Rothwell North Working Party is Closing Down

At our AGM, held on Monday 13th November 2023, it was agreed that the Working Party had achieved as much as possible with the opening of the link road. We have therefore wound up the group.

It was the Rothwell North Working Party that negotiated with Persimmon about getting the road opened earlier than was initially planned when planning permission was granted. It was initially planned to open after 350 houses were sold. We negotiated to reduce this to 150. It was also the Working Party that negotiated the routing of construction vehicles and its monitoring with Automated Number Plate Recognition. We feel these actions considerably reduced the amount of traffic disruption in Rothwell. It also resulted in Persimmon giving Rothwell and Desborough Town Councils a considerable payment from fines for construction traffic violations. This money was to be distributed to local charities.

We feel our efforts were worthwhile. They show that it is possible to improve the outcome for local communities during major developments if reasonable but persistent communication with construction companies is carried out by local, interested parties.

Charities can apply for a share of the fund raised by Persimmon Homes

 As stated earlier, Persimmon Homes have accumulated a fund for local charities resulting from the fines they imposed on contractors who broke the site access rules. Rothwell Town Council and Desborough Town Council are administering the distribution of half the fund each (about £28,000 each). Charities can apply for some of this fund so long as it will be used within the relevant town.

Rothwell’s application form can be found here: https://www.rothwelltowncouncil.gov.uk/uploads/anpr-grant-application-form-2022.pdf?v=1668435841

Desborough’s application form can be found here:  https://desboroughtowncouncil.gov.uk/persimmon-homes-housing-development-charitable-grants/

Update regarding the Woodland Valley development

Rothwell North Working Party

Update regarding the Woodland Valley development 

The Rothwell North Working Party is pleased to share the news that

Persimmon Homes will be arranging for a significant sum of money

to be donated to local charities in Rothwell and Desborough. In due

course, the two town councils will get together to decide on which

charities will benefit.

The Working Party’s insistence that a safe route for lorry access to

the building site be agreed and then monitored led to this fund

being set up. The money has come from fines being imposed by

Persimmon on contractors failing to observe the designated route

into the site.

This procedure was enforced through ANPR cameras and was the

first time that this technique has been used in this way. We are

grateful to Persimmon for being prepared to listen to the

community’s concerns and try new technology to achieve the

desired outcome.

At this stage we are not aware of how large the sum will be but we

do know that both councils are in the process of discussing how

local charities can apply for a share of the funds and the criteria the

councils will use for their distribution. For legal reasons, the

councils will not handle the money themselves but arrange for

Persimmon to pay the benefactors directly.

We look forward to seeing local charities benefitting from this

initiative.

This tangible benefit is in addition to the opening of the Link Road

which will be on completion of 150 houses rather than the originally

planned 350 homes.

Any charity that is based in the towns of Desborough and Rothwell,

or can assure the councils that the money will directly benefit the

two towns should prepare a bid to be submitted to their appropriate

Town Clerk.

Minutes of RNWP AGM Held at Holy Trinity Church, Rothwell on 31st October 2022

Rothwell North Working Party

Minutes of meeting held 16 Jan 2023 on Zoom, with Rick Hill as Chair Present

John Green (JG), John Showers (JS), Liz Berridge (LB), Rick Hill (RH), Sarah Treen (ST), Guy Crockatt (GC), Jim Hakewill (JH) Cllr Jon Gardiner (Cllr JG) Andy Browne (AB)

1) Apologies received from Margaret Mossman, Peter Chapman, Jean Read,

 2) Minutes of the last meeting

The revised minutes of the AGM held in October 2022 had been distributed prior to this meeting. No adverse comments arising. JS proposed and JH seconded acceptance of minutes as a true record.

3) Matters arising not elsewhere on the agenda

RH advised that Marcus Grant has unexpectedly left Persimmon. There is currently no site manager in place, but concerns can be directed to Paul Stones in the meantime. GC suggested that Marcus may simply have changed employer, albeit at short notice.

JH suggested RH asks Paul Stones to let him know contact details for new site manager in due course. JH also suggested that RNWP should attend the official opening ceremony for the link road, and asked RH to contact Paul Stones nearer the time to ask for an invite

RH said there had been further problems with the traffic lights at the Fallow Rd junction. Maintenance of the lights is now the responsibility of NNC Highways. AB stated that the stop lights for the crossing can be activated by pedestrians using the buttons on the unopened length of road opposite Fallow Rd. RH thought the equipment might already be set up for use when that road is completed.

RH said latest estimate for opening the link road is February – the extended period of wet weather has delayed construction. JH expressed concern that as the ANPR system is no longer in place to issue fines, construction traffic may have started using unauthorised routes into the site. JH to check further whether agreement for opening of link road was a maximum of 3 years or 4 years from first occupation, as no-one was 100% sure if timescale had changed since the initial agreement.

JH said he has tried to engage with Montsaye and NNC to draw attention to the issues of the school access and the retail area, but has not had much success. JH reported that NNC has an ongoing staffing crisis, and it is often impossible to determine which officers should be dealing with planning matters. RH suggested that many experienced officers left NCC and KBC before the change to NNC, and they have not been replaced.

