The North Northamptonshire Council Executive met to discuss a range of issues, including approving the commencement of a review of the council's financial management, procurement and governance arrangements, and to adopt the North Northamptonshire Cultural Masterplan. Councillors also approved a revised policy for home to school transport and accepted additional capital funding from the Department for Transport (DfT) for highways and transport improvements.

Department for Transport (DfT) Capital Funding

The Executive accepted additional capital funding from the DfT and agreed on how the funds should be spent. The DfT provides funding each year to improve highway and transport networks.

The council agreed to spend Active Travel Fund 5 and Consolidated Active Travel Fund grants on implementing priority schemes from the Local Cycling and Walking Infrastructure Plans.

Councillor Chris McGiffen, Executive Member for Highways and Travel, said the new money meant an extra £7.7 million to spend. He noted that several options had been considered for spending the money, including addressing Station Road, Earls Barton, and works on the bridge over the River Nene on the A6, as well as pothole and general road repairs.

Councillor Ken Harrington welcomed that allocations were now on a formulaic basis rather than bids having to be made. He said the funding would allow the council to deliver a contra-flow cycle land in Montague Street, Kettering.

Chris Ashton, speaking as a member of the public, welcomed the government investment in transport in North Northamptonshire. He sought clarification on how the council had spent £3.28 million it previously received specifically for pothole repairs. He also sought assurances that the council would continue work on the Local Cycling and Walking Infrastructure Plans, and clarification on whether money for bus routes would improve existing routes, create new routes or go into contracts.

Councillor Helen Harrison welcomed the report and said she looked forward to seeing what schemes came forward and how they would be prioritised. She requested that smaller towns are not ignored and schemes should be able to come from all parts of North Northamptonshire.

Robert Foskett, speaking as a resident of Oundle, said the implementation of the Bus Service Improvement Plan should be considered to ensure that attempts to improve public transport were more effective in future. He said the Service 94 between Oundle and Rushden Lakes had a difficult start as it was launched before a timetable had been finalised and due to driver shortages, they could only operate two of the six services. He hoped the council would be able to update residents on the proposed service between Oundle and Stamford.

The Executive delegated authority to George Candler, Executive Director of Place & Economy, in consultation with Councillor Chris McGiffen, to determine the schemes to be delivered from the Local Transport Grant, together with update reports to Strategic Capital Board.

Corporate Plan 2025-2029

The Executive approved the key stages, activities and indicative milestones for development of the Corporate Plan 2025-2029 through to its formal adoption at Full Council. The Corporate Plan is a series of commitments to residents, partners and key stakeholders in North Northamptonshire. It links to the Big50¹ and Medium-Term Financial Strategy. Work on the Plan will begin in July with formal adoption by Full Council in December 2025.

Guy Holloway, Assistant Chief Executive, said the report set out the process and indicative timeline for the development of a new Corporate Plan for the council for this next four-year administrative term. He said the report set out the process for developing and scrutinising the draft plan, along with information about public consultation on key proposals.

Councillor Martin Griffiths, Leader of the Council, welcomed the start of the formal process of writing the new administration's first Corporate Plan. He supported the need to call the Plan something more meaningful for residents but to also make the Plan something that they could really relate with.

Councillor Eddie McDonald supported the approach set out in the report to work with local communities, officers, fellow members and other stakeholders to set out the council's aims, ambitions and future priorities.

Councillor Brian Benneyworth welcomed the steps that the report proposed but said it was more important to listen and get it right, so if it took a little longer then that was acceptable. He said it was important to maintain a strong dialogue between the budget process and the Corporate Plan, and that the Plan must be clear and easy to understand with measurable targets.

Councillor Graham Cheatley acknowledged that the council had significant key challenges in terms of increasing demand for key services such as children's and adult social care, and that smarter, more innovative ways of working were needed.

Councillor Elizabeth Wright was keen to work with the Youth Advisory Council to get their input into the future priorities of the council and North Northamptonshire.

Councillor Chris McGiffen highlighted that the condition of the highway was a priority for many residents and as such, should be a key focus for the council too.

Councillor Kirk Harrison welcomed the approach that the document would be a living document and would be able to grow and change with the changing environment we operated in.

Councillor Gregory Wilcox highlighted that strong local communities were going to be one of the key areas of focus for the Corporate Plan.

Home to School Transport Policy for Students of Statutory School age (5 to 16 – Reception to Year 11)

The Executive approved the revised Policy for Home to School Transport for publication. The policy sets out the council's arrangements for providing support to eligible children of statutory school age to enable them to access education.

George Candler, Executive Director of Place and Economy, said the policy had been changed in Summer 2023, and this had brought ongoing feedback and challenge from stakeholders and identified that there was a need to provide some clarity to the Policy. He said there were not any substantial changes and eligibility was not affected but it did set out a clearer process.

Councillor Eddie McDonald noted that this was an important area for families across North Northamptonshire and welcomed the additional clarity the amendments made.

Councillor Graham Cheatley acknowledged that there was a need to balance the needs of children within the council's financial framework.

Councillor Elizabeth Wright advised that as Chair of the Stage 2 Appeals Panel for Home to School Transport, she welcomed the importance of the new Policy.

Councillor Chris McGiffen believed that the vastly increased level of claims and appeals was due to the confusion of the Policy.

Chris Ashton stated that another council had called for reduced spending on home to school transport and he sought confirmation that this council would not be reducing spending on school transport. Residents in Wellingborough had also raised why school streets had not been considered as part of school transport plans to ensure safety of students near schools.

