Former Labour Corby Borough councillors Ray Beeby and Tom Beattie were appointed, along with husband and wife Sylvia and Dudley Hughes Conservative councillors from the former East Northamptonshire Council and Conservative Tim Allebone and Labour’s Andrew Scarborough were appointed. Both served on the former Wellingborough council.
A Northamptonshire mum has been awarded a £7,100 payment and a written apology from the council, after delays caused her son to miss out on two and a half years of suitable education provision.
The Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman (LGSCO) said the family also faced a “considerable delay” in receiving a care assessment for the student, who has special educational needs (SEND).
The cabinet member for education and children has said that the council has already taken steps to address the issues and is continuing to strengthen its SEND services.
A report published by the local government watchdog said the pupil had requested an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) from West Northamptonshire Council (WNC) back in December 2022.
Despite his mother telling the council that he had only been attending school on a reduced timetable for 45 minutes per day, the authority missed its 20-week deadline to complete the EHCP assessment and issue the plan, which sets out any additional support that is required.
WNC did not issue a final EHC plan until January 2024, over a year after the assessment was first requested and around eight months after the statutory deadline to do so.
The council later named a local mainstream school that could take on the pupil in May 2024. The family appealed the plan to the tribunal. In February 2025, WNC was ordered to issue a new EHC plan.
The following month, the authority named a new school setting, which the child has attended since March 2025. If the council had completed the EHC needs assessment in line with statutory time limits, the student’s EHC Plan would have been finalised by April 2023.
The ombudsman found that the council’s SEND teams were going through “considerable change” during the period that was investigated, and the council said the delay in issuing the EHCP was due to a shortage of educational psychologists. The report states that WNC explained that work has been done to ensure situations like this do not recur, including issuing guidance to staff.
The LGSCO said that the council’s delays and failure to implement support, in line with its Section 19 duty to make arrangements for children who cannot access suitable education, caused “significant uncertainty” and “injustice” to the family.
The mother also said she had been paying for a private tutor since September 2023 for her child.
The watchdog instructed the council to apologise in writing, pay the mother £800 in recognition of the delays in completing the EHC plan, and a further £6,300 in recognition of the lost provision between October 2022 and March 2025.
In response to the report, cabinet member for children, families and education, Cllr Michael Stratton, said that while the council cannot comment on individual cases, it does acknowledge the ombudsman’s findings.
He added:
“We apologise for the delays identified and the impact on the child and their family.
“We have already taken steps to address these issues and are continuing to strengthen our SEND services, working closely with parents and partners to ensure children receive the right support at the right time.”
By Nadia Lincoln, local democracy reporter
North Northamptonshire Council (NNC) has approved an updated housing allocations policy for the area, focused on making access to social housing ‘fairer’ following growth in demand in recent years.
Under the changes, a swathe of people who the council has determined to have ‘no housing need’ will be cut from the register as the council faces the number of applicants outstripping available properties.
The revised Keyways Housing Allocation policy, approved by the executive on May 12, will also give additional support to care-experienced young people, victims of domestic abuse, families living in severe overcrowding, armed forces personnel and residents with complex health or welfare needs to find a home.
Cllr Brian Benneyworth, executive member for housing, health and leisure, told members at the executive meeting that NNC’s housing register had grown by 129 per cent in just three years, but the supply of social housing had not kept up.
He said:
“In those circumstances, doing nothing is neither fair nor sustainable and it would leave this council potentially exposed both operationally and legally.
“At its heart, this review is about fairness, it is not about arbitrarily excluding people from support. It is about ensuring that scarce social housing is allocated transparently, lawfully, and to those who need it most.”
According to Keyways housing data published by NNC, as of June 2025, there were 6,760 people on the housing waiting list. The monthly average for new housing applications received for assessment in 2024/2025 was 560 per month.
Concerns were raised by Corby resident and former Labour councillor Lyn Buckingham around how some of the most complex and vulnerable housing cases are being assessed due to the difficult judgments that need to be made on medical, welfare needs and domestic abuse risk.
She asked what assurance can be provided around the multidisciplinary oversight of decisions, adding that decisions “cannot simply become a paper exercise driven by housing pressure and scarcity”.
The revised policy follows consultation with a majority of respondents supporting the proposed changes.
The most supported proposal, with 72 per cent of respondents either agreeing or strongly agreeing, was to increase weekly bids per cycle from three to five for all households. The least supported was the proposal to disallow access to those applicants with no housing need, which had 43 per cent who agreed and 34 per cent who disagreed overall.
The report has confirmed that all service users affected by the new scheme will receive written notification with advice and assistance specific to their circumstances.
Applicants who may no longer qualify to join Keyways may approach the Housing Advice and Options team to receive advice and assistance in relation to other viable housing solutions.
By Nadia Lincoln
NN Events
🛶 The Crick Boat show is being held at Crick Marina throughout the bank holiday weekend from 10am to 6pm tomorrow and Sunday and until 3pm on Monday.
🎷 The Bands in the Park events continue at Abington Park Bandstand, Northampton on Sunday and Monday from 2pm to 5pm.