PARISH NEWS Autumn 2018 New Parish Boundaries We are delighted to announce that the proposed change in the boundaries of Hunsbury Meadows Parish was approved at the Northampton Borough Council meeting on the 10 th September 2018. The map shows the new Parish boundaries in red and we believe will take effect from April 2019. We would like welcome all the residents of Pineham Village to Hunsbury Meadows Parish and hope that you will soon be contributing to Parish life and letting your Parish Council know if there are issues that we can get involved with to improve the quality of life in the new part of the Parish. We expect that once Pineham Village is completed the population of the Parish will nearly double and we will be working hard to ensure that all areas of the Parish are looked after. Looking to the Future Apart from the boundary review, you will see residents of the Parish and we would later on in this newsletter, that the Parish encourage people to get in contact and Council has been working hard to maintain engage with us. local services, working with other Parish Ultimately we can only deal with issues, Councils to fund the No 87 Bus route and problems or provide new services if matters extend its route so that it now goes into are brought to our attention. So whether it is Pineham Village. an issue with a Developer or Management With the current financial problems of the Company, the Borough or County Council County Council and the proposed formation please let us know. of two Unitary Authorities in 2020 the role of Come along to our monthly Parish meetings the Parish Council will become even more which are held on the 1 st Wednesday of the important in future both in representing month, Parsons Meade Community Room residents and in supporting services that the West Hunsbury, NN4 9PS, visit the Parish Unitary Authority won’t or can’t support. website or contact us via social media. As we enter this period of change it is more www.hunsburymeadows.org.uk important than ever that the Parish Council Facebook/Hunsbury-Meadows-Community understands what is important to the @HunsburyMeadows Summer Party On the 14 th July the Parish Council organised Y the second biannual community event PART “Party in the Park 2 ” which was held in the play park off Banbury Lane. in the Despite playing in the World Cup that afternoon and it being an exceptionally 2 hot day, there was a very good turn out of PARK people who had a fun afternoon and certainly made use of the ice cream van and the bar reported that cold drinks did especially well.

The police attended with a patrol car and a couple of PCSO - the car and police siren were definitely popular with the children! Also popular were the old favourites, the children’s entertainer and the bouncy castle.

There were a number of craft stalls in the marquee along with the DJ and lots of inflatable fruit!

There was also a stand from the County Council on the Flood Risk in the Parish with maps that a lot of residents found very useful. There is a section later on in the newsletter about Flood Risk.

Special thanks go to Cllr. Sandy Hudson for her efforts in organising the event and dealing with a last minute cancellation by a caterer.

Any ideas on how we can improve on the day when we hold it again in two years would be gratefully received.

Suggestions so far include finishing slightly earlier in the evening, having live music, or a communal BBQ.

Contact details can be found at the back of the newsletter. 2 Litter Oct Emergency Picks 13 Planning Our last litter pick in The Parish Council is working with the April proved to be our Emergency Planning department of the most successful yet, with a record County Council to develop an Emergency number of local residents taking part. Thank Plan for the Parish. We are at an early stage, you all those who joined us and we greatly but it has become clear that flooding is the appreciated your efforts. primary risk and so the Parish has joined the The long, hot summer, which although very Pathfinder II project which aims to facilitate enjoyable, has resulted in a large number of community-led improvements in resilience water bottles, juice and beers cans being and preparedness amongst communities discarded in the hedgerows. So we are who are at risk of surface water flooding in planning our normal autumn litter pick for the Parish and hopefully we will have the same high turn-out. Banbury Lane Litter Pick We will be holding the normal litter pick for Banbury Lane and surrounding areas on Saturday 13 th October and we hope to see even more people attending. Please come along and help keep our Parish tidy. Could all volunteers please meet up in the children's playground on Banbury Lane at 10.30am. Pineham Village Litter Pick Following a Parish walk with the Civil With the news of the boundary change and Engineer from David Smith Associates, a the increasing complaints about litter in Flood Risk and Mitigation Investigation has Pineham Village, the Parish Council are also been undertaken and will be presented to planning a litter pick for Pineham Village on the Parish at the December Parish meeting th Saturday 13 October. Anyone wanting to on Wednesday 5th December 2018. The volunteer to help tidy up where you live presentation will be 30-40 minutes with time please meet at the entrance to Pineham for questions and all residents are welcome. Barns School at 10.30am. The full report, detailing the findings of the Gloves and litter pickers will be provided for investigation and any recommendations to both litter picks and children are more than reduce the risk of flooding will then be welcome to come along and help. The more published on the County Council website for people who come along the better and the all to view. greater the area we can cover. We will then need volunteers to assist with One of the requirements for holding the litter routine monitoring of the danger points for pick is that we need a qualified First Aider. If our area, so if you are happy to assist, anyone qualified can volunteer to help out on perhaps as part of your normal walking the 13 th October please contact us. activities in the Parish, please do let us know. 3 Canal Towpath Planning During last winter, There is planning permission for 34 houses the canal towpath, on the land by the roundabout coming into where it crossed the Parish with ‘For Sale’ notice boards Wootton Brook, was there. The Parish Council has no further very cut up and information on the progress on the muddy. development. However, over the summer, The Parish Council there has been deliberate damage to the raised the situation fencing on the site resulting in emergency with the Canal and fencing being installed, which prevented an River Trust and the Inland Water Association almost certain incursion by Travellers on to and as a result over the summer teams of volunteers worked hard in very hot weather the site. If you see any suspicious behaviour to extend the hard surface of the towpath. there or anywhere else in the Parish, please let us know. Preventing issues, is better than Cummins Engineering generously paid for needing to get an eviction notice. the majority of materials with the Parish Council contributing funds to complete the project when it proved a larger task than planned. DogWatch Thanks to the volunteers from Network Rail, Cummins and staff of Dogwatch is operated in association with from the Canal and Northamptonshire Neighbourhood Watch River Trust and the and it has full support and an effective volunteers from the IWA. relationship with .

