Saturday brief: Baby deaths in Corby rose during the steelworks reclamation
Unearthed data analysed by air pollution campaigner Michael Ryan has revealed the startling new evidence
The reclamation of Corby’s toxic steelworks coincided with an increase in the number of babies in the town dying in the 1980s, an environmental campaigner has discovered.
Michael Ryan, who has been campaigning about air pollution for more than two decades, has analysed official infant mortality rates from the Office of National Statistics (ONS) and discovered a spike in the rate of children under the age of one who died during the primary years of the clean up.
The steelworks closed in 1980, after several decades of production and the clean up of large swathes of former steel land began in the early 1980s and carried on throughout the 1990s.
From 1982 to 1990, the infant mortality rate rose significantly and was higher than the national average.
In 1987 and 1988 the infant mortality rate was double the national average, with 16 babies dying in the town in 1987 and 18 in 1988.
This was when toxic ponds and contaminated land were being cleaned up and moved to Deene Quarry, a special waste dump, which later became the site of Rockingam Motor Speedway.
Also during the 1970s when the steelworks was in operation the infant mortality in Corby (per 1000 live births) was consistently higher than the national average (more on this further down the article).
Currently there is no established causal link between infant mortality rates in the town and the steel works reclamation.
A growing number of families are asking questions about how the legacy of the steelworks reclamation has affected their own health and that of their loved ones. There is a concern that rates of childhood cancer are higher in Corby and also that more children were born with birth deformities and there were more stillbirths and babies dying at a young age.
In 2009 a group of families won a landmark case with solicitor Des Collins that proved their child’s birth defects has been caused by toxic waste particles that had hung in the air and spread across parts of the town.
Following the release of Netflix drama Toxic Town earlier this year, the issue of how the steelworks clean up has affected the town’s health and whether it is still causing problems has risen again.
Michael Ryan, is from Shropshire and his baby Veronica daughter died aged just 14 weeks in 1985 and his son David died from Leukaemia aged 19 in 1999. He began campaigning in 2002 and worked for many years alongside GP Dick Van Steenis to raise awareness of air pollution. He believes that his children’s deaths were linked to emissions from a hospital incinerator close to his home which burnt clinical and radioactive waste.
He became aware of the Corby victory in 2009 and using data obtained for him by his MP Daniel Kawczynski, in 2017 he submitted evidence of Corby’s infant mortality spike to The Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee (EFRA) which scrutinised the work of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra).
He told NN Journal:
“It was by chance I had looked at Corby because I had remembered the case and Dr Van Steenis had helped Des Collins.
“If there has been a lot of birth defects there must also be a lot of infant deaths as well.”
His analysis proved there had been a spike.
He said:
“It is the injustice of it all that cuts me.
“It is difficult to believe that Corby Borough Council would not have known about the high infant mortality.”
Mr Ryan has submitted a freedom of information request to North Northamptonshire Council asking for all documents held by the council that show a sudden rise in the infant mortality rate. It has been refused and he has been told that this is because the data will be released soon.
On the request of some families the council’s public health team is looking at NHS data to try and discover whether there has been a higher rate of childhood cancer in the town. However the study is only looking at cases from 2014 to 2024.
This week the council’s leader Martin Griffiths announced his senior officers would work together with campaigners to investigate where contaminated waste could potentially have been disposed of and has promised transparency. The council has said this is to work towards a healthier future for everyone in the town.
Tracey and Mark Taylor’s daughter Shelby Anne died at less than a week old in 1996. When pregnant Tracey had worked at the Euramax factory on the Earlstrees estate and gave evidence to the court in 2009 about the red dust that was being carried across the town by trucks containing the toxic waste covered her desk and her car each evening.
She was dropped from the court action in the very final stages, because her daughter, who was born with a deformed heart, was the only child in the case, who had died. Solicitor Des Collins concluded it would be easier to prove the case without including Shelby.
Tracey, who together with Maggie Mahon has been raising awareness of health issues and is fighting for a public enquiry into what happened in Corby, said: “Our group has 35 angel babies (babies who have died). Michael’s findings need to be looked at and taken seriously.”
Michael’s data goes back as far as 1974 and shows a higher infant mortality rate in the town during the years when Corby was producing steel.
NN Journal has looked through the British Newspaper Archives and found a number of articles published in the early 1950s which refer to Corby’s high infant mortality rate.
An article from the Northampton Mercury titled Death in Air for Corby’s Babies said figures showed that deaths of under ones per 1000 births was 26 in Corby compared to the national rate of 14.
