St Crispin
P A Buchan - Liberal Democrat
If elected what will you do to speed up the planning process to ensure the Central Area Action Plan and Sixfields Area Action plan are given some urgency / priority?
What do you feel a professional football / sports team brings to a town / community?
What will you do to enact NBC’s policy of maintaining and helping professional league football in Northampton?
If the Liberal Democrats take control of Northampton Borough Council at the elections on 3 May we will be giving the regeneration of our town a much higher priority than it has received up to now. Our plans are detailed in our manifesto. This can be found on our web site www.northamptonlibdems.org.uk
We will look carefully to see if increasing the number of people working in the Planning Policy team would significantly improve the quality or speed of their work. However, much of the time taken in the overall process is for the government to check and validate NBC's plans so increasing staff might have limited effect.
We will have to ensure that the plans submitted are robust and high quality to ensure they are approved by government inspectors. Any rejection would add significant further delays and must be avoided.
Regardless of who is in control we will press for the Central and Sixfields Area Action Plans to be completed at the earliest possible opportunity and with no undue delay on the part of the Council.
We will not sign up to any empty or undeliverable promises that are designed to mislead or placate the Club or the fans and shall try to ensure that the Club and the fans are kept as fully informed as possible each and every step of the way.
Professional sport is very important. It provides a focus for local pride, a sense of identity and of community. If one or more of our professional teams is doing well it lifts the spirit of the town.
Clubs and their supporters are ambassadors for our town. The reputation of Northampton is affected positively or negatively by their actions, particularly at away games.
Professional sport also attracts a significant number of visitors to our town with the consequential economic benefits.
We will want to encourage any business that brings jobs, entertainment and other economic and social benefits to Northampton – including our professional sports clubs. We will work with the professional sports clubs to maximise the benefits of their community programmes and to realise the promotional benefits to the town and to the clubs of working together. We cannot and will not show favouritism to any club over other local businesses or landowners.
We will be giving the regeneration of our town a much higher priority than it has had previously. That means that we will want to progress both the Central and Sixfields Area Action Plans as quickly as possible. We will look to see if increasing the number of staff working on the Council’s planning policy can significantly speed up the process. However, it is important that our planning process is thorough and robust. If it is not government inspectors will reject the plans and cause additional long delays.
At Sixfields we will talk with all interested parties to see if a compromise can be reached that speeds up the process. However, we will make sure that the planning process is followed properly. Failure to do so will, we believe, only cause further delays.
We want the Cobblers to succeed. We will ensure that the club and the fans are kept informed of progress and will not put any additional or unnecessary hurdles in their way. We will press officers to get on with the work as quickly as possible consistent with following the requirements of the planning process and ensuring their work is of sufficient quality and robustness to pass the various government inspections required by the process.
I Choudary - Labour
If elected what will you do to speed up the planning process to ensure the Central Area Action Plan and Sixfields Area Action plan are given some urgency / priority?
What do you feel a professional football / sports team brings to a town / community?
What will you do to enact NBC’s policy of maintaining and helping professional league football in Northampton?
It is Labour’s clear policy to give league football every chance of success in Northampton. In this election we are putting forward policies that will give us a more prosperous and successful town after the wasted and failed years of a Tory led Council. Any successful town needs a successful league football club which has a secure future.
If elected on May 3rd our first priority would be given to establishing a strong working partnership with Northampton Town Football Club and its supporters. We would work with Cobblers in an open and honest way. It is a disgrace that the Conservatives along with the Liberal Democrat opposition have been unwilling to do this as they have kept the decision-making and planning process away from those most affected. We will change this negative approach by forming a partnership that would benefit all.
We fully recognise that the planning and development process can be complex. However, by the Council not showing stronger leadership, and at every turn attempting to divert the blame away from themselves, the process has not moved forward as it should have.
Labour is committed to providing strong and decisive leadership to accelerate the process. This commitment was demonstrated recently when I submitted a motion to full Council, with the approval of an officer from GOEM. If the motion had been debated and passed the Central Area Action Plan and Sixfields Area Action Plan would have been given priority. The Conservatives along with the Liberal Democrats refused to debate let alone support our motion for reasons best know to themselves. If elected Labour will continue to pursue the terms of this motion.
