An Open Letter to Northampton Council, Police and Crime Commissioner and local MP’s

 

This is from concerned residents of Northampton in particular those residents of NN1 and the surrounding areas. 

Northampton is at a breaking point, if you walk the streets,especially within NN1 you can clearly see this. 

• There is a constant presence of crime, drugs, rubbish, fly tipping, parking issues and complete disrepair of properties in many streets. 
• There is also a complete culture of disrespect and lack of care and consideration for the neighbour and environment in which we all live.
How have we let this once thriving market town come to this sorry state?

Monthly we see more friends and neighbours leaving the area due to these issues, the ones that haven’t left want to do so. This silent attrition is all too clear within the online forums and at the resident’s meetings.

Why should homeowners feel that they have no option to leave the homes they have worked so hard for and put time effort and money into?

Many residents attend local meetings with councillors and the local police and have been lobbying and even protesting for years about all these issues. Many residents also carry out litter picking either on their own or as part of organised groups.

We hear and see reports of residents who can’t walk out of their homes without feeling threatened, or the fear of leaving and getting burgled or their property or vehicles vandalised. 

To walk into town from NN1 along the Kettering Road is amost unpleasant experience, this means many don’t walk into town adding further to the ongoing decline…and reduction in footfall in the shops, many of which are relocating or simply closing down.

Many residents share stories of having their cars broken into, garages broken into, witnessing assaults as parking disputes get out of hand, collecting of rubbish and keeping the frontage of their properties clear of fly-tipping on a daily basis. 

One resident on Abington Avenue has reported drug taking 3 times in 12 months on their property, as well as many residents reporting drug taking or suspected dealing in the area. The PCSOs are aware of the hot spots when this is raised at every resident’s meetings.

Many residents feel that nothing gets done so no longer take the time to report these crimes and use the Nextdoor app or WhatsApp groups to alert others. When walking around there are often cars with smashed windows a lot goes unreported. A recent hot spot being Lea Road in NN1.

We have been requesting a residents meeting with the Police and Crime Commissioner facilitated by our local councillors for months, he has so far declined and would only speak directly to them. This is just not good enough.

We have lobbied for the HMO working group to tighten theplanning regulations for HMO’s and in 12 months we still have no report or proper feedback from the group. 

When opposition councillors put forward the motion to tackle rubbish and fly-tipping in September it got voted down with “the issue is in hand.” Adam Brown met with one resident and a local reporter to see the issue first hand. Nothing has improved!

This is also the same meeting where Daniel Lister spoke to say that Fittzy 16,000 signature petition about moving the market didn’t matter as 209,000 didn’t sign it! With that attitude what do we expect out of this town! 

Northampton has been turned into a massive HMO itself where the lower-income transient lifestyle and working patterns are making the area a misery for others to live in with the overpopulation and tension this causes. 

Many residents share that when they go to visit friends and family and then return to Northampton they realise how bad the situation is when they return home and see crime, drugs, rubbish out, fly tipping, parking issues and complete disrepair of properties in the streets. 

What has gone so wrong in this town for the state it has become to be deemed acceptable with no action taken to improve?

Something has to change before something bad happens because many residents are at breaking point! 

Dissatisfied residents of NN1 And Northampton.