It is open to all walkers and runners with or without a dog, just anyone who likes getting out and about and relies on its members to report anything they find that doesn’t seem not right. It may be a dumped vehicle, graffiti, drug needles, dumped waste etc. You become the eyes and ears of the towns and countryside and can report to the relevant authority what you find with the contact numbers provided.

You do not have to have a dog to join Dog Watch, just enjoy getting out and about but it is dogs that might stray into places off the beaten track and may find an item that could link with a crime and help the police in their investigations.

For more information go to: www.northamptonshiredogwatch.co.uk

4 Unitary 87 Bus Route As part of the budget cuts by the County Authorities Council, it was announced in April that the subsidy for the No. 87 bus route was going The financial problems of the County Council to be withdrawn from the 23 rd July and the led to the Secretary of State appointing service faced closure. Independent Commissioners to take over strategic financial planning, governance and Pattishall Parish Council led a group of scrutiny functions at NCC with all but the Parish and Town Councils affected, including legal minimum expenditure stopped. This HMPC, to investigate whether the service resulted ultimately in the proposal that the could be funded by the Parishes. Working County, Borough and District Councils will with Northamptonshire Highways a plan was be abolished and two Unitary Authorities, to put in place to provide funding for a North and created, slightly reduced service for the rest of the with Hunsbury Meadows being part of the financial year. West Authority. This plan was put in place in time to keep the 87 bus service running with no days lost. In fact we managed to get the No. 87 route extended into Pineham Village in the peak morning period so that along with the No. 50 service there is a regular morning service into the center of Northampton.

The next couple of years will challenging for Towces ter Gr eens Nort on Northamp ton Hunsbury Meado ws Parish Councils as the substantially reduced Hunsbury Meado ws Northamp ton Gr eens Nort on T owces ter MONDA YS TO SA TURDA YS except Public Holidays MONDA YS TO SA TURDA YS except Public Holidays Towcester T esco/A5 1008 1255 Northampton The Drapery bay 19 0915 1350 1750 spending from the County Council will have Towcester Brackley Road 1010 1257 Northampton Rail Station 0922 1357 1757 Butchers Arms 0713 1016 1304 Sixfields Football Gr ound 0927 1402 1802 Duncote Main Str eet 0716 1019 1307 Hunsbury Meadows Banbury Lane 0933 1408 1808 an impact on services and facilities across Astcote Main Str eet 0721 1024 1312 Rothersthorpe Banbury Lane 0937 1412 1812 Pattishall Chur ch Str eet 0723 1026 1314 Eastcote Gr eenway 0942 1417 1817 Fosters Booth Butchers Lane 0725 1028 1316 Pattishall Chur ch Str eet 0946 1421 1821 the county. Here in Hunsbury Meadows we Eastcote Gr eenway 0729 1032 1320 Fosters Booth Butchers Lane 0948 1423 1823 Rothersthorpe Banbury Lane 0734 0851 1037 1325 Astcote Main Str eet 0950 1425 1825 Hunsbury Meadows Banbury Lane 0738 0855 1041 1329 Duncote Main Str eet 0955 1430 1830 rely the County Council for a lot of the Pineham V illage 0740 0857 xx Greens Norton Butchers Arms 0958 1433 1833 Sixfields Football Gr ound 0745 0902 1047 1335 Towcester T esco/A5 1004 1439 Northampton Rail Station 0750 0907 1052 1339 Towcester Brackley Road 1010 1440 maintenance services performed within our Northampton The Drapery 0755 0912 1056 1344 Parish; highways maintenance, winter gritting etc. The passenger numbers of the service will be monitored over the coming months and We hope that we won’t experience any the various Councils will be meeting later in difficulties, but if residents become aware of the year to decide if it is feasible for the any issues, please let us know. We may not service to the funded by the Parishes on an be able to do anything about it, but we can ongoing basis. try. 5 3284 Ban bu ry La ne B ri dg e, Ro thersthorpe