JS advised that he has been working on the Rothwell Local Plan, photographing and classifying fields surrounding the town. He is disappointed that other members of the Rothwell Local Plan group are not making any effort to contribute, and there is minimal progress being made. JH confirmed that by not supporting the development of a robust a local plan, Rothwell Town Council is not protecting the town from unwelcome development. Cllr JG advised that Desborough’s local plan is now progressing after many years of stagnation.

4) Correspondence / updates

There has been no external correspondence since the last meeting. 5) Any update on ANPR money distribution from RTC or DTC

Cllr JG said he will give the group an update from Desborough after the next meeting of DTC this week.

6) Any other business

JH queried the future direction of RNWP once the initial target of opening the link road had been met, as he felt there are numerous issues affecting the area that warrant attention.

AB asked if there is any scrutiny applied to distribution of S106 monies. Cllr JG suggested submitting a FOI request in relation to specific agreements. AB to look into that. JH stated that a developer could ask for S106 money to be returned if not used for the agreed purpose.

JG asked JH if he knew status of S106 payments relating to a previous Bovis development, leading to a discussion about benefits of relocating sports facilities and fire stations.

7) Date of next meeting

Monday 20 March at 7.30 pm by Zoom.

Meeting closed at 8.10 pm.

 Rothwell North Working Party

Annual General Meeting - 31st October 2022

Held in Holy Trinity Church Rothwell

Present: Peter Chapman (PC), Marie Chapman (MC),  Rick Hill (RH),

Roger Mossman (RM),  Margaret Mossman (MM),  John Green (JG),  John Showers (JS),  Sarah Showers (SS),  Liz Burridge (LB),  Jim Hakewill (JH),  Jonathan Gardiner (JG),  Guy Crockett (GC).

Apologies: Jean Read,  Andy Browne & Linda Burnham

Minutes of last Annual General Meeting: It was reported that these had been lost as a result of computer issues and had never been circulated.   It was agreed that the AGM had last taken place prior to Covid, in Rothwell Library and that elections had taken place in a proper manner.

RNWP Annual Report: This had been circulated and approved by members at the last meeting in September 2022 and had been given out to others prior to this meeting.   PC brought attention to our achievements – primarily the reduction in the number of houses occupied to trigger the link road and the ANPR system which reduced the number of construction vehicles travelling through residential areas.   He congratulated the group and said we should be proud.

Questions were invited to which GC asked in the link road was to be open to all traffic in the near future.   RH confirmed that the latest from Marcus (Persimmon) was that it would be “in the new year.”   That is a slight delay from the previous announcement but safety issues had to be addressed with regard to residents crossing roads around the building site.

Discussion took place around the next phase of building and RH assisted by showing a plan of the whole site.   MC confirmed that some preparation work had commenced behind Montsaye School (phase 2). 

Treasurer's report: This had been distributed before the meeting.   PC pointed out the original sum of £500 had come from a grant from Desborough Town Council (DTC).   This had enabled us to produce and distribute a leaflet to much of the towns including residents already living in Woodland Valley.

Reports from others: LB stated that there appears to have been a huge drop in interest from other stakeholders since the link road is close to finish.   Marcus will still answer questions asked but otherwise no communication from others.   Thanks were expressed to LB for her perseverance in communications.

JG has attended 2 meetings of Rothwell Town Council (RTC) and in his opinion they are taking the glory for achievements and showing no interest in RNWP.   An invitation was sent to them to attend this AGM but no response was received.

RH attends all DTC meetings and reported a lack of interest there. 

The ANPR fines money was discussed and although RH has suggested that the 2 town councils form a sub-committee to deal with this, neither council appears to be prepared to do this.

JG reported that DTC are awaiting the final figure and as soon as this is known they will invite applications and then let Persimmon know which charities are to receive what amounts.

LB found the minutes from RTC which stated the figure expected is somewhere in the region of 20K per town.

Questions from the public: These had been dealt with as they arose and no further questions were raised.

The way forward: After discussion it was agreed that there is a need to continue until the link road is open to all traffic and any teething troubles around that have been addressed.   When this happens we should consider how we move forward  and if necessary regroup.

As we now appear to be in a monitoring situation it was felt that we may not need to meet as often.   It was therefore proposed by JH and seconded by MM that the constitution be changed to meet a minimum of 6 times per year instead of the current 10.   The motion was carried 9 in favour and 0 against.

After discussion it was agreed that we should now publicise the fines money that will become available for local charities.   RH will email Marcus to try to get the exact figure and then he and SS will prepare a statement to be publicised so that charities can be aware and be preparing any application once RTC and DTC are ready to receive them.

Elections: PC stated that whilst he was still prepared to be elected as a voting member he wished to stand down as Chair.   Peter was thanked for his dedication to the role and all he had achieved.   MC stated that whilst she would continue to support the group she did not wish to stand for re-election.   Marie was also thanked for her work for RNWP.