In response the county’s medical officer of health Dr Smith had written a report which concluded:
“Infant mortality rates are higher than the rates in other urban districts in the county. The excess is due to a higher rate from the disease of the lungs and this is possibly due to atmospheric pollution.”
Recommendations included keeping records of infant mortality and detailed inquiries into every death of a child under one.
By Sarah Ward
If you would like to speak with Sarah Ward about this story, please email sarahward@nnjournal.co.uk
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West Northamptonshire Council (WNC) has approved a phased plan to bring the management of its social housing stock back in-house, in a bid to improve failing standards.
In 2024, under the previous Conservative council, the Regulator of Social Housing issued a C3 notice, which indicated ‘serious failings’ in how Northamptonshire Partnership Homes (NPH) was complying with home safety and quality standards.
NPH is responsible for managing social housing properties in Northampton and offers services including repairs, maintenance, tenancy management, and supporting vulnerable tenants. It was identified that key statistics were not being reported accurately and that 22 per cent of its 11,500 social houses did not meet the decent homes standard.
WNC says the move will improve safety, transparency, and long-term service quality for tenants across the area while strengthening accountability and compliance with new national housing regulations.
An options appraisal was brought before the cabinet on Tuesday (November 11), with a choice between doing nothing and working alongside NPH to improve standards, or ceasing operation of the organisation completely and either bringing service responsibility back to WNC in a ‘lift and shift’ approach by April 2026, or a phased approach by April 2027.
According to the report, the transfer will cost an estimated £1.6m to manage the move, backfill existing staff, and cover other costs such as legal advice. WNC says the move could reduce costs and create efficiencies, with potential annual savings of 85k from 2027 onwards.
A consultation with tenants, leaseholders, and stakeholders earlier this year showed strong support for the proposed change, with 60 per cent of the 2,699 respondents in favour compared to under 10 per cent who were not.
A number of opposition councillors criticised the move with Conservative Cllr Cecile Irving-Swift saying:
“With all the budgetary pressure your administration is facing, you’ll be adding the complication of an acquisition and integration project to your load.
“Well, that is your choice. Let us be clear, the Conservative choice would’ve been for the long term and different.”
Labour’s West Northants group leader, Cllr Sally Keeble, also criticised the options for being “a binary choice of in or out based on very little information”.
She added:
“Already, there’s a housing crisis in Northampton, but it’s nothing compared with what will happen if you get this decision wrong and also if the implementation is wrong.
“I would’ve expected to see in this the full options appraisal, with costings, with an expert and detailed analysis of how this was going to lead to a delivery of the standards, and also an improvement for people in Northampton. I don’t see that here.”
NPH employs around 350 staff and has an annual budget of £67m. Bringing services under direct council management would mean all current NPH staff need to be transferred to WNC under TUPE.
WNC Leader Mark Arnull said:
“It’s clearly going to be one of the biggest and most significant papers of the first few years of the administration.
“I think the damning words here that I’ve written down are inadequate scrutiny and that’s before our time as well. We look back to former members and place some responsibility there.
“The staff at NPH are an absolute asset, but there are some issues about how things are being run and they’re going to need to be addressed very very soon.”
Cabinet members voted unanimously to close down NPH and bring the social housing responsibilities back under direct control by April 2027.
Consultations will now be carried out with NPH staff, key stakeholders and an Equality Impact Assessment will be conducted to understand the differences in satisfaction levels among different age groups, ethnicities, and locations.
WNC must also get formal approval from the Secretary of State for the change.
Report by Nadia Lincoln, local democracy reporter
The police watchdog has concluded its investigation into four Northants Police officers who were served with disciplinary notices for their involvement with domestic abuse victim Harshita Brella, before she was killed last year.
Monday (November 10) marked the one year anniversary since Harshita was believed to have been murdered in Corby. Her body was found in the boot of a car in East London and her husband Pankaj Lamba, who has been charged with her murder fled the country and has not been found by police.
Her family have been very critical of Northants Police and also police in Delhi where he is believed to be. As reported by ITV there have also been credible sightings of him working in a local shop.
In March the Independent Office for Police Conduct served the disciplinary notices for gross misconduct on two detective constables regarding alleged failings to progress enquiries and communicate with Ms Brella after her report of domestic abuse at the end of August 2024. Two more senior officers of an unreported rank were served misconduct notices relating to their supervision of the case and relevant risk assessments.
