Newsletter – April 2025

New police bases will be set up in the centre of Corby and Kettering.

Finding the right location for a new base in Corby is a priority.

Local neighbourhood police officers will be based in an accessible building in the heart of the town as soon as possible.

This new base will accommodate the neighbourhood policing team and a public enquiry office, as well as local response officers if a suitable site can be found.

Northamptonshire Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner Danielle Stone and Chief Constable Ivan Balhatchet pledged to enhance the policing of Corby town centre, and a number of sites in the town have already been viewed.

Work is now taking place at speed to find the right site and the enquiry desk at Corby Cube remains open in the meantime.

Several other developments will also deliver the plan to bring policing closer to the communities it serves.

Kettering will have a new, town centre base for the neighbourhood policing teams, along with an open public enquiry office.

In Northampton, a police base will remain in Weston Favell – but in a new or different building – keeping officers at the heart of the busy Eastern District. This complements the opening of the new public office at Campbell Square Police Station in the town centre.

Other towns will see a series of police hubs where neighbourhood policing teams could be co-located with staff from other agencies, and opening to the public for pre-arranged events or appointments.

Danielle said: “I’m really pleased to be able to deliver on my commitment that will make Northamptonshire Police officers more accessible in the towns they serve.

“It means so much to people to have a reassuring police presence in the heart of their community, to deter and prevent crime and keep our streets safe. I promised to make closer connections between communities and their police and fire service – this is another step forward.”

Ivan said: “Corby and Kettering will have the visible and reassuring police presence that they deserve, and we are looking at ways to engage with all of our communities across the county. I’ve seen for myself the impact that reopening our enquiry office at Campbell Square in Northampton has had for example.

“I want Northamptonshire to be the safest place it can and putting police officers back into the centre of towns – where they want to be – has a big part to play.”

Danielle has published her new public safety plan, Safe and Sound, which sets out the strategic direction for police and fire services in Northamptonshire for the next five years.

Safe and Sound will guide work across all areas of responsibility for the Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner – policing, fire and rescue, community safety and criminal justice. The plan will also inform the Chief Constable and Chief Fire Officer’s operational, prevention and funding plans.

The plan has three main missions that put communities at the heart of police and fire services: visible and accessible community services, professionalism and standards, and strong partnerships, setting out a series of actions that will create a safer, more connected community.

Safe and Sound was developed following a “Big Conversation” which included focus groups, surveys and study tours that took place across communities in Northamptonshire, to understand what people want and expect from their emergency services.

Action to deliver the Plan has already begun, including increasing the visibility and accessibility of both police and fire.

Danielle said: “Through our Big Conversation, people have told me very clearly that they just want to feel safer. They want to know that our emergency services will be there when they need them.

“My plan will ensure that my office, the police and the fire service work in partnership to create safer communities and safer victims with sound leadership and sound money management.”

Complementing the Commissioner’s Safe and Sound Plan will be the Fire Service’s new five-year Strategic Plan.

The document, known as the Community Risk Management Plan (CRMP), sets out proposals for how Northamptonshire Fire and Rescue Service will provide a high-quality service to residents and businesses in the county from 2025 until 2030.

The CRMP outlines how the Service will align its resources with risks that have been identified – including emerging issues such as flooding and wildfires.

Members of the public are also being asked to share their views on changes to the way Fire measures its response times to incidents.

The Service currently aims to get to all incidents within ten-minutes. New response times propose that crews attend dwelling fires where there is a risk to life one minute quicker than the current response time, while taking longer to attend calls for non-life-threatening incidents.

Share your views by filling in the CRMP survey by May 21. Just visit www.northantsfire.gov.uk

The round table was supported by the National Farmers Union, and was a forum for partners to raise issues, discuss solutions and talk about their experience of policingand feelings of safety.

Two themes emerged strongly – better communication and closer working.

The Big Conversation research into feelings of safety in Northamptonshire found that people who live in rural areas don’t always feel safe, or that their needs are understood.

