May 2025 issue of Nene Herald

ISSUE 10 - MAY 2025

NENE Herald

News from Around the Wellingborough & Rushden Area

Reform Trounce Labour & Tories The Reform UK party came from nowhere to take control of North Northamptonshire Council with 39 out of 68 seats.

In Wellingborough and Rushden, it was a wipe-out for the usual Parties. The Conservatives were reduced to just one councillor in the two Towns. Barbara Jenney, in Rushden South, was the sole Conservative survivor.

In the two Towns, Labour were reduced to just two councillors, Kelly Duddridge and David Baker in Victoria ward.

Just outside the Towns, the Conservatives took two seats in Irchester ward (Tom Partridge-Underwood and Jon-Paul Carr), and two more in Earls Barton ward (Scott Brown and Vicki Jessop).

The candidates elected for NNC in our area are listed below :

Brickhill and Queensway Gavin Beales John Carvetta Darren Rance

Reform UK Reform UK Reform UK

Irchester Tom Partridge-Underwood John-Paul Carr Gordon Dunsmuir

Croyland and Swanspool Martin Griffiths Chris Munday

Irthlingborough

Reform UK Reform UK

Matt Davies Gregory James Wilcox

Conservative Conservative

Ash Hall Chris McGiffen

Reform UK

Keith Clarke Jack Goncalvez

Earls Barton Scott Phillip Brown Vicki Jane Jessop

Reform UK Reform UK Reform UK

Victoria Kelly Duddridge David Baker

Reform UK Reform UK

Rushden Lakes

Hatton Park Ken Harrington Paul Brooke Vinnie Whitrow

Reform UK Reform UK

Pemberton

Finedon Andy Sims

Conservative Conservative Reform UK

Labour Labour

Reform UK Reform UK

Rushden South Barbara Jenney Steve Clark

Conservative Reform UK

Wellingborough Town Council

Tories Retain Rushden Town Council The Conservatives have retained control of Rushden Town Council, with 19 out of 21 seats.

Reform took the two remaining seats.

Wellingborough Town Council has no overall control. The Conservatives are the largest Party with 11 seats, and Labour have 6.

The Councillors elected were:

Brickhill & Queensway Ward

Donne Close Ward Paul Harley

Conservative

Pemberton Ward Ash Hall Cesare Marinaro Valencia McDonald Chris McGiffen Gill Mercer Janet Pinnock Kaye Rawlins

Reform UK Conservative Conservative Reform UK Conservative Conservative Conservative

Prospect Ave Ward Carol Childs

Conservative

Rushden Lakes Ward Melanie Coleman Adrian House Phil Humphrey Andy Mercer Tony Mokogwu Roger Powell

Conservative Conservative Conservative Conservative Conservative Conservative

Rushden South Ward Phil Bettles David Coleman Barbara Jenney King Lawal Steve North Bob Tillyer

Conservative Conservative Conservative Conservative Conservative Conservative

Maria Alexandra Chris Ashton Paul Bell Sylvia Erskine Scott Fitzsimmons Graham Lawman Allan Shipham

Conservative Labour Conservative Labour Labour Conservative Independent

Croyland & Swanspool Ward Valerie Anslow Paul Brooke Victor James Mark Jones Paul Mannion

Labour Reform UK Labour Conservative Green

Hatton Park Ward Jonathan Ekins Ken Harrington Launa Koriya Raz Koriya Simon Masters Judy Samworth Vinnie Whitrow

Conservative Reform UK Conservative Conservative Conservative Conservative Reform UK

Victoria Ward Kelly Duddridge Faith Hewitt Raj Mishra Marion Turner-Hawes

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Labour Conservative Conservative Independent

Tories Retain Higham Town Council

Higham Ferrers Election Postponed

Chichele Ward Bert Jackson Christopher O’Rouke Vijay Paul Penny Reading Gary Salmon Penny Van Spall Nico Springman Stephen Tuffnail

Conservative Conservative Conservative Conservative Conservative Independent Independent Independent

The election for councillors to represent the Higham Ferrers ward on North Northamptonshire Council (NNC) was postponed.

The Liberal Democrat candidate in this election passed away the day before polling took place.

NNC issued the following press release: “The election for the Higham Ferrers ward of North Northamptonshire Council on 1 May 2025 will be rearranged following the sad death of candidate William John James Ratcliffe also known as John Ratcliffe.”

Lancaster Ward John Baugh Jennie Bone Nigel Brown Gerald Kelly Louise Parker Barry Prigmore Anthony Reading

Conservative Conservative Conservative Green Conservative Independent Conservative

“An election must take place by 23 June 2025 and further details about a new date for the election will be announced in due course. New poll cards will be sent to all affected voters once the date is set.”

There is one vacancy on Lancaster Ward.

The Mallards Re-stocked Years ago, little stone quarries were dotted across the Wellingborough area. When these were worked out, most were left un-restored for many years.

