News Bytes 2003-5

2/12/05

Bid to honour Timken workers falls through

Plans to build a permanent monument to the thousands of people who worked at the Timken factory in Duston have fallen through. See Northampton Today: 2/12/05.

25/11/05

Fire Damage to Duston Community Centre

Duston Community Centre in Pendle Road has been closed due to extensive smoke damage after a fire on Tuesday evening (22/11/05). No date for the centre to reopen is available yet, but the Borough Council has confirmed that it will not be until some time in the New Year. Duston Library, based at the Centre, is open for business as usual.

Change to Bus Services 1 and 1A

From Sunday November 20 2005, Stagecoach buses 1 and 1A have been renumbered 9 and 9A on journeys between Duston and the town centre. Stagecoach is also tripling the service on Sunday with buses every 20 minutes instead of hourly. The 9A to Kings Heath on Sunday has been renumbered 29 and 30, as on week days. See also Useful Information: Bus Services.

14/11/05

Blackadder writers say "yes" to Duston production

A stage version of the TV comedy Blackadder is to be performed in Duston after scriptwriters Ben Elton and Richard Curtis gave permission for the original scripts to be adapted.

Duston Players' writer John Myhill explains, 'I contacted the agents for writers Richard Curtis and Ben Elton in September 2003 to ask if permission might be given. Only a couple of weeks later Ben's agent emailed with a simple message - "Ben says go for it!". This was followed by a response from Richard Curtis in November and we were in business!' Blackadder: The Elizabethan Years will be performed at Duston Community Centre from Wednesday 16 November to Saturday 19 November 2005. For more details, see www.dustonplayers.org.uk.

11/10/05

New school for Duston

Over the next 18 months private funding will help to build a brand new school in Duston. Currently, The Duston School in Berrywood Road operates in outdated buildings on a split site. The new school will provide new facilities, not only for its students, but for the whole local community.

When the new building is opened, most of the original buildings will be knocked down and the land will be cleared for a state-of-the-art synthetic turf pitch. The school will retain its 25m swimming pool. Further information about the project will be made available at a public meeting at the end of October.

27/9/05

The Duston School Needs Your Help!

Our local secondary school is looking for community help to give the school a boost. Jane Herriman, new Headteacher at The Duston School, says, “Learning should be fun, and local people can bring subjects to life. We need business people, artists, musicians, entrepreneurs, retired people, the police, churches of all denominations – everyone, to help us make learning enjoyable.” Mrs Herriman is inviting anyone who has spare time during the day – or is retired – to come and help.

To contribute to the success of The Duston School, please contact Mrs Herriman’s PA, Anne Jones on 01604 598946 or email ajones@TheDustonSchool.northants.sch.uk. They would love to hear from you.

5/9/05

Surveys for family history buffs. The Survey of Memorials at St Luke's Church has just been updated with new material and is available as a 50-page booklet from this website. The Survey details all the gravestones and other memorials at St Luke's, which range from the 17th to 20th century. It will be helpful as a starting point for those tracing family histories or trying to locate resting-places. See also the Survey of Duston Cemetery.

Duston war memorial on the web. Thanks to exhaustive research by David Blackburn and Barry Mansfield of the Western Front Association, biographical details of those from Duston who gave their lives in the first and second world wars can now be viewed at the Roll of Honour website.

22/6/05

Free Home Fire Safety Checks

A new free scheme launched by Northamptonshire County Council Fire & Rescue Service means that Duston residents can contact the Fire Service to arrange for a fire-fighter to give guidance on how to prevent fires and other hazards, and to install free smoke alarms if necessary. To arrange a home fire safety check can call the Fire Service free on 0800 38 999 50 or e-mail safetycheck@northantsfire.org.uk.

The free check is available to everyone in Northamptonshire; however, the Fire Service is particularly keen to hear from the elderly, those with young children and the less able, all of whom are statistically more likely to suffer from house fires.

David Archer, Director of Public Protection and Chief Fire Officer said: 'Home fire safety checks are a free service for the people of Northamptonshire. The Fire Service will visit your home to give you safety advice, guidance on how to prevent fires from starting and to fit free smoke alarms if needed. Most fires are preventable and home fire safety checks will go a long way to making Northamptonshire a safer place to live. Call us today to arrange your home fire safety check.’

13/4/05

Timken History & Photos

Archaeological Services and Consultancy Ltd (ASC) are researching the British Timken factory site, and are likely to carry out an archaeological evaluation at the site later in the year. For historic photographs and background material relating to Timken, see the ASC website: Survey Work at Timken.

