| Last Updated: May 8th, 2008 - 16:45:51 |
Castle
T Clarke - Independent
On behalf of Peter Evans and myself we respond as follows:
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 elected we will call for an all party working group to be set up to monitor and question progress on the Core Strategy/Central Area Action Plan and the Sixfields Area Action Plan. We will question in Council and Committee what progress that is being made and will insist on regular updates from those officers concerned to be circulated to Councillors. We will also engage with GOEM (Government Office East Midlands) and Northampton Town Supporters Limited to ensure the urgency for a decision is understood and supported at both Community and Governmental level."
What do you feel a professional football / sports team brings to a town / community?
"We both believe in the politics of "Bread and Circuses" In other words a Town/City cannot simply deliver the Bread and Butter services i.e. refuse collection/street cleaning (if only we did!) but should also be responsible for provide adequate leisure provision (The Circuses) for people in the Town. A League Football Club in Northampton has an estimated worth of around £4m a year in incoming investment and additional visits to the Town not to mention the promotional advantages of national coverage of the Football Clubs activities. NTFC gives the people of Northampton a sense of pride and achievement, a sense of belonging and enables the community to unite behind their team and promote our town in so many ways. A town of Northampton's size without a league Football Club is a thought not worthy of consideration. What should be considered as a matter of urgency is how we can protect that status for the good of everyone in the Town and County".
What will you do to enact NBC’s policy - "to enable and encourage a sustainable future for League Football in Northampton"?
"To date NBC have not enacted this policy in any meaningful way sense or form. We will ask the Cabinet to review it's policy and formulate ways in which the words can be put into action. We will work with Northampton Town Supporters Limited to identify how other Councils are supporting their respective League Clubs and promote and call for similar input from NBC. We will promote and gather support from all Councillors from all party's in support of putting the councils fine words into identifiable actions".
P Evans - Independent See Response from T Clarke
E J Fitzpatrick - Independent - Response awaited
D P Glasson - Conservative - Response awaited
G Hemphill - Conservative
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 - "to enable and encourage a sustainable future for League Football in Northampton"?
in answer to your questions, I think our town needs a football club and should learn from MK council and look at what they are doing for their team its not just about the stadium it represents the town its self I can remember watching Sixfields being built and thinking then they have not any vision in this town we need something that shows this town is going somewhere and that it is doing something for the community, and we put our selves on the map, i think Sixfields has so much to offer the town and should be given the planning permission otherwise we will be still talking about this in another ten years, we need not only development of the ground but the area around it.
T Scott - 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.
C J Swinn - Liberal Democrat - Response awaited
S Winder - 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?
As a Liberal Democrat, I am committed to prioritising the regeneration of Northampton.Both the Town Centre Action Plan and the Sixfields Area Action Plan are key elements in achieving this. The general pace at which things progress is largely determined by the Government Office of the East Midlands (GOEM), who have to scrutinise and ‘sign off’ projects, but we must ensure that our share of the job is done as promptly as possible. We need to look at staffing in the Planning Policy section in order to ensure that our work is done efficiently, and we need to ensure that plans accord with planning law and regulations, which are unfortunately inflexible. Equally importantly, we need to keep everyone fully informed, and ensure that we set a realistic, acceptable, and achievable timescale.
What do you feel a professional football / sports team brings to a town / community?
Having successful professional sports teams brings both tangible and intangible benefits to the town. The tangible benefits are the visitors that are attracted, and the money that they put into the local economy. The intangible benefits stem from the raising of Northampton’s profile, and the pride and ‘feel good factor’ of having successful local teams that the people of Northampton can be proud of.
What will you do to enact NBC’s policy - "to enable and encourage a sustainable future for League Football in Northampton"?
The first and most obvious thing that can be done to help league football in Northampton is to remove the present uncertainties about what is happening regarding future development at Sixfields (see answer to Q1). Wealso need to recognise and celebrate The Cobblers’ community work, and their role in promoting the overall image of Northampton.
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