Several neglected quarries later became parks. By then, the deep pits had filled with water and evolved into a haven for wildlife. One deep quarry, to the west of Rushden, was eventually surrounded by new housing.

After the housing was built, the remaining area, which included the pits, water and wildlife, was transferred to Rushden Town Council.

Rushden Town Council opened the area for public enjoyment and named it “The Mallards”. The Council allows fishing in the lakes at no charge (provided that the anglers have a fishing licence and that all fish are returned to the lakes).

Last year’s hot weather reduced the oxygen in the lakes to low levels which reduced the number of fish and during the winter, the Council, with the help of the Environment Agency, re-stocked the lakes at the Mallards, so that local anglers could again enjoy the facility and practice their sport.

Bulb planting also took place to enhance the area for local residents.

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The Case For A Rushden Station Part 6 Nene Herald is championing a campaign to establish a mainline station to serve Rushden and Higham Ferrers. As mentioned previously, Rushden is by far the largest town in England without its own working railway station.

There are villages a tenth the size of Rushden that have a station; e.g. Brundall in Norfolk (population 4,019) has two! This is despite Brundall being roughly the same distance from Norwich station, as Rushden is from Wellingborough station.

The Origin of the Rushden Parkway Station The idea of a “parkway” station for Rushden at Knuston, is not a new one.

Long ago, the Association of Train Operating Companies (ATOC) commissioned a new report, called “Connecting Communities: Expanding Access to the Rail Network”. It was published in June 2009.

The Report advocated a series of improvements to the nation’s rail network. It listed the investments that were desirable, and near the top of the list was a Parkway Station for Rushden!

A Wikipedia entry exists describing the plan!

In the 16 years since the Report was published, the case for a parkway station on the Midland mainline has just got stronger.

If the government is serious about their plan to promote economic growth and investment, then surely, this long overdue project should be among the first projects funded by the government.

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Fire and Rescue Consultation Northamptonshire Fire & Rescue Service are conducting a public consultation on its Community Risk Management Plan (CRMP).

This is the strategic plan for NFRS that identifies what the risks are in our community, and how they align their resources to reduce those risks and keep residents safe across Northamptonshire.

They are also consulting about their standards of response (i.e. how quickly they need to get to an incident).

The draft CRMP can be read on their website at: https://www.research.net/r/VQBKPZ8 The consultation is open until 21 May 2025.

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The Battle For Rushden Lakes Part 7 This is the seventh instalment of the story of how the Rushden Lakes scheme came to be approved and then built.

A New Local Landmark Integrating retail, wildlife and leisure, a previously bizarre concept, was an idea pushed hard by councillors, especially, Cllr.

Andy Mercer.

However, it wasn’t the only new idea that came from the local councillors.

Cllr. Sarah Peacock argued strongly for a bridge over the A45, to allow walkers and cyclists to use the new site. The developers, LxB, were unconvinced, but agreed to build the bridge. They thought that it was unlikely to get much footfall. They were wrong.

Much to everyone’s surprise (and pleasure), the bridge carried a lot of traffic. In fact, it had a significant impact on the appeal of Rushden Lakes.

Further, the White Bridge has rapidly become an important local landmark. Looking back, it seems hard to imagine how it was not included in the original plans.

Long before Rushden Lakes was opened, the local councillors correctly forecast that the roundabout on the A45 would be overloaded. They were incredibly prescient.

Cllr. Gill Mercer had noted an old, disused track that ran parallel to the A45 and alongside the roundabout.

She persuaded LxB to upgrade it to highway standard.

This road now diverts Rushden-Higham traffic off the roundabout, reducing congestion, especially at rush hour.

In the next instalment, we’ll describe how the plans evolved, with councillors and developers working together to create something truly unique.

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OUT AND ABOUT IN WELLINGBOROUGH & RUSHDEN

Toys At Rushden Museum Each year, Rushden Museum creates a special theme for their display of artefacts. For 2025, the special theme will feature Toys. It is a celebration of Osborne’s Sports & Toys 70 years of trading in Rushden High Street.

Osborne’s Toys is a third-generation family-run business boasting a wide range of traditional toys and expert advice. Osborne’s received special recognition in 2018 when they were chosen by Lego as the only site in the UK to feature a special display marking the 60th Anniversary of the patenting of the first Lego brick.

Osborne’s were the first shop in the UK to sign up as a Lego stockist.

Rushden Museum, based in the Old Stable Block in Hall Park, is open every Saturday/Sunday from May until October, 2pm to 4pm.

The museum is small but it is well worth a visit. The staff/ volunteers are very knowledgeable and welcoming.

Warwicks Closing Down The town centres of Rushden and Wellingborough are exceptional in many ways. Thirty years ago, they were even more special.