Elections took place without a need to vote with the following results:

Chair Rick Hill and Sarah Showers will share the role

Treasurer  Andy Browne

Secretary Liz Burridge

Voting members

John Showers,  Jim Hakewill,  Roger Mossman,  Margaret Mossman,  John Green,  Jean Read, Peter Chapman,  Jonathan Gardiner, and Guy Crockett

Date of next meeting: Monday 16th January 2023 at 7.30pm via Zoom

Any other urgent business:  None

The meeting closed at 9.05pm

Lane Closure on A6

 We have received the following message from Persimmon today:

Good Morning

 

I am currently working to finish the A6 roundabout to the west of our development, in order that it can be adopted by North Northamptonshire Council. As part of this process, the Highways Inspector has visited the site and produced a list of remedial works required before the roundabout can be accepted. We have started on these works today, and that will continue until Thursday next week. In order for us to carry out these works safely, it will be necessary for lane closures to be in place on the A6 for the duration.

 

I apologies for the lack of warning of these works. If you need any further information, please let me know.

 

Regards

 

Nathan Holt  |  Closed Site Engineer

Agenda for AGM

 Rothwell North Working Party Annual General Meeting

Monday 31st October 2020 at 19.30pm Holy Trinity Church, Rothwell.

Open to residents of Rothwell & Desborough 

AGENDA

1. Apologies

2. Minutes of last AGM

2. Report from Rothwell North Working Party

4.Treasurer's report

5. Reports from others

6. Questions from the public

7. The way forward.

8. Elections of Chair, Secretary & Treasurer plus 10 others to serve as full voting members

9. Date of next meeting of RNWP 10. Any other urgent business

Notice of AGM on 31st October 19:30 at Holy Trinity Church, Rothwell

 The Rothwell North Working Party AGM will be held at Holy Trinity Church, Rothwell at 19:30 on 31st October. All residents of Rothwell and Desborough are invited to attend. 

The existing working party members are all willing to continue on the working party but we do have room for one more member. If you are interested in joining the working party you need to submit your application by 24th October with the names, addresses and signatures of 2 residents of Rothwell or Desborough who second your application. Applications should be sent to:

Revd. M Mossman,

32, Tennyson Road,

Rothwell,

Kettering,

Northants.

NN14 6JH

The following is the annual report for our activities in 2022, printed copies will be available at the AGM.

Rothwell North Working Party (RNWP)

Report for year ending October 2022

Membership: We currently have 12 members.

The Committee:

Chair Peter Chapman

Secretary Liz Berridge

Treasurer Andy Browne

Outline of action:

RNWP has continued to meet on a monthly basis online via Zoom since the Coronovirus lockdown in March 2020.

Since the last AGM Rothwell North Working Party has continued to inform local residents, via social media, of both the ongoing progress made at the site, and issues which could adversely affect their journeys. This level of communication has made for a good relationship between the developers and the general public, who have tolerated major inconvenience far better when understanding the cause of traffic disruption, and been given a realistic estimate of the length of time involved. It is thanks to the regular information exchange with Persimmon that this has been achieved. 

Rothwell North Working Party has continually updated it’s Facebook page with relevant information, and responds to queries raised by any of the 534 members.

The opening of the roundabout at the A6 end of the strategic link road is currently delayed due to the non-arrival of some security gates, but Persimmon have confirmed that it is expected to be opened to construction traffic at the beginning of October 22. Also that they are now well within the target of being open to all traffic by the occupation of the 150^th dwelling. This target was reduced considerably by the intervention of RNWP, and the co-operation of Persimmon to achieve it.

The progress of the development was summarised in a leaflet produced in the Spring of 2022 by RNWP. This was delivered to the majority of properties directly affected by the additional traffic caused by construction work, and also displayed on the group’s Facebook page.

In the past year RNWP has continued to have sight of the recordings from the ANPR system which, until the partial opening of the route from the A6, monitored construction traffic entering and leaving the site. Penalty notices have been raised against vehicles which have not used the approved route. The funds raised will soon be available for distribution to local charities in Rothwell and Desborough, in equal part. 

RNWP has monitored progress of the site boundary with The Gullet nature reserve, in collaboration with the Wildlife Trust for Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Northamptonshire. This is to ensure the new hedging planted along the boundary will become an adequate barrier against wind-blown debris and deliberate rubbish disposal into the reserve, and also to prevent access to the site from that direction, either intentionally or due to accidentally slipping down the bank from the adjacent play area. 

RNWP has identified a potential issue with access to Montsaye School as the number and age range of pupils continues to expand, and has made contact with both Persimmon and the Pathfinder Schools group to make them aware that the only opportunity to create a new safer access point will be lost forever, if the proposed site layout at the rear of the school is not altered before building work commences.

On another school-related issue, Rothwell North Party has approached the local planning authority, asking them to be mindful when considering applications for businesses within the retail area, as fast-food outlets would not be desirable in such close proximity to the school.

(updated 29 09 22)