Ban bury Lan e Brid ge is a 6.75m sin gle span m aso nry s tructur e carr yin g t he C86 B an bury Lan e bet wee n Ro ther stho rp e an d Hu nsbu ry Meado ws.

On the 1st Dece mber 2 017 the bri dge was st ru ck by an e rra nt vehi cl e ca usin g sign ifi can t dam ag e to t he north parap et . T he st ru ctur e has sustai ned sig nifi can t damage an d lo ss o f st onew ork as a resul t o f t he impac t.

We ar e pursu in g a clai m f or t he cost s of t he dam ag e thro ugh o ur in sur an ce t eam .

Imm ediate A cti on Fo ll owing no ti fic atio n o f t he in cid ent N ortha mptonshi re Hig hway s asse ssed the viab le o pti ons in r elati on t o traffi c man ag ement m ovin g fo rward .

In o rd er to pr otect the da mag ed ar ea on t he north parap et , temporar y t raff ic si gnals an d c oncr et e barr iers we re im ple mented to redu ce the likelih ood o f an oth er br id ge strik e durin g t he org an isatio n of t he re pair s.

This h as cr eat ed a sin gle la ne of traffi c which w il l re main in p lace un til th e repa ir s are undert aken and the brid ge reo pen ed.

Scheme P reparati on Work has commenced to address all issu es c au sed by the i mpact damag e The physical site w ork i te ms are as fo ll ows;

 Ret rie val of s to nework fr om t he wa te rc ourse an d adjacent em ban kment .  Rep air /rep lace ment of t he dam ag ed sto newo rk sect ion on t he north p arap et. As p art of t he sc heme prep aratio n wo rks th ere ar e a number of c onsents / surv ey s / app rovals t hat are requ ired ;

 An e nvir onmental ass ess ment and sub sequ ent c onse nt ap pli catio n to the Envir onment Ag ency i s requ ired . The structur e is locat ed is l ocat ed over a main riv er an d in a Flo od Z one 3 , with a hig h pro bab il ity f or fl oodin g. This in fo rms ac ces s an d c onstr uctio n arran gements. The EA ha ve 2 months fro m re ceip t of our app li ca tio n t o app rove our pr oposals .  Te mporar y w ork s desig n a nd app ro val .  Te mporar y t raff ic regu lati on o rd er to c lo se the r oad . Su bjec t to t he consents /ap pro vals pro cess goin g s moothl y t he est imat ed st ar t on site dat e is November 2018, w ith co mple tio n wit hin t he sa me month.

Traffi c Managemen t The traffi c man ag ement cur rently in pla ce is t empora ry traffi c sign als an d c oncre te barr iers . This wa s assesse d t o be the most via ble opti on t o s ecure t he saf et y of the pu bli c an d t he st ru cture fr om furth er dam ag e. Th e len gth of the clo sur e inco rp orat es the c anal b rid ge to wards th e ea st app ro ach , b ecause th ere is in suf fici ent s pacin g f or t raf fic lig hts bet we en the brid ges.

The traffi c man ag ement is bein g insp ect ed da il y by o ur special ist t raff ic m an ag ement c onsul tant. The y in spect the t raff ic m an ag ement in p lace an d re place an y c ones, li ghts , batt eries that requ ire re gular main te nan ce.

The cur rent t raff ic m an ag ement w il l r em ain in p lace u ntil the s ch em e has b ee n c omplet ed.

6 3284 Ban bu ry La ne B ri dg e, Ro thersthorpe

General Dam ag e cau sed by poor/ careless dri vin g is havin g a sig nifi can t im pac t on bri dges within No rtha mptonshi re.

At pr ese nt w e hav e 12 maj or vehi cul ar i mpact dam ag e schem es, plu s numer ous min or gu ard rai l repai rs, dam ag e ag ain cau sed b y v ehicu lar im pact.