The two towns were memorable for having some excellent longstanding family businesses, i.e. ones that were nowhere else. Most department stores are national (or international) chains these days, but over the years Rushden and Wellingborough had some unique department stores: · Peter Crisp · Calland and Holtom · Warwicks · P W Wills · Bon Marché Almost all these stores have closed in recent decades. (Bon Marché downsized and moved from Rushden to Wellingborough.)

Sadly, now Warwicks are planning to close. It will be end of an era. They have been an icon of Wellingborough for 157 years. Neil Warwick, the current owner, has decided to retire and nobody in the family wishes to take over the business. The closure of this family business will be a sad loss for Wellingborough.

Thankfully, some other longstanding family businesses continue trading.

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The King’s Trust The King’s Trust was originally founded in 1976. It used to be known as the Prince’s Trust but was renamed when King Charles III ascended to the throne.

The King’s Trust provided a scheme offering free support to young people enabling them to develop their skills and self-confidence through a 12-week team-building course. One of their recent projects was painting the fencing at the Wellingborough Whitworths sport’s ground.

The young people who completed the last course recently received their awards.

Rushden’s Town Mayor, Cllr. David Coleman (pictured with his chain of office) said, “Ryan and Michael are inspiring tutors and hearing the presentations from all the students was truly heartwarming.”

Wellingborough Bus Rally On the weekend of the 12th/13th April, the annual Wellingborough Bus Rally and Running Day took place.

This was the 12th annual rally, which is organised by Northampton Transport Heritage & 794 Preservation Group with the valued support of Wellingborough Museum.

It took place in the grounds of the Castle Theatre and Museum.

Green Evicts Labour During the recent local elections in Wellingborough, there was an extraordinary feud between a Labour candidate, Ms. A, and her Green opponent, Mr. B. They both stood for election in one of the Wellingborough wards.

Ms. A had been renting a property from Mr. B for around 10 years. He recently served a Section 21 notice on her. This means that she, along with her family, are to be evicted from her home.

This amazing situation is especially odd, because the Labour government is in the process of abolishing Section 21 (“no fault”) evictions, and the Green Party is supporting their abolition.

How Mr. B squares his intention to evict Ms. A via Section 21, with his support for abolishing Section 21 is a mystery

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GP Surgery Issue On 26 February 2025, the BBC reported that a number of GP surgeries across the country were having problems, in part due to “constantly unpaid services.

One of the surgeries that the BBC named was Rushden Medical Centre (RMC) in Adnitt Road, Rushden.

The BBC quoted a former employee of RMC as saying that “for several months last Summer, no butterfly kits were available to perform injections on children or people with fragile veins, so people were being bruised with larger needles”.

In 2022, the Care Quality Commission performed a Full Inspection of the practice. On the CQC website, they state : “We carried out this inspection to follow up on the concerns reported to us by patients.

This was a comprehensive inspection and looked at : •

Key questions inspected were - are services safe, effective, caring, responsive and welllead.”

•

Concerns reported to CQC.”

On 21 November 2022, they published the report of their Overall inspection. It was “Requires improvement”.

Recently, a group of residents were so concerned about the surgery that they held a protest outside the RMC. Subsequently, a representative from the surgery has agreed to meet them monthly to discuss the issues

Driving Miss Daisy

Calling All Horror Fans

On June 1, 2025, a new service called “Driving Miss Daisy” will be launched. It will serve the towns across the A6 corridor in our area, i.e.

Rushden, Higham Ferrers, Finedon, Raunds, Wymington, and Irchester.

Rushden Historical Society will be hosting “The Shed of Hell” at Rushden Station on July 5/6th. It will be a treat for all horror fans.

This new service is provided by Nene Valley Community Services Ltd, based in Prospect Avenue, Rushden. They offer a friendly chat over tea at home, a reassuring presence during an appointment, or help with daily tasks like shopping.

The service goes beyond just transport, providing one-on-one companionship for the elderly, disabled and those with limited mobility.When transport is needed, their wheelchair-accessible vehicle (WAV) ensures safe, comfortable trips, with drivers who carry bags, stay through visits, and build lasting trust

The organisers, Screaming Skull Enterprises are billing it as “Rushden’s Biggest Ever Horror Convention”, so prepare yourself for a spine-tingling weekend.

Tickets are on sale now and cost £20.

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News in Brief

Support for AuDHD AuDHD is a combination of autism (ASD) and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

At one time, ASD and ADHD were believed to be mutually exclusive, because each condition has its own specific symptoms.

Quiz Nights Rushden Conservative Club hosts a Quiz Night on the second Tuesday and the last Tuesday of every month. The Quiz Night starts at 7:30pm. Charge £2 per player.

However, now, ASD and ADHD are known to occur together. – “AuDHD”.

Wellingborough Library are hosting support sessions for the AuDHD community in May, June and July.

New members are always welcome.

If you wish to comment on any of the subjects in this publication or would like to contribute to the content, please get in touch via email to : nene_herald@yahoo.com,