24/3/05

Changes to Duston School Buildings

Next week's meeting of Northampton Borough Council's planning committee will discuss the demolition and rebuilding of the infant and junior buildings at Duston Eldean School, and the scheme to replace St Luke's School with a new building next to Princess Marina Hospital. For more, see Northampton Today, Two School Sites Face Demolition.

21/3/05

Road Plans Announced for Upton & Dallington

The Government has announced major road building plans for Northampton. The proposals include a new road from Upton to Swan Valley and another to Dallington Heath - both providing access to new housing. For more information, see Northampton Today, £16m Road Expansion. (21/3/05)

15/3/05

New Head for Duston School

An experienced and renowned headteacher has been appointed as the new head of Northamptonshire County Council’s Duston School. Current head of The Brakenhale School in Bracknell Forest, Jane Herriman has been appointed to the post and will start in her new role in September.

In her previous role Mrs Herriman took Brakenhale School from Ofsted’s special measures category to become a successful school and is now looking forward to applying her skills to Duston. Mrs Herriman said: “I have enjoyed the experience of working with a school to improve the opportunities for young people for the better and I am looking forward to working with the whole Duston community to put the school on the map again for the right reasons.”

Mrs Herriman was placed at her previous school by the DfES after being trained to be a head in challenging circumstances. During her time at the school the number of lessons Ofsted labelled as satisfactory or better rose from 50 per cent in 2002 to 97 per cent in 2004.

Chair of governors Daniele Hill said: “Governors are delighted that Mrs Herriman will soon be joining The Duston School. She comes with an excellent track record and we look forward to the opportunities ahead. We have been impressed by her tremendous energy and drive, as well as a high commitment to delivering a first class education for young people.”

Outside of work married 43-year-old Mrs Herriman enjoys holidays, trips to the theatre and voluntary work at an animal rescue centre at weekends with her 7-year-old daughter. (Source: http://www.northamptonshire.gov.uk/)

19/11/04

New 'Super Surgery' ... Just What the Doctor Ordered

The Government is to fund a new 'super surgery' by 2010 in the Sixfields area, offering a range of health and social care services including primary care practitioners and outpatients services, diagnostics, dentistry, community and other outreach services. For more, see Northampton Today, Sixfields gets £10m 'Super Surgery'.

22/10/04

Search for Dallington Lodge Barnardo Children

A website has been set up to trace children who lived at Dallington Lodge, 13 The Avenue, when it was a Barnardo's home. To share information and see photos and messages, look at http://groups.msn.com/DallingtonLodge.

21/7/04

Everything Must Go! TV Programme Coming to Duston

ITV1's antiques and collectibles programme Everything Must Go! will be filming a sale at Duston United Reform Church on Main Road, Thursday 29th July 2004 at 3.30pm.

The programme is in Duston to help a local lady de-clutter her jam-packed home.

There'll be plenty of items up for grabs at bargain prices from: 60's/70's glass; collectable china; furniture; a dolls house; unworn and as-new clothes; books; videos; and loads loads more!

Anna Ryder-Richardson will be co-hosting the Duston episode with resident EMG! presenter Clayton Byfield-Riches.

So for your chance to pick up a bargain, get down to the Duston United Reform Church for the sale opening at 3.30pm!

For more information contact Jo on 0121 248 3914.

22/3/04

Alley Gates Removed by Council

Security gates behind Main Road and Park Lane, paid for by local residents, were removed by the County Council last week after complaints from local people wanting to use the alleyway for access to local shops. For more, see Northampton Today, Council Removes Residents' Own Security Gates.

15/3/04

Building of Upton 'Urban Village' to start in May

Planning permission for the first 200 homes at the new development in Upton was granted last week, heralding the start of an 'urban village' of some 1000 new homes. For more, see Northampton Today, First 200 of 370,000 New Homes Take Shape.

3/3/04

New St Luke's School delayed

Completion of the new St Luke's School at St Crispin has been put back to 2008 so that the bidding process for the project can be restarted. While this means that the school will stay on its existing site at Main Road for longer, it gives an extended opportunity to ensure that the new building will meet the needs of the community.

14/1/04

Appeal for Archaeological Dig at Sixfields

Duston's local archaeology group, SLA (St Luke's Archaeology) is asking local people to contact NBC town planners to request an archaeological dig on the Sixfields site before the planned development takes place. Their extensive research in the area suggests that there was a Roman settlement in the area just south of Weedon Road roughly between 43AD and 410AD.