Ad ded to which w e have the o ngoin g bri dge main te nan ce program me t o help to pr ev ent t he brid ges det eri oratin g furth er.

Whi lst t he im pact damag e is pri oritis ed o ver t he bri dge main te nan ce program me it is still i mportan t to c arr y on w ith m ain te nan ce w ork.

Al l o f which is bein g un dert aken w ith v ery lim it ed reso urc es.

We ar e aw are that t he brid ge pro vid es an i mportan t acce ss b et wee n Ro th erst horpe an d Hu nsbu ry Mead ows , w e are e xpedi tin g t he works as much as is possib le.

We will ke ep all aff ect ed p arties inf orm ed as the s che me progres ses.

Liai so n@ki erw sp. co.u kk

01604 8 83400

7 Parking Issues Recycling and We know that this is a regular item in the newsletter, but it continues to be a serious Refuse Collection problem on some of our roads, particularly Veolia started a new environmental services Riverstone Way, Lockgate Road and contract with the Borough Council in June. Damselfly Road with the Parish Council All the dry recycling is now collected as an receiving numerous complaints on this “all-in-one” service with new recycling matter. wheelie bins delivered to all residents and the new collection timetable started on the Can residents please take care and be 17 th September. sensible about where and how they park their cars. Residents can keep the old recycling crates or put them out for collection in the week If you have to park your car with two wheels commencing 1 st October. on the pavement, please be sure that you leave sufficient room for a person with a push-chair to get through. Completely Pineham Lock blocking the footpath is an offence. There are issues with Chamonix Ltd and David Wilson Homes regarding who is responsible for the grounds maintenance at Pineham Lock. As the roads on the estate have not been adopted by the Borough Council, the Parish Council is currently trying to establish who is responsible for road maintenance, highway drain clearing, street and footpath lighting, etc. We raised concerns about a number of blocked drains on the estate with DWH and are happy to Please park sensibly and if possible, park report that contractors have now been round commercial vehicles away from the estates. and emptied Use any garages, driveways and parking and cleaned spaces provided. This isn’t just to make life the drains. easier for residents, emergency vehicles must be able to get through. It is not acceptable just to leave a gap that a even private car struggles to get by.

The police have been requested to assess the situation and they will act in any instance where inappropriate parking cause a blockage. It is essential to leave enough space at all times for emergency vehicles, if people are having problems driving down roads imagine how much of an issue it would be for a fire engine!

The police will take action against offenders. 8 SpeedWatch Dogs In May & June the Parish Council carried out Many households have dogs and they are a SpeedWatch programme. As in previous very popular pets. However occasionally years there were significant numbers of cars dogs and their owners can cause friction in exceeding 35 mph in the 30 mph limit with the community. one vehicle recorded at 57 mph! Dog Mess The remotely recorded police data for the last week in April recorded 46,803 vehicles Can we please ask that travelling along Banbury Lane with 59% of dog owners clear up after vehicles speeding and that 26% exceeded their dogs, the Parish 35 mph. Council have provided seven dog bins so far in the Parish and we will always look at requests for more bins provided that the Borough Council can access the area to empty the bin. There is nothing worse than piles of dog mess on the ground or even worse dog mess bagged and then thrown in the hedge where they will hang for years looking unpleasant and adding to plastic pollution.

Noisy Dogs

The graphics show number of the types of All dogs bark; some more than others and it vehicles and the speed that 85% of them is a perfectly natural activity. However, a dog were doing. barking incessantly or in the late evening and night can cause disruption and annoyance For the last week in June 30,189 vehicles to neighbours. Can please dog owners be travelling along Banbury Lane with 62% of responsible about the noise their dog makes. vehicles speeding and that 33% exceeded If you are having a problem with a noisy dog 35 mph. there are a number of steps you can take.

The first and most effective is to just have a polite word with your neighbour that the dog is making a lot of noise.

However there are occasions where this doesn’t work and then the next action would be to contact the Borough Council Environmental Health department.

