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) 

A6 roundabout for Woodland Valley ((Rothwell North)

 Persimmon have informed the Rothwell North Working Party that the road off the A6 roundabout at the new development will be opened for CONSTRUCTION TRAFFIC ONLY within the first two weeks of October. This will relieve the B576, Desborough and, to a lesser extent, Rothwell of construction traffic as that will enter the development from the A6.

This has been one of the aims of the RNWP, who argued all along that construction traffic should not have to use the B576. 

Rothwell North Working Party Leaflet

 Click on image to enlarge

Planned Work on the A6 Roundabout at the Junction with Fallow Road on the Woodland Valley Development

The following was sent to the RNWP by Marcus Grant at Persimmon Homes to explain the work to finalise the roundabout on the A6 to enable through traffic from the B576.

This is an update on the A6 roundabout, and importantly an update on the traffic management required to complete.

 

1.      Jan 11^th – Temporary two way nights on the southern side of the new roundabout – 5 days to complete the tie in and road cambers. (Manual control during busy periods). These works are to connect the new road to the old road at the southern end, so that the traffic can get up to the new roundabout. 

 

2.      Jan 16^th 00:00am to 06:00am (overnight road closure)  – A6 closure to adjust safety barriers to higher elevation (new road alignment), white lining so the traffic flow can be diverted to the new road.

 

3.      Jan 16^th – Traffic management and two way lights set up for approx. 8 weeks. Programmed works are for 6 weeks so we are aiming for an earlier completion. (Manual control during busy periods). The plan for this is attached, to the south of the roundabout it will be two way traffic, with the north of the roundabout where the temporary signals are. You may have seen tarmacking works happening to allow for this, this week.

 

4.      Early March, road fully open under existing temp 30mph limit and localised traffic management works to completion. At this point we will open up the roundabout for our construction traffic, so no more lorries etc through the towns heading to our development.

 

I fully appreciate that before we started these works, I said we’d be able to keep the A6 open and running 2 way traffic throughout with exceptions only every now and again. This was always the original plan, however due to the height of the new roundabout from the current A6 and the banking, it’s unfortunately just turned out to not be possible despite best laid plans.

 

I understand that this will inevitable put traffic through your towns. I have stressed to our contractor how important it is that the temporary signals are operated efficiently. Our ANPR system will remain in use to ensure that our construction traffic continues to use the A6. I’ve chased our ANPR company today for recent reports and told them that we need the reports weekly to be effective, I will again reinforce this with them so that we can tackle any issues early on with offenders which will become even more important with this traffic management.

 

Thanks 

 

Marcus Grant

Technical Manager | Midlands Division 

 

Persimmon Homes - Charles Church  

Rothwell North Development link road connection to A6

 Persimmon have informed us that the work on the link road between the B579 and A6 is progressing well and that the roundabout connection on the A6 is scheduled for completion by early summer 2022. They will be sending us some photos of progress which we will post on here.

A14 Road Closures

  The Highways Agency have informed us of the following closures of the A14 around Rothwell and Kettering.

Our ref:

605218 Highways England Stirling House (Area 7),

Lakeside Court,

Osier Drive,

Sherwood Business Park, Nottingham, NG15 0DS www.highwaysengland.co.uk

24 May 2021

 Dear Sir/Madam,

A14 junctions 3, 4, 7 and 8: essential maintenance and refurbishment works

At Highways England, we believe in a connected country and our network makes these connections happen. We strive to improve our major roads and motorways in the East Midlands, to keep people moving today and moving better tomorrow.

I am writing to inform you of a new scheme of works that we will be carrying out from 1 June 2021.

We will be carrying out essential carriageway maintenance and refurbishment work along the A14 between junctions 3, 4, 7 and 8 (Rothwell and Kettering).

What work will you be carrying out?

At junctions 3, 7 and 8, we’ll resurface the carriageway and the exit and entry slip roads, refresh road markings, renew road studs, replace damaged ironworks, clean gullies and replace some traffic signs. These works will take place on the following dates:

1-7 June Junction 8 westbound entry A14 no full closure

8-16 June Junction 7 westbound entry A14 full closure between 10-15 June

We do not have confirmed dates yet for junctions 3 & 7 westbound and junctions 7 & 4 eastbound. When these dates are confirmed we will re-contact you.

