Liberal Democrat Borough Councillors for West Hunsbury, Paul Varnsverry and Richard Matthews, have welcomed the instalation of “Local Access Only” signs in West Hunsbury as a measure to prevent heavy goods vehicles using residential roads as a cut-through to Northampton’s ring road.

“Residents have been reporting a noticeable increase in the number of lorries cutting through West Hunsbury, along Hunsbury Hill Road and Ladybridge Drive, to avoid hold-ups at the Mereway roundabout”, Paul Varnsverry explained. “Richard Matthews and I took it upon ourselves to speak to officers at Northamptonshire County Council’s highways department when it became apparent the Conservative county councillor for the area was more interested in gesture politics than getting the job done and providing a solution. He intends to address the county council meeting this Thursday, calling for action. Too late and a typical example of his closing the gate after the horse has bolted!

Richard Matthews added “The county officers  readily agreed to instal the signs. The alternative was a long wait for a legal process that would have placed a weight restriction on the road, but officers say these local access only signs have proved extremely effective elsewhere.”

Local residents have thanked their Lib Dem borough councillors’ pro-active approach, one Hawkridge home owner saying “We were very pleased to see workmen erecting Local Access Only signs at the entrance to Hunsbury Hill Road from the old Towcester Road. Thanks for your efforts on behalf of the residents of West Hunsbury.” 

Northampton is to host the UK performance of a global arts event that has attracted huge crowds in both Sydney and Singapore. Delapre Park will be the venue for “Crackers?”, a celebration of the explosive and dangerous beauty of fire and fireworks and an exploration of attitudes to risk.

Organised by The World Famous,  in conjunction with the Royal & Derngate Theatre, with support from Northampton Borough Council and funded by the Arts Council, the event takes place on the evening of Saturday 26th September and with free entry is expected to attract huge crowds. It is described by the organisers as “combining fireworks, projection, performance and music.  Crackers? is not for the faint of heart - the show is performed ‘in the round’, with the audience surrounded by fire & smoke, spinning wheels and fireworks.  A symphony of pyrotechnic sounds fills the air.  It’s loud, disorientating and cacophonous, but there are also moments of delicate beauty…”

Paul Varnsverry commented “It is simply fantastic that this event, which has been held in world status cities like Sydney and Singapore, should come to Northampton. My congratulations to the Royal & Derngate, The World Famous and The Arts Council for making it happen.”

For further details, please contact the Royal & Derngate booking office on 01604 624811 or by email: crackers@royalandderngate.co.uk

 More event information at:

http://www.royalandderngate.co.uk/en/home/whatson/crackers

Paul Varnsverry has described a Conservative campaign to return to fortnightly collections of green waste as a “ludicrous and deceitful tactic of withholding the facts from the public.”

The Liberal Democrats introduced roadside glass collections to may homes in Northampton on June 1st 2009, but to offset the cost of this, brown bin collections had to be moved to a monthly schedule.

“What the Conservatives are not telling and will not tell the public is that roadside glass collections were introduced to enable the council to meet tough government targets for reducing the amount of material we put into landfill”, Paul explained, adding “In the coming years, local authorities will be penalised - heavily - unless the amount of waste they put into the ground drops  dramatically.

“Many homes in West Hunsbury and in other parts of Northampton have large gardens, so I fully appreciate residents’ concerns at the change in schedule. My colleagues on the Liberal Democrat administration and I have asked officers to look into how a return to the original schedule could be achieved within budget and whilst continuing to avoid central government’s environmental charges. The solution may come from the market testing review which the Liberal Democrat administration at the Guildhall wishes to implement, in order to provide the best value for money and service to the council tax payer.” 

Paul concluded “The Conservatives’ ludicrous and deceitful tactic of withholding the facts from the public extends to their failure to account for how they would finance their plans, which would cost an estimated £1.5 million to introduce. Where will they find that money? What other services would they propose be cut? We know they have little regard for our leisure centres and planned to close these, sack all the neighbourhood wardens and shut the public toilets before they were booted out of office in 2007. They have learned nothing in opposition - and even less at County Hall, where they plan to close residential care homes for the elderly!”

Additional brown bins can be purchased from the Westbridge depot (telephone Northampton 837837), at a cost of £30. The council is also encouraging residents to follow the environmentally-friendly route of composting, and to help them to do so operates a subsidised purchase scheme for composting bins, details of which can be found at:

http://www.recyclenow.com/home_composting/buy_a_bin/scheme_authorities/northamptonshire.html