www.northampton.gov.uk/info/200075/pollu tion/1097/noise_pollution

9 Council Vacancies Crime Figures As a Parish overall we have a low crime rate and Elections and if you consider just the residential areas A warm welcome to Steve Norton who has a very low crime rate. The police provide the been co-opted on to the Council. Steve is a Council with monthly crime reports which resident of Pineham Village and, we’re sure, can be found on the Parish website in the will be a valuable addition to the Council. Police & Crime section. The figures cover We still have a vacancy so if anyone has an Hunsbury Meadows residential areas, the interest in local matters please contact the Swan Valley Industrial estate and the south Council. It is not an arduous task and only bound motorway service area at Jct 15a. requires a couple of hours a month spent on Council business. With few exceptions, Huns bur y M ea do ws 5 anyone over the age of 18 can apply; you 4 h t n have to live within the Parish or within 3 o m / s

e 3 m i miles of its boundary, or work within the r C

f o

r 2 e

Parish. Contact the Clerk or Chairman for b m u further details. N 1

0 The next Parish Council Elections were due Jan uar yFebr ua ry Mar ch Apri l May June July Month to be held in May 1919 with the Borough Bu rg lary D wellin g Bu rg lary N on Dwellin g Crim in al D am age Vehic le C rim e elections. However, due to the reorganisation Domestic in cid ents, other v io le nt c rim e, t heft an d s exual o ffe nces. of Local Government in the County, elections in 2019 have been cancelled Swan V alley / Jn15a Parish elections will be deferred for a year 5

4 h t and will be held in May 2020. All existing n o m / s

e 3 m

Councillors, including those co-opted, will, i r C

f o

r 2 consequently, have their term of office e b m u extended by one year. N 1

0 Jan uar yFebr ua ry Mar ch Apri l May June July Month

Bu rg lary D wellin g Bu rg lary N on Dwellin g Cri i l D e Vehic le C ri e

Helping YOUR Community ADVERTISE IN THIS BOOKLET The Parish Council is keen to provide a facility for local tradesmen, businesses or charities to advertise in this newsletter which is distributed to every household in the Parish, whilst at the same time helping the Council to reduce production costs.

Adverts are available from £24 per issue, please contact the Council to discuss your requirements [email protected]

10

Pathfind er II Flood Resilienc e Projec t in Hunsbur y Meadows

A Flo od Risk an d Mitigat i o n In vestigatio n h as been undertake n for Hu nsbury Meadows .

Ple ase j oin us to h ear th e res ults of th is s urv ey, i ncludi ng:

 Find ings of a vi sual su rvey o f the surf ace water cat chment

 A review of e xis ti ng floo d ma pp ing a nd d at asets

 Iden ti fi cat ion o f ar ea s for further in vestigat ion , ma inte nance o r im pro vement w orks to red uce flo od ri sk

at

Parsons Meade Com mu ni ty H all

Wed nesday 5th Dec ember , 7.15 pm onwards

Huns bury Me adows Pari sh Counci l is pa rtic ip ati ng in the P at hfinder I I Flood

Resili en ce P rojec t ru n by Northamptons hire Co unty Counci l. The projec t ai ms to fac il it ate co mmunity -le d im provem ents in resili enc e and

prepa redn ess . Come al ong to fin d o ut wha t thi s me an s for you an d how you can get in volved.

For further i nf ormati on v isit ww w.floodto olkit.com/pathf ind er2

11 USEFUL NUMBERS Emergency Numbers Northampton Borough Council Police, fire or ambulance 999 Electricity 0800 028 0247 All Council Services Gas (24 hr) 0800 111 999 (Standard Rate) 0300 330 7000 Water (24 hr) 08457 145145 The Samaritans 08457 90 90 90 Waste and recycling collections are provided for Social Services (out of hours) 01604 626938 Northampton Borough Council by Veolia [email protected] or visit Advice & Information www.northampton.gov.uk/recycling Age UK 01604 611200 Alcoholics Anonymous 0845 7697555 Out-of-hours Citizens Advice Bureau 0844 4111 4444 Crime Stoppers 0800 555 111 Stray dog out-of-hours 01604 837999 National Drugs Helpline 0800 776600 To report other complaints e.g. noise, please leave NHS 111 111 a message on 01604 838000. This will be dealt General Hospital 01604 634700 with on the next working day. Sleeping Rough 01604 629804 Community Law Service 01604 621038 Northamptonshire County Council

Switchboard 0300 1261000 School transport. 01604 236132 USEFUL WEBSITES Street Doctor (Roads/Lighting) 0845 6011113 Non-Urgent Crime Trading standards 08454 040506 https://www.northants.police.uk/webform/ online-crime-reporting

Report Rubbish & Graffiti online http://selfserve.northampton.gov.uk/mycouncil

Report problems with Potholes Ways to keep in touch with us: Street signs etc. online Website: www.hunsburymeadows.org.uk www.northamptonshire.gov.uk/ Email: [email protected] contactusstreetdoctor Phone: 01604 891033 / 07876 016581 Clerk: Mr Lalitkumar Patel, 52 Meadow Lane, Little Houghton, Northampton NN7 1AH

Like us on Facebook /Hunsbury-Meadows-Community Follow us on Twitter @HunsburyMeadows