During this timetable of works we will be incorporating part of another scheme to upgrade and improve the existing emergency diversion routes along the A14, in this case, specifically at junction 7. We will both install new trigger signs, and, replace those that are worn. We will also attach new sign plates to existing signs and update signs using adhesive patches. Combining these works will save both time and money and prevent a series of road closures in a short time period thereby reducing the inconvenience to road users.

To minimise disruption to the community and road users, we’ll work overnight while the road is less busy.

Once the works are completed, all road users will benefit from improved road safety and a smoother carriageway.

When will the work take place?

Work is due to start on Tuesday 1 June 2021 and is scheduled for completion by mid-

August 2021. We will work Monday to Friday from 8pm to 6am.

To maintain a safe environment for our workforce and customers, we’ll need to close the A14 sliproads overnight from 8pm to 6am Monday to Friday. We will also need to close the main A14 carriageway for several of the junctions as detailed above.

During the closures we’ll put in place a diversion route which we’ve agreed with the Local Authority. The carriageways will remain open outside of our working hours.

Please note that all our planned roadworks may be subject to change due to weather conditions or unforeseen circumstances.

Maintaining safety during Covid-19

This scheme is essential to the strategic road network. All our sites have strict safeguarding measures, in line with Public Health England guidance, to prevent the spread of COVID-19 and none of our sites are open to the public. All projects are closely monitored, and the situation is kept under constant review.

Contact us

To receive a fortnightly e-mail (or as often as the work necessitates), detailing the progress of the scheme and any amendments to the schedule, or, if you have any queries about this work on behalf of your community, please contact the Public Liaison Officer, Karen Reeve, as follows:

• Email: EMADcomms@kier.co.uk

Alternatively, you can also keep up to date directly by contacting our Highways England

Customer Contact Centre as follows:

• Email: info@highwaysengland.co.uk

• Telephone: 0300 123 5000

• Twitter: @HighwaysEMIDS

Yours faithfully,

Dean Holloway Project Manager

   

New Road Closure Dates

 Northamptonshire Highways have kindly confirmed our road space request to close the Desborough Road for two weekend closures below – 15/16th May and 22/23rd May. The carriageways surfacing/resurfacing will be carried out in the first weekend.

B457 Road Closure Notice

 

B576 Road Closures

 

Three-way Traffic Lights & temporary Crossing:

To remain in place from now until 10/4/21

 

Weekend closures (24 hrs day & night):

Sat 10/4/21 06:00 to Mon 12/4/21 05:00

Sat 17/4/21 06:00 to Mon 19/4/21 05:00

Sat 24/4/21 06:00 to Mon 26/4/21 05:00

 

Mid week three way traffic lights & Temporary Pedestrian Crossing:

Mon 12/4/21 05:00 to Sat 17/4/21 06:00 (24 hr)

 

Mon 19/4/21 05:00 to 19:00 (days)

Tues 20/4/21 05:00 to 19:00 (days)

Wed 21/4/21 05:00 to 19:00 (days)

Thurs 22/4/21 05:00 to 19:00 (days)

Fri 23/4/21 05:00 to 19:00 (days)

 

Mon 26/4/21 05:00 to Fri 7/5/21 17:00 (24 hr)

 

Weekday night closures (19/4/21 to 23/4/21):

Mon 19/4/21 19:00 to Tues 20/4/21 06:00

Tues 20/4/21 19:00 to Wed 21/4/21 06:00

Wed 21/4/21 19:00 to Thurs 22/4/21 06:00

Thurs 22/4/21 19:00 to Fri 23/4/21 06:00

Fri 23/4/21 19:00 to Sat 24/4/21 06:00

 

