New Council for Northampton

Northampton Borough Council (NBC) have made the historic decision to create a new town council for Northampton, which will come into being on 1 April 2020.  We think it will be the biggest town council in England, with 80,000 plus electors (exact numbers are being crunched).  NBC also approved the creation of parish councils for Kingsthorpe and Far Cotton, meaning that the whole borough will soon be parished. A new town council for Wellingborough will also come into being on 1 April 2020 and it is hoped that Kettering and Corby will follow suit in April 2021.  The creation of these new councils is a consequence of Local Government Reorganisation (LGR), because when the unitary councils are in place these community-level councils will be absolutely essential, as all the existing 264 parish and town councils are and will continue to be.

Danny Moody, Northants CALC

 

Council seeks interest in management of Country Park café

Daventry District Council (DDC) is inviting submissions from catering businesses interested in running and managing Daventry Country Park’s new-look café.

The popular café helps cater for visitors to the Green Flag award-winning Park and is currently undergoing a major extension and refurbishment project to improve it still further.

The work, which is set to be completed in mid-March, will create a cosy indoor seating area with an internal servery in what was the Visitor Centre, as well as providing a larger food preparation area.

Outside, the toilets are being completely revamped, the covered seating area will be improved, the courtyard will be levelled and paved, windows and doors will be refurbished and modern shutters will be installed.

The café is run by an external provider on a contract basis and, with the current contract having come to an end, DDC is looking for caterers to submit bids to run it on a five-year agreement with an option to extend.

The winning bidder will be expected to operate a well-run and attractive café for the local community, offering a range of high quality, healthy food and drink, good value for money for the customer and polite and friendly customer service.

It is expected the new licence would begin in March, when the refurbished café is reopened.

Councillor Alan Hills, Portfolio Holder for Community, Culture and Leisure on Daventry District Council, said: “The café is a real hive of activity at the park and, with the extensive improvement work currently underway, this is a fantastic opportunity for a catering business to further develop this facility.

“Daventry Country Park is well-loved by the people of Daventry District and beyond, attracting around 90,000 visitors annually. It hosts a variety of popular events and activities for visitors, and thanks to the exciting programme of improvements that are underway, its popularity only looks set to grow and grow.”

For more information, including details of how to obtain contract conditions, award criteria and the submission documents, please visit www.daventrydc.gov.uk/countrypark

Bids must be submitted by Friday 31 January.

Criminal damage – Yelvertoft

Northamptonshire Police are appealing for information regarding a Criminal Damage to fence post, Merrycot Lane, Yelvertoft. This happened on Wednesday 22nd January 2020 from 12pm – Thursday 23rd January 2020 12:30pm.

Did you witness anything? Did you see any person(s) in the area that looked suspicious? Did you see any vehicle(s) that you were suspicious of?

If you have evidential CCTV relating to this occurrence please send to CCTVStills.DBIT@northants.pnn.police.uk   quoting the reference number.

Call 101 Reference: 20000043012

In an emergency, when there is a crime in progress or a life at risk, always call 999.

To report a crime or incident, provide information or for advice, call 101 or visit www.northants.police.uk

To contact your Neighbourhood Team covering Daventry Town and surrounding villages they can be contacted on the following email:

NeighbourhoodTeamDaventry@northants.police.uk

Rats on Allotment

Please be advised that we have rats at the allotments and we are looking at treating the problem.  As a result, there may be dead rats found about, please make sure that if you have a dog you do not let it near them and if at all possible the rat should be bagged up so that carrion and owls don’t try to eat them.  The dog poo bins may be a place to put any dead rat found.  The Parish Council will be inspecting on a regular basis.

April Parish Council meeting date 2020

The Parish Council meets the second Monday of each month except January and August.  Please note that as the April date falls on a bank holiday the meeting will take place on 6th April as opposed to 13th April.  Meetings take place at 7.30pm in the Reading Room and residents are always very welcome to attend.