This first round table meeting was a conversation starter, opening the way to closer collaboration and an action plan that makes rural communities feel and be safer.

There was consistent praise for the work of the Northamptonshire Police specialist Rural Crime Team, whose members deal with the crimes that are unique to rural areas such as thefts from farms, hare coursing, hunting, and wildlife offences.

But the message that came out most clearly was that people want more contact and better communication with their local police.

Danielle said: “We know that people in rural areas can feel more vulnerable. They want to know who their local officers are and how to contact them. I know that can be tricky in our widespread rural areas.

“My mission is to make sure people are confident that their police and fire service are there for them as accessible and trusted figures, working with partners to tackle community concerns. I heard fromour rural communities that is whatthey want, too.”

Well-known local food producer Farrington Oils hosted the round table at their premises in Hargrave, and the meeting involved the Country Land and Business Association; the National Farmers Union; the Farming Communities Network; Environment Agency; the Country Landowners Association; Northamptonshire Fire and Rescue Service; Northamptonshire Police Rural Crime Team; parish councillors, police liaison representatives and large rural estates.

Chief Constable Ivan Balhatchet said: “The concerns of people living in rural areas, as I do, are the same concerns shared by people across Northamptonshire: they want to know that their local police officers are there, ready to respond whenever they are needed.

“I am committed to making sure rural areas get a great responsive service. Everyone, wherever they live, should be confident that if they contact Northamptonshire Police, they will get the best service we can deliver from the moment their call is answered.”

The stations – in Kettering and Moulton – shall be built with state-of-the-art facilities for firefighters to support the Service in keeping communities safe.

The proposed new sites will be in great locations which are both accessible to the public and well located for operational needs.

The move to invest in brand new Estates reflects Danielle’s five year Safe and Sound Public Safety Plan.

Danielle said: “This is an exciting new chapter for Northamptonshire and our Fire and Rescue Service.

“The fire stations in Kettering and Moulton will deliver real benefits to the local community and ensure firefighters and fire staff are easily accessible at the heart of their patch.”

The fire station in Kettering will be housed in a new building on the Cherry Hall Road site adjacent to the Northern Accommodation Building.

Traffic and parking issues canmake entry to and exit from the current fire station in the Headlands difficult, so the new site will have good access to major routes and will be built to meet modern working and welfare standards.

A planning application will be submitted for the new fire station soon.

The station in Moulton will be built on the site of the current Moulton fire station and the adjacent former office complex, which has been vacant for several years.

The new building at Moulton will be a stand-alone fire station and an application has already been submitted to West Northamptonshire Council.

Subject to planning permission, the new fire station at Moulton will offer flexible working spaces for firefighters and fire staff, a community room for use by local groups and residents and a building more suited to modern operational firefighting than can be delivered at the current station, which opened in 1977.

New facilities will include a larger bay with more space for fire engines – which will comfortably house the 42-metre-high aerial turntable that was purchased in 2023 – as well as enhanced welfare facilities for crews such as toilets, showers, andchanging rooms.

Deputy Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner Marianne Kimani hosted an event with Police, Fire and Crime, Commissioner Danielle Stone, and Chief Constable Ivan Balhatchet for Black church leaders from across Northamptonshire.

In a new approach, Marianne brought this group of church leaders together in a round table event to discuss partnerships, representation, and trust and confidence in policing. It was an opportunity to discuss how partnership working can make our communities feel safer.

Marianne said: “I am so pleased to have been able to bring this group of leaders together, who are so influential within their communities, so we can create a partnership.

“It is so important that the Black communities have positive interactions with the police and not just when things go wrong. This meeting is just the beginning.”

Danielle spoke to the group about her new Safe and Sound plan, and encouraged the leaders to apply for her new grants scheme that provides funding for community services in Northamptonshire, launching in May.

The round table also gave the church leaders the opportunity to have their voices heard and make suggestions on how the relationship between the police and their communities could improve. Comments included increasing a positive presence in churches and communities, more education on the law for young people, and reviewing stop and search procedures.