Email – rothnwp@gmail.com

Twitter - @rothwellnwp

Facebook – Rothwell North Working Party - RNWP

RNWP work on Road Closures featured in Evening Telegraph

 Our work with Persimmon and Northants County Council on getting the arrangements for the B576 closure improved was recently featured in the Northants Evening Telegraph. Thank you to Jim Hakewill, Desborough Town Council and members of the RNWP for their efforts for taking this matter up. Thank you too to Persimmon Homes for listening to our concerns and proposing improved arrangements. The link to the article on the Evening Telegraph website is here:

https://www.northantstelegraph.co.uk/news/crime/delight-as-road-closure-between-desborough-and-rothwell-is-reorganised-3177243

Changes to Road Closure Plans

Rothwell North Working Party

Press release - immediate

Road closure planned for 5^th to 18^th April 2021 has been reorganised so that full road closures are overnight and at the weekend outside the Easter holidays.

The closure was advertised on the 25^th of February and raised a significant number of objections from Rothwell and Desborough communities, including an emergency Desborough Town Council Meeting on the 8^th of March. The closure would have caused significant problems for students, staff, and parents getting to and from Montsaye particularly those travelling by bus.  There were also potential problems with getting to the Rothwell Medical Centre, also for service busses running between the two towns and daytime use of Fox Street and Harrington Road as a diversion route.

Rothwell North Working Party (RNWP) have been working with developer Persimmon Homes since early 2017.  This has been to ensure that disruption to the two towns is minimised during construction works and, in particular, a link road is built as soon as possible to the A6 bypass.  

Chairman of RNWP Pete Chapman commented “I am delighted that the Working Party and its highly active members have been able to achieve this result on behalf of the community.  I am full of praise for Persimmon Homes, the County Council and Paul John Construction all of whom wanted to minimise the impact of the planned work on the two communities.  They could not have been more helpful and caring about addressing the issues. I would also like to thank County Councillor Jim Hakewill for alerting us to the problems and working to bring everyone together to find a solution”.

Chairman of Desborough Town Council Cllr Linda Burnham commented “As soon as the details of the road closure were published my phone started ringing and emails flowed in expressing concern about getting between the two towns during the proposed closure.  I immediately called an extraordinary Town Council meeting which was well attended and covered all the concerns.  We wrote to all concerned and I am delighted that the revised plan has been drawn up.  I appreciate the way in which RNWP, Persimmon, PaulJohn Construction and the County Council have responded to community concerns while ensuring the safety of their staff.

There will be a number of night-time and weekend closures along with traffic lights remaining in place which will cause some disruption but much less than the original proposals. The footpath between the two towns will be open throughout.

Rothwell North Working Party is an entirely voluntary group of residents from Rothwell and Desborough who are working with any organisation that shares its objectives in relation to the building of new homes at Rothwell North (now named Woodland Valley)

For further information please contact rothnwp@gmail.com

Enc: 

Rothwell North Working Party - Objectives

Details of proposed road closures operation of temporary lights.

The following details are expected to be officially confirmed in the next few days:

Three-way Traffic Lights & temporary Crossing:

To remain in place from now until 10/4/21

 

Weekend closures (24 hrs day & night):

Sat 10/4/21 06:00 to Mon 12/4/21 05:00

Sat 17/4/21 06:00 to Mon 19/4/21 05:00

Sat 24/4/21 06:00 to Mon 26/4/21 05:00

 

Mid week three way traffic lights & Temporary Pedestrian Crossing:

Mon 12/4/21 05:00 to Sat 17/4/21 06:00 (24 hr)

 

Mon 19/4/21 05:00 to 19:00 (days)

Tues 20/4/21 05:00 to 19:00 (days)

Wed 21/4/21 05:00 to 19:00 (days)

Thurs 22/4/21 05:00 to 19:00 (days)

Fri 23/4/21 05:00 to 19:00 (days)

Mon 26/4/21 05:00 to Fri 7/5/21 17:00 (24 hr)

 

Weekday night closures (19/4/21 to 23/4/21):

Mon 19/4/21 19:00 to Tues 20/4/21 06:00

Tues 20/4/21 19:00 to Wed 21/4/21 06:00

Wed 21/4/21 19:00 to Thurs 22/4/21 06:00

Thurs 22/4/21 19:00 to Fri 23/4/21 06:00

Fri 23/4/21 19:00 to Sat 24/4/21 06:00

Letter to Rothwell Town Council from Rothwell North Working Party 11/3/2021

 

Letter to Persimmon regarding proposed closure of B576

Dear Marcus,

 

Northamptonshire Highways has notified us of proposed work to be carried out on your behalf by Paul John Construction between the 5^th and 18^th April. This work is forecast to close the B576, Desborough Road, Rothwell completely for a two week period and is causing huge concern to residents of Desborough and Rothwell for the following reasons.