If the Sixfields site is developed without further research, important evidence and remains may be lost, and the full history of the area may never be known. If you would like to support SLA in their bid for a dig, please contact The Town Planners at Northampton Borough Council, Cliftonville House, Bedford Road, Northampton, NN4 7NR and request an archaeological dig on the site before development starts.

For details of SLA's research, see Duston in Roman Times and Roman Town in Duston in the Local History section of this website.

1/12/03

Eldean School Shortlisted for Make a Wish Awards

Eldean School has made it to the final 15 of the Make a Wish Awards 2003, organised by Barclaycard and Chronicle & Echo. Local schools and charities were invited to submit a wish that will benefit the people of Northamptonshire. Eldean's Work On The Wildside project aims to develop their wildlife area and grounds so that they can be used, not just by the children, but also by the local community and other schools.

The school plans to open up a nature trail to encourage wildlife, develop a formal garden representing the four corners of the world, and a pond and meadow for wild flowers.

The prizes amount to £25,000 with a top prize of £10,000. To vote for Eldean, send a Make A Wish form printed in the Chronicle to the newspaper by December 15. The school would also welcome volunteers who can spend a few hours on the project or contribute ideas.

16/10/03

Survey of Memorials at St Luke's Church

St Luke's Archaeology Group has compiled a list of all the gravestones and other memorials at St Luke's with the name, inscription and location of each one. The dates of the monuments range from the 17th to 20th century, and the inscriptions provide a fascinating insight into changing social patterns over the centuries. The study should prove helpful as a starting point for those tracing family histories or trying to locate resting-places.

8/9/03

Community Group Details Wanted by Borough Council

Northampton Borough Council is appealing to all community groups, large or small, to get in touch to ensure that the Council has their contact details. The Council is compiling a database of all community-based organisations to refer to when needed for consultation.

Every group, whether borough-wide or neighbourhood-based, is urged to contact the Council to ensure that they are in the database. The Council would mainly use the information to contact the groups when consultation is needed. This means that their views will be sought, as key members of the community, on important issues and council policies.

Councillor Michael Hill, cabinet member with responsibility for community leadership, said, "It is so important that we ask key people in the community what they think on various issues that the Council has to make decisions on or respond to. These groups can really help us by giving us their opinions in consultation and can provide a voice for whoever in the community they serve. We want everyone, from local interest groups, womens groups, hobby groups, gardening clubs and sports clubs, to get in touch and ensure we have their contact details for future use."

To contact the Council with your group's details call Natasha Lazenby on 01604 837892.

1/9/03

Public Feedback on Timken Plans Published

Green Issues, the communications company that organised the Timken site exhibition in July, have published a report analysing the public's views. It states that there was considerable support for the provision of employment and recreational facilities on the site. The key concerns were about traffic, the proposed public house, car parking and facilities for young people. As a result of the feedback, there will be new proposals to minimize the impact from site traffic. The public house is to be dropped from the plans. There will be no additional car parking or facilities for youth. The planning application for the development will be submitted in October. For a copy of the report, go to Timken Report, or call Daniel Hayman on 0118 983 9453.

12/8/03

Duston Post Office to Close in September

Post Office Limited has announced the permanent closure of Duston's Main Road post office on September 9, despite the campaign to save it, which raised a petition of some 1800 signatures.

To find out more, see Northampton Today, Villagers say closure foregone conclusion.

21/7/03

Summary of Timken Plan

The exhibition at Duston Community Centre last weekend revealed the plans for the Timken site in Duston, and gave local people the opportunity to discuss them with the planners and submit their comments.

The main points in the plan for the proposed development of the Timken site are:

The planners will be considering comments from the local community before submitting a planning application for the redevelopment of the site in the autumn. The public can still view the proposals and submit comments online on the special Timken pages of the Green Issues website.

18/7/03

Upton Development. If you'd like to see what the new Upton development will look like, a booklet is available giving a plan and simulated pictures of the housing and open spaces. To download a copy, see Upton Summary. For an article about the project, see also 1000 New Homes by Collaborative Design.

15/7/03

Timken Site Development May Create 1000 New Jobs

Bellway Homes, Timken's preferred developer for the factory site in Duston, have announced that it is aiming to provide offices, light industrial buildings and 450 new homes, and create about 1000 jobs, which is nearly the number lost when Timken was closed in 2001. Community facilities for youth and medical centres are also planned. See Northampton Today, Timken Site Homes Plan.