The IOPC says:
“Our investigation is complete and the Final Report, including our provisional decisions relating to four officers, have been made and shared with the force for any representations they wish to make. We will consider any representations before making our final determinations on whether any officers have a misconduct case to answer.
Northants Police said:
“We’ll be issuing a statement following the formal publication of the IOPC’s report. It wouldn’t be appropriate for us to comment further until they have reported the outcome of their investigation.”
Corby’s MP Lee Barron spoke with the home secretary Shabana Mahmood recently about the case and has written to Northants Police asking for reassurances that her family are being kept up to date with the investigation.
By Sarah Ward
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News in brief
Northampton South MP Mike Reader has raised the Workbridge closure in parliament. Service users were left shocked last week when St Andrew’s Healthcare suddenly announced that the centre in Northampton for people with complex health needs will close due to financial issues at the charity.
Mike Reader has said:
“It is shocking that this vital institution has been allowed to close.
“I raised its closure in Parliament with the relevant minister. We must understand how such a highly valued service can go from being celebrated to closing within six months. I’ll keep working to get answers, to stand up for everyone who relies on its service, and to ask the Council how things got to this point.”
WNC has said:
“We are actively working to understand the implications for those who rely on its services. Our priority is to ensure continuity of support, and we are engaging with partners across the sector to explore how we can best respond and provide assistance where needed.”
A man appeared at Crown Court yesterday charged with the murder of John Gerard Boyle.
John, 71, was found dead inside his flat in Leatherland Court, Kettering, at about 6.30pm last Saturday (November 8) after police were called to reports of a concern for welfare.
John David Martin Mills, aged 45, of Marriott Street, Northampton, was charged with one count of murder and one count of theft of a motor vehicle in connection with the incident.
He was also charged with two counts of breaching his notification requirements, unrelated to the murder.
Mills appeared at Northampton Magistrates’ Court on Thursday and appeared via videolink at Northampton Crown Court on Friday. He did not enter a plea. The BBC has reported his next appearance will be in February.
A claim made in parliament by Reform UK leader Nigel Farage MP about WNC’s action on asylum hotels has caused concern.
Farage said at Prime Ministers Questions this week that Reform UK led WNC woud be issuing foreclosure notices to three hotels in the area that are housing asylum seekers. He said this was ‘in response to grave public concern about the safety of women and girls on the streets of West Northamptonshire.”
In a statement to NN Journal on Thursday, WNC leader Mark Arnull did not clarify whether Farage’s claim was correct. The authority has been seeking legal advice on what action it can take and has said publicly the use of the hotels is not supported.
He:
“We are taking decisive action to end the use of these three hotels for asylum accommodation. We are awaiting final confirmation from Counsel on the most robust legal route to achieve the closure of these asylum hotels with the highest likelihood of success.
“Hotels have never been suitable for housing asylum seekers, and their continued use by the Home Office in West Northamptonshire places an intolerable and unsustainable burden on our local services and communities. The Council will act swiftly and resolutely to protect our residents and uphold our position.”
Labour’s group leader Sally Keeble has said any information about the council’s actions should go to elected councillors first rather than being given to Farage to announce in parliament.
Two men accused of the killing of Corby man Ryan Burton pleaded guilty yesterday to his murder in the middle of a trial.
Ryan was seriously assaulted in Spring Rise Park on Kettering’s Highfield Estate shortly before 7pm on Friday, January 10. He died at University Hospital Coventry six days later after he contracted sepsis due to the severity of his injuries.
Keiton Underwood and Ace Hill have been on trial since the beginning of October, along with four other defendants who continue to deny the murder of 34-year-old Ryan.
Taking to the stand during the trial, which is now in its eighth week, 20-year-old Underwood admitted murdering Ryan and committing a separate offence of robbery on the same evening.
Both the murder and robbery charges were read to him again, and this time he pleaded guilty. The jury were asked by the judge to return a guilty verdict, which they did.
Then 19-year-old Hill admitted his role in the murder of Ryan and the jury were asked to return a guilty verdict.
Hill, of Minden Close, Corby, and Underwood, of Bridge Street, Desborough, will be sentenced at Northampton Crown Court on December 22.
The trial will continue on Monday for the four remaining defendants who are Cameron Williams-Ferguson, aged 24, of High Street, Kettering;Connor White, aged 25, of Spencer Street, Rothwell; Kyle Derek McSkimming, aged 23, of Pen Green Lane, Corby and a 17-year-old boy, who cannot be named due to legal reasons.
Our usual Friday brief was delayed and so today we have issued a Saturday brief instead. The Friday brief will be back in it’s usual spot next week.