Councillor Jim Hakewill noted that the proposed changes did not change eligibility for home to school transport and that mitigations were being put in place through the development of alternative transport options. He noted that a previous change to the Policy had designated Rothwell to Desborough as a safe walking route and this had caused considerable concern to parents and carers.

Housing Maintenance & Development

The Executive delegated authority to David Watts, Executive Director of Adults, Health Partnerships and Housing, in consultation with the Executive Member for Housing Landlord Services and Strategic Housing, to procure, negotiate, award and enter into contracts for the supply and fit of external doors and windows, the clearance and cleaning of waste from void properties and the completion of repairs, maintenance and renovation works to 'major' void properties.

David Watts said the report sought approval for the procurement of contracts for the delivery of three Housing Maintenance functions. He said the ability to call off a contract was the preferred way to manage peaks and troughs in work, and the recommendations would support the existing teams whilst maintaining efficiencies.

Councillor Eddie McDonald welcomed that the work to improve living conditions for tenants would have a positive impact, especially those who lived with a disability or medical condition.

Councillor Brian Benneyworth stated that the contacts were essential in supporting the council's Housing Improvement Plan.

Councillor Graham Cheatley believed that the proposals were a cost-effective strategy, which should reduce reactive repairs.

Councillor Elizabeth Wright stated that the works would create more efficient and welcoming homes and would have the potential to support a new-born child to have a great start in life.

Chris Ashton stated that the report was recommending finding contractors for works rather than expanding the internal pool of skills that the council could utilise. He sought clarity on the cost difference on hiring inhouse DLO staff compared to hiring contractors.

North Northamptonshire Cultural Masterplan

The Executive approved the North Northamptonshire Cultural Masterplan for adoption and delegated authority to Jane Bethea, Assistant Director of Communities and Leisure, in consultation with Councillor Gregory Wilcox, to undertake any activity to develop and with stakeholders, deliver the action plan for the Cultural Masterplan.

Kerry Purnell, Assistant Director of Communities and Leisure, said there had been several key considerations whilst developing the Masterplan, including how culture was essential to the Big50, how it could grow the economy, partnership working and cross-boundary initiatives. She noted that residents engaged in culture significantly less than nationally, with Arts England investing £12.60 per person nationally compared to £1.80 per person in North Northamptonshire.

Councillor Martin Griffiths acknowledged the fantastic facilities that were available in North Northamptonshire.

Councillor Brian Benneyworth stated that culture and heritage held and centred everyone and was important for North Northamptonshire.

Councillor Jan O'Hara stated that the Masterplan was a fantastic opportunity to bring culture to the forefront.

Councillor Elizabeth Wright was looking forward to seeing how the cultural masterplan impacted positively on children, young people and families over the coming years.

Councillor Trevor Conway stated that the Place and Environment Scrutiny Committee had reviewed the Masterplan and had a lot of positive support for the Plan.

Safe Accommodation (Domestic Abuse) Commissioning

The Executive authorised commencement of procurement, jointly with West Northamptonshire Council, for safe accommodation (refuge) provision for victims and survivors of domestic abuse within Northamptonshire.

Kerry Purnell, Assistant Director of Communities and Leisure, said the provision of safe accommodation (refuge) for victims and survivors of domestic abuse was a statutory duty for the council and the current arrangements were due to expire.

Councillor Gregory Wilcox stated that ensuring that there were safe places for people experiencing domestic abuse, and their children, was one of the many statutory duties that the council was required by law to provide.

Councillor Elizabeth Wright confirmed that she was fully supportive of this approach to work with West Northants Council to commission this accommodation.

The Avenue Infants School Extension

The Executive delegated authority to the designated Director of Children's Services, the Director of Law and Governance (Monitoring Officer) and Executive Director of Finance (s151 officer), in consultation with the Executive Member of Children, Education & Families, to procure, negotiate, award and enter into a contract and secure any planning approvals required to deliver the scheme for The Avenue Infant School Extension to ensure that there is suitable accommodation for SEND unit pupils and staff.

George Candler, Interim Director of Children's Services, said the project had been approved in August 2023, and an architect and design team had been commissioned to develop a detailed design and planning permission was received in January 2025.

Councillor Elizabeth Wright confirmed that the report marked a vital step forward in the council's continued investment in high-quality SEND provision.

Councillor Graham Cheatley welcomed the proposal to provide additional SEND teaching and ancillary space.

Councillor Kirk Harrison was pleased to see this key investment come forward that would significantly improve the facilities at The Avenue Infants School.

Capital Programme Update 2025/26

The Executive approved the following changes into the capital programme:

• Local Transport Grant, budget approval for £54.6m, £0.728m in 2025/26, £13m in 2026/27, £13.655m in 2027/28, £13.467m in 2028/29 and 13.738m in 2029/30 to be funded from Department for Transport grant.
• Active Travel Fund 5, budget approval for £191k in 2026/27, funded from Department for Transport grant.
• Consolidated Active Travel Fund, £508k in 2026/27, funded from Department for Transport grant.
• Integrated Transport Block, removal of budgets of £4.092m, £1.364m per year in 2026/27, 2027/28 and 2028/29 as this scheme has now replaced by the Local Transport Grant.

Claire Edwards, Executive Director of Finance, introduced the report which sought approval for capital schemes that had come forward for inclusion within the council's approved Capital Programme in year.

Councillor Graham Cheatley welcomed the additional funding of £51.2m into the North Northamptonshire local road network and active travel activity.

Councillor Chris McGiffen was delighted with the extra investment.