Councillor Paul Varnsverry

This summer, the Pride of Northampton has captured the hearts and imaginations of Northampton residents and visitors from further afield alike.

From September 5^th, however, the lions will be coming off the streets, given a new coat of paint and auctioned off for charity.  

Celebrity auctioneer Jonty Hearnden will be hosting the auction at the Park Inn hotel, Silver Street, Northampton on the evening of Thursday 23rd September 2010.   75% of the net proceeds from the auction will be divided between the Born Free Foundation and the Cynthia Spencer Hospice.  

If you would like to attend the auction, you can buy tickets  here http://www.bornfree.org.uk/shop/acatalog/events.html. 

 If you would like to buy a lion, you can download the auction catalogue and find out how to bid here:  http://www.prideofnorthampton.com/news.html 

Councillor Paul Varnsverry, Northampton Borough Council’s Portfolio Holder for Community Engagement, said “In many ways it is sad to see the Pride of Northampton festival come to an end, such has been the warmth with which they have been embraced by everyone who has come into contact with them. The auction must go ahead, though, and there are two exceptional charities which we want to see benefit from the proceeds.” 

“Even if you do not intend to bid for a lion, the auction evening will still be a wonderful event to attend and an opportunity for Pride-watchers to  give their favourite lion a roaring send-off.”

Northampton’s five flood sirens in the St James and Far Cotton areas of the town will be sounded between 10am and 12noon on Wednesday 29 September 2010 to ensure they will work properly during a flood. The test will involve the intermittent sounding of the sirens for around 30 minutes.

Paul Varnsverry explained “The sirens were installed in 2002 and are an integral part of the Environment Agency’s flood warning system in Northampton. They are tested every year to make sure they are working effectively. It is important that residents are provided with details of the reasons for the sirens being activated.”

“The sirens in Northampton are mechanical sirens - these are the traditional “air-raid” wailing sirens and have 360° coverage from a rooftop or pole-mounted installation. They are a robust and well proven way of warning of an impending flood.”

The sirens are located at: 

Siren 1 (St James) - First Northampton Bus Depot, St James Road

Siren 2 (Far Cotton) - Central Tyres, London Road

Siren 3 (St James) - Stanley Road Garages

Siren 4 (Far Cotton) - Towcester Road

Siren 5 (St. james) - Steene Street
 
During this year’s test, Environment Agency staff will be located at B & Q Car Park, Nene Valley Retail Park, Towcester Road on Tuesday 28 September from 9am - 5pm and the following day, the day of the test, Wednesday 29 September, in Morrison’s car park, Victoria Promenade, between 9am and 4pm to provide information on the risk of flooding, how to put together a personal flood plan and consider basic steps for preparedness. The staff will be available to answer any questions relating to issues in Northampton.

Deputy Leader of Northampton Borough Council and portfolio holder with responsibility for heritage, Councillor Paul Varnsverry, is calling for two gasometers in Northampton to be converted into landmark buildings as part of proposed future redevelopment.

The gasometers, which have dominated St Peter’s Way and Towcester Road for decades, are due to be decomissioned as part of the planned ‘Waterside’ redevelopment of the area and Paul Varnsverry is calling for the external framework of the two structures to be retained and sympathetically incorporated into the design of commercial or residential buildings, such as those seen in Dublin (pictured below) and Vienna.

“The two Northampton gasometers - particularly the St. Peter’s Way site - are an established part of the skyline when approaching Northampton’s town centre. That skyline could be significantly enhanced if they are used for a new purpose, or adversely altered forever if they are demolished and the sites used to host mundane buildings” Paul said.

“Converted in a similar way to gasometers in other towns and cities around the world, the gasometers could provide prestigious new offices or residential accomodation - possibly including halls of residence for students at the University who would have easy access to term-time job oportunities at town centre businesses and the nearby retail park - and provide landmark buildings on Northampton’s southern approach.”

Northampton Borough Council Sports and Play Development Team have invited nominations for the ‘Northampton Sports Awards 2010.’ 

The awards celebrate and recognise the achievements and sporting successes in Northampton over the past 12 months in the following categories: 

• Community Club of the Year

• Young Sportsman of the Year

• Local Sportsman of the Year

• Team of the Year    

• Young Leader of the Year

• Sports School of the Year

• Coach of the Year

• Get Active 2010

• Long time Contribution to Sport

• Volunteer of the Year

• Disabled Sports Achiever

• Local Sportswoman of the Year

• Young Sportswomen of the Year

Councillor Paul Varnsverry, Northampton Borough Council’s cabinet member with responsibility for sport, commented “The Northampton Sport Awards not only celebrate our wealth of local sporting talent, but also recognise those who support and contribute to ensuring sporting activity can take place through coaching, organisational work and commitment to nurturing the talent of others.

“Nominations could come from neighbours, work colleagues, fellow participants, teachers - anyone who recognises the dedication and motivation of someone they know who has helped make Northampton proud through its sporting successes.”

Nomination forms and eligibility criteria can be downloaded from:

http://www.northampton.gov.uk/site/scripts/documents_info.php?categoryID=885&documentID=826

The closing date for the nomination forms is 12pm on Thursday 9th September 2010. The awards evening will be held on Thursday 7th October, 2010 at St Georges Hall & Conference Centre, Northampton.

Paul Varnsverry has welcomed the coalition government’s announcement of a review of the previous Labour government’s failed 24 hour licensing policy.

Paul, whose portfolio responsibilities as a member of Northampton Borough Council’s cabinet include licensing, said “The review is a positive step forward and a highly necessary response to the previous Labour government’s failed policy. In Northampton, police, licensing officers and elected councillors on the licensing committee all knew Labour’s policy would create problems.

“Unfortunately, licensing law made it almost impossible for the committee to refuse applications and, on the rare occasions they considered they had reasonable grounds to do so, applicants simply appealed to magistrates in other towns for the committee’s decision to be overturned.

“The result was extra demands on our police and whilst Northampton has not seen the levels of alcohol-related crime and disorder experienced in other towns, the county is never the less ‘red-flagged’ as a hot spot for issues with