St Francis Church Gets Grant

Twenty churches across the county have been awarded money to assist with repairs and renovations, including £500 to St Francis Church in Duston. To find out more, see Northampton Today, Churches Cash Bonanza.

11/7/03

Master Plan for Timken Site to be Unveiled at Public Exhibition

An exhibition revealing the plan for the Timken site is to be held at Duston Community Centre in Pendle Road in a week’s time. Planning consultants and developers recruited by Timken have drawn up the plan, and Green Issues, a communications company, are coordinating a community relations programme, and want to let Duston people help to shape it.

Daniel Hayman from Green Issues, who have organised the exhibition, said “The exhibition will feature illustrations of our initial thoughts on a range of issues, including community facilities, public open space and access. We are seeking local views and would like to give the Duston community an opportunity to have real input into the planning process.”

Representatives from the developers, planning consultants and Green Issues will be at the exhibition to answer questions, and local people will be able to give their reaction on comment forms.

The exhibition will take place at Duston Community Centre in Pendle Road at the following times:

Friday 18 July: 6pm – 9pm

Saturday 19 July: 9am– 7pm

Sunday 20 July: 10am – 6pm

Athletics Summer Course for Fun-Loving Kids

A summer course to be held at Sixfields will be ideal for children who want to be the next Paula Radcliffe, Dwaine Chambers or Steve Backley. The four-day Star:Track athletics course, run by Northampton Borough Council, is being held at Sixfields Athletics stadium from Tuesday 26th to Friday 29th August and promises lots of fun for those trying out all the sports on offer.

Children between the ages of 8 and 13 years old can sign up to the course and try out a huge variety of outdoor athletic sports. They can test their accuracy in the javelin, try shot putt throwing, see what their power is like for the long and triple jump, measure their speed in obstacle courses and have a go in the Grand Prix relay races. There are many more activities and competitions on offer for those who come along.

The four-day course costs £25.00 (concessionary rate available) which includes a goody bag and t-shirt, full supervision and training from qualified and experienced coaches. The course runs from 10am to 2pm every day and is set to be very popular, so contact NBC now to secure your place!

For further information or an application form contact Natalie Lawrence on 01604 837647 or e-mail nlawrence@northampton.gov.uk. Closing date for applications to the course is Wednesday 20th August.

8/7/03

Post Office Campaign Gains Support

Union members have so far collected more than 600 signatures for the petition against the closure of the Main Road Post Office, after protesting outside the branch in Duston on the last two Saturdays. The petition has been strengthened since Duston shopkeepers started collecting signatures.

Mick Fitzmaurice, the acting branch manager for the CWU, one of the campaigning unions, said: "We have been handing out leaflets and helping people write standard letters to the Post Office in objection to the closure. The number of pensioners living in the village is higher than any other in the county and therefore it is important to save the Post Office."

Tony Clarke, Labour MP for Northampton South, has offered his support to the campaigners. He said: "The Post Office consider that as the Limehurst Square branch is within a mile of the intended closed branch in Main Road, closure would not have an adverse effect on local users. How wrong they are. When Wellingborough Road lost its Post Office in 2001 an acceptable compromise was reached with the Co-op store undertaking the transfer of the business. With this in mind I am looking at whether a similar option is available to us in Duston."

Campaigners will gather again in Duston on Saturday 12 July, between 10am and noon, to obtain more signatures for their petition.

2/7/03

Fight to save Duston Post Office Hits the Streets

UNION members from the Northampton Public Sector Alliance (PSA) were out on Saturday (28 June) to canvass support to keep open the post office in Main Road, Duston. The action was taken to back up the ongoing fight of Duston's Pensioners' Voice group to stop the business shutting down in September. Pensioners ventured out to show support and about 200 names were added to the petition.

Mark Batterham, chairman of the PSA, said: "The problem is two-fold, to keep it open in Duston for the area and for residents in Port Road who aren't happy." He said the closure could potentially impact on the lives of carers, disabled people, elderly people and families.

The fight continues next Saturday (5 July) with a similar event between 10am and noon. A meeting is also being organised for July where worried residents will have the chance to speak out.

The public consultation period ends on July 16. To voice their views, residents can sign the petition or write direct to Post Office Ltd at: The National Consultation Team, PO Box 641, St Albans, AL1 5XN.

See Also

News Bytes

News Bytes 1/1/03 - 30/6/03

News Bytes 2002