Kingsley
G J Austin - Conservative - Response awaited
J S Croke - Labour - Response awaited
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.
N G Keown - Labour - Response awaited
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.
D Pickup - The Green Party - The following response has been received;
As a Cobblers fan myself I fully share the frustrations at the continued
lack of progress on this issue and would do all within my power to make sure
this an urgent priority for the council. I would be very happy to work in
conjunction with all the other councilors to ensure a speedy and positive outcome in this matter.
This is an area of Northampton that is very much in need of redevelopment. At present it is an unappealing sprawl with little soul outside of the stadium. With the level of redevelopment that is planned for Northampton, community hubs are vital. The Green Party believes very much in building strong local communities, and to have one with the Cobblers stadium at its heart is ideal. All our local sports teams bring so much to our town,
drawing the community together with a sense of pride rarely seen elsewhere.
We need to utilise this for all its worth as it can help our community on so many levels. As a youth worker who has worked for many years with the disaffected and deprived young members of our society, I have seen first hand how a sense of worth and pride can make a major difference in a young persons life, how sport can bring a focus that was previously lacking. The health benefits can be more than just physical. The recent "Coaching for
Life" programme in which the Cobblers, The Saints and NCCC all joined
together with Connexions to use professional coaches to inspire young people to experience how the power of sport can overcome or remove barriers to personal progress is a great example of how our sporting clubs can have a positive influence on our society.
Sport can bring communities and families together, and I have taken my family out to support all three of our local teams (though not as often as I'd like because of personal financial restrictions). We need to provide
more opportunities for families to be able go out and enjoy themselves as a family, something that I personally feel is lacking not just in Northampton but nationally. It's an old phrase, but "The family that plays together, stays together." In our modern society families spend too little time together, and I believe this contributes greatly to family breakdown, anti social behaviour etc. Where there is pride in a community, vandalism and petty crime is reduced.
I would therefore fully support NBC's policy to enable and encourage a
sustainable future for League Football in Northampton, as I would hope that the plans for Sixfields would be as sustainable as possible, with high energy efficiency buildings, use of alternative power sources and as minimum impact on the greater environment as can realistically be achieved. It would be a great opportunity to build a showcase, eco friendly hub that
incorporated sustainable technology at all levels, something to really be
proud of, a beacon to the sporting world like the magnificent eco stadium at Prince's Park, home of Dartford FC.
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A S J Simpson - Liberal Democrat - Response awaited
N Sullivan - Conservative - The following response has been received;
Thank you for your letter on behalf of the Northampton Town Supporters Limited, I'm sorry for the delay in replying. I'm sure you may have received many e-mails or letters like this already, and I do apologise, but due to the legal issues involved it is necessary to be careful with wording.
I admit to not personally following football very closely, but being from Northampton, of course I wish the team the very best. Northampton Town Football Club is rightly at the heart of our town and maintaining professional league football in Northampton is a key priority.
If elected, I will ensure that the Central Area Action Plan and Sixfields Area Plan progress as scheduled, with hopefully no further delays (or at least minimising them as much as possible). Both are important to the long-term future of Sixfields, and with it, Northampton. This should officially start with the creation of "Preferred Options" which will be produced by NBC for consultation by the beginning of 2008.
Following on from that consultation, Northampton Borough Council will produce policy guidelines for the Sixfields Area Plan, hopefully in early 2008. This will allow for a planning application to be decided for the Sixfields Area, including retail development, by late spring 2008 provided all interested developers and land owners agree.
I understand that the length of time involved is frustrating for Cobblers fans but, if elected, I will do all I can with my colleagues to ensure as little further delay as possible.
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M Taylor - Liberal Democrat - Response awaited
M E Upton - The Green Party - Response awaited