For the Cobblers to have any chance of success then the local Council must give it every opportunity. The Labour Group on the Council have seen the Conservatives led by Tim Hadland hold the club back. When there did seem to be movement on this matter the Liberal Democrats decided at a critical time to call it in for further scrutiny. Indicating, in our view, a serious lack of commitment to the club and the citizens of Northampton.
Labour wants to see a successful league football club that can look forward and be confident that its future is secure. If Labour is elected we will work to achieve this.
P Flavell - Conservative - Response awaited
H Gibson - The Green Party - Response awaited
J Hawkins - The Green Party
If elected what will you do to speed up the planning process to ensure the Central Area Action Plan and Sixfields Area Action Plan are given some urgency/priority?
I'm well aware of the frustration of Cobblers fans because of the stadium fiasco.We need a new district centre for all the new housing, it is so important to have a community hub, with shops restaurants and activities for local people especially kids and teenagers. Having the Cobblers ground at the heart of this is ideal!
It is 5 years since the plans were first mooted yet the decision on the preferred location of the District centre will now not be made until November this year (even though in January 2006 a decision was promised by August 2006!) This is crippling NTFC’s plans.
All I can see is mountains of beaurocracy standing in the way. I think this is because the Government Office for the East Midlands is involved and the Area action plan can't be produced until the core strategy policies for the whole area are adopted, which means the power to act locally is taken out of our hands.
The Green Party is very much about thinking globally but acting locally. I would push the GOEM to support Northampton Borough Council by getting on with producing the Action Area Plan as a priority, and get control back in the hands of the people of Northampton.
Of course it has to be all planned out properly and should be sustainable and eco friendly with a minimal carbon footprint and that takes time, but after five years of indecisiveness they are just taking the Michael! (to be polite!)
What do you feel a professional football/ sports team brings to a town/ community?
Northampton Town Football Club brings so much to the community. It is so important in drawing the whole community together in one cause for the whole of Northampton. If NTFC's ambitious plans are realised with the help of NBC it will be a credit to the whole town.
There is so little for kids to do in Northampton, especially the 12 to 20 age group, and we get so many problems with graffiti, drunkenness and broken glass because they are bored with no-where to go. Then this leads to the recent spates of 'post code violence. (e.g. Kids from NN3 will stage battles with kids from NN1). They need something like a successful Cobblers season to draw them together. Football has the special ability to cut through all these divisions in society.
I would like to see a successful NTFC's Community Programme providing support to all the failing kids I see kicking a football about on street corners smashing peoples windows. Kids like that are our budding Cobblers players. NTFC could play a larger role in keeping them off the streets, and giving them a future.
Playing football is a really healthy activity for all ages. So the Cobblers should have regular family fun days to encourage everyone of all ages from tots to Grannies to get on the pitch and kick a ball about and play football, not just watch it.
What will you do to enact NBC’s policy of maintaining and helping professional league football in Northampton?
I would of course support NBC's continued involvement in the Cobblers, although I believe that there is inherent sexism in professional league football . NTFC needs to establish a policy of fielding footballers based on their football skills.. not based on age sex colour creed or sexuality. If they are the first team in the world to do so then that would be one up to Northampton Town, and something to be proud of!
As a female I can fight and die for my country, but I can't play for Cobblers first team! How wrong is that?! Supporting such a sexist organisation should actually be against the equal opportunity policies of the NBC. So I would have to clarify that!
Despite having no women in the first team I do support the Cobblers to the hilt!
D R Jwanczuk - Liberal Democrat
If elected what will you do to speed up the planning process to ensure the Central Area Action Plan and Sixfields Area Action plan are given some urgency / priority?
If the Liberal Democrats take control of Northampton Borough Council at the elections on 3 May we will be giving the regeneration of our town a much higher priority than it has received up to now. Our plans are detailed in our manifesto. This can be found on our web site
www.northamptonlibdems.org.uk
We will look carefully to see if increasing the number of people working in the Planning Policy team would significantly improve the quality or speed of their work. However, much of the time taken in the overall process is for the government to check and validate NBC's plans so increasing staff might have limited effect.We will have to ensure that the plans submitted are robust and high quality to ensure they are approved by government inspectors. Any rejection would add significant further delays and must be avoided. Regardless of who is in control we will press for the Central and Sixfields Area Action Plans to be completed at the earliest possible opportunity and with no undue delay on the part of the Council.
What do you feel a professional football / sports team brings to a town / community? What will you do to enact NBC’s policy of maintaining and helping professional league football in Northampton?
We will not sign up to any empty or undeliverable promises that are designed to mislead or placate the Club or the fans and shall try to ensure that the Club and the fans are kept as fully informed as possible each and every step of the way.
Professional sport is very important. It provides a focus for local pride, a sense of identity and of community. If one or more of our professional teams is doing well it lifts the spirit of the town.Clubs and their supporters are ambassadors for our town. The reputation of Northampton is affected positively or negatively by their actions, particularly at away games. Professional sport also attracts a significant number of visitors to our town with the consequential economic benefits.We will want to encourage any business that brings jobs, entertainment and other economic and social benefits to Northampton – including our professional sports clubs. We will work with the professional sports clubs to maximise the benefits of their community programmes and to realise the promotional benefits to the town and to the clubs of working together. We cannot and will not show favouritism to any club over other local businesses or landowners.
There are also various enquiries coming from individual supporters asking what we will do about Sixfields. For them I would suggest something like:-
We will be giving the regeneration of our town a much higher priority than it has had previously. That means that we will want to progress both the Central and Sixfields Area Action Plans as quickly as possible. We will look to see if increasing the number of staff working on the Council’s planning policy can significantly speed up the process. However, it is important that our planning process is thorough and robust. If it is not government inspectors will reject the plans and cause additional long delays.
At Sixfields we will talk with all interested parties to see if a compromise can be reached that speeds up the process. However, we will make sure that the planning process is followed properly. Failure to do so will, we believe, only cause further delays.We want the Cobblers to succeed. We will ensure that the club and the fans are kept informed of progress and will not put any additional or unnecessary hurdles in their way. We will press officers to get on with the work as quickly as possible consistent with following the requirements of the planning process and ensuring their work is of sufficient quality and robustness to pass the various government inspections required by the process.
A P McCutcheon - Labour
If elected what will you do to speed up the planning process to ensure the Central Area Action Plan and Sixfields Area Action plan are given some urgency / priority?
What do you feel a professional football / sports team brings to a town / community?
What will you do to enact NBC’s policy of maintaining and helping professional league football in Northampton?
It is Labour’s clear policy to give league football every chance of success in Northampton. In this election we are putting forward policies that will give us a more prosperous and successful town after the wasted and failed years of a Tory led Council. Any successful town needs a successful league football club which has a secure future.
If elected on May 3rd our first priority would be given to establishing a strong working partnership with Northampton Town Football Club and its supporters. We would work with Cobblers in an open and honest way. It is a disgrace that the Conservatives along with the Liberal Democrat opposition have been unwilling to do this as they have kept the decision-making and planning process away from those most affected. We will change this negative approach by forming a partnership that would benefit all.
We fully recognise that the planning and development process can be complex. However, by the Council not showing stronger leadership, and at every turn attempting to divert the blame away from themselves, the process has not moved forward as it should have.
Labour is committed to providing strong and decisive leadership to accelerate the process. This commitment was demonstrated recently when I submitted a motion to full Council, with the approval of an officer from GOEM. If the motion had been debated and passed the Central Area Action Plan and Sixfields Area Action Plan would have been given priority. The Conservatives along with the Liberal Democrats refused to debate let alone support our motion for reasons best know to themselves. If elected Labour will continue to pursue the terms of this motion.
For the Cobblers to have any chance of success then the local Council must give it every opportunity. The Labour Group on the Council have seen the Conservatives led by Tim Hadland hold the club back. When there did seem to be movement on this matter the Liberal Democrats decided at a critical time to call it in for further scrutiny. Indicating, in our view, a serious lack of commitment to the club and the citizens of Northampton.
Labour wants to see a successful league football club that can look forward and be confident that its future is secure. If Labour is elected we will work to achieve this.
S G Mold - Conservative - Response awaited
