Northamptonshire Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner Danielle Stone and Councillor David Smith, Cabinet Member for Planning and Communities at West Northamptonshire Council, have visited the Kettering Road area of Northampton to meet with residents, businesses and community groups to hear their views about public safety.
Danielle and Cllr Smith were joined by Police Sergeant Rodney Williams of the Neighbourhood Policing Team and Deputy Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner Marianne Kimani.
At the end of the tour, they sat down with West Northamptonshire Council’s Connected Communities Co-Ordinator, the Council’s Community Cohesion Officers and Community Development Team to continue partnership discussions that have already taken place between police and the local authority, since 2021.
The Community Cohesion Officers will work with police colleagues on specific engagement with residents and will support with the delivery of a community cohesion plan, contributing information and data which will support the overall aims of the Council in building strong, resilient and cohesive communities.
During the walkabout, Danielle and Cllr Smith went from business to business to understand local issues and begin to identify any action that could improve life in the area.
Businesses talked about issues with street drinkers, anti-social behaviour and littering and fly-tipping that degrades the atmosphere in the street. A community clear-up day that everyone could take part in was suggested and the idea has been taken away for consideration.
The group then visited the Northampton Mosque and Islamic Centre in Clare Street, where they spent time speaking to community members.
Northamptonshire Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner Danielle Stone said: “I was last in the Kettering Road area ahead of the recent threats of public disorder and I was pleased to be back in the area with Councillor Smith, as soon as we could, to see how people were feeling and just engage with them under more normal circumstances. It was great to see a positive, vibrant community and to hear how invested everyone is in improving the area and strengthening ties.
“Building trust and confidence between Northamptonshire Police and the people they serve is important to me. It was great to see the fantastic job that the Neighbourhood Policing Team is doing and to listen with Cllr Smith and his colleagues to local concerns and discuss how we can tackle them and make the community safer.”
Cllr David Smith, Cabinet Member for Planning and Communities at West Northamptonshire Council, said: “Community safety lies within my remit, but also as Chairman of the Police, Fire & Crime Panel, I was keen to catch up with local businesses and residents to see how they are getting on and where, or if, improvements can be made.
“Listening is really important to me, so I wanted to understand if there were issues with things like anti-social behaviour and littering which we continually work hard to try and combat.
“At the end of the visit, I felt that I had had some really interesting discussions with various businesses and groups in this vibrant area of Northampton Town, not far from where I grew up.”
Sergeant Rodney Williams said: “It has been great to visit local businesses and the mosque in the community and hear such positive feedback about our policing. Now, we need to continue to engage with the community and our partners and see how we can co-ordinate to further improve the area.”