 

Congestion

 

There are currently about 6,000 vehicles per day using this section of road and this is likely to increase further as Covid restrictions are relaxed. There were nearly 12,000 vehicles per day using it before the Covid crisis. The diversionary route will not be able to cope with such an increase.

 

Gold St & Braybrooke Rd, Desborough

 

Gold Street and Braybrooke Road form the northern part of the diversionary route. They are narrow urban roads that always have a large number of parked vehicles along their length. Traversing it on a normal day is difficult since you are always having to stop and start to give way to opposing vehicles. A large number of extra vehicles is likely to cause traffic to come to a complete gridlock during busy periods.

 

The junction of Gold Street with Harborough Road is already a difficult one to traverse. The view is restricted and traffic travelling along Harborough Road causes delays to vehicles trying to emerge from Gold Street. Extra traffic is just going to form long queues backing up and blocking junctions further back.

 

Fox St & Harrington Rd, Rothwell

 

These form the southern part of the diversionary route and a similar situation exists here. The roads are narrow and contain even more parked vehicles. Traversing them on a normal day is difficult and gridlock is likely to occur with traffic waiting to overtake parked vehicles.

 

There are always delays with vehicles trying to emerge from Fox Street onto Kettering Road. Once again, extra traffic is just going to form long queues and gridlock.

 

Montsaye School

 

Children will be back at school by this time and the diversion will cause huge problems at school opening and closing times, particularly for those parents and students travelling from Desborough who will have to use the much longer and heavily congested diversionary route. Has consideration been given to the school bus timetable where several of the buses carry out two or three quick return trips to Desborough during each morning and afternoon periods? How will the buses pick up children from the collection points in Rothwell Road, Desborough without having to carry out U-turns?

 

I am aware that the school principal is astounded that she has not been consulted about this, in particular that the road closure is going to disrupt the school yet again only just after it has re-opened.

 

Rothwell Medical Centre

 

Rothwell Medical Centre and Lloyds Pharmacy appear to be in the middle of the closed section. Will access still be available for patients and customers, particularly for those travelling to and from Desborough? It is vital that the Covid vaccination process is not interrupted.

 

Emergency Vehicles

 

Emergency vehicles invariably have to travel from the Kettering area to access Desborough. The use of the much longer and heavily congested diversionary route will significantly increase response times and could jeopardise patient safety.

 

Public Service Vehicles

 

Stagecoach provides a twenty minute weekday bus service each way between Rothwell and Desborough and the diversion will create a major disruption to their timetable. Has consideration been given to how the buses will collect and drop their passengers on either side of the closure both in Rothwell Rd, Desborough and Desborough Rd, Rothwell?

 

Construction Vehicles

 

How do you propose to route the construction vehicles to and from your own site when the Desborough side of the main road junction is closed? Will they have to travel through Rothwell since that would be contrary to your Construction Management Plan?

 

Construction Management Plan (CMP)

 

The proposed work is in breach of the CMP which requires that “The site will be constructed in a phased manner to minimise the impact of the development on existing residents and businesses located in the nearby towns of Rothwell and Desborough. Road improvements will be delivered at the appropriate stages in order to ensure that disruption to the local transport network is minimisedduring construction.

 

Conclusion

 

I do not think that Paul John Construction has properly assessed the implications of this work. Similar junction construction work takes place in other areas without the need for complete closures.

 

If a complete closure is absolutely necessary, can this be carried out at night with single flow traffic taking place during the day? If not, the work should take place during the school holidays with night work as well to ensure the minimum of disruption.

 

Regards,

 

Rick Hill

o/b/o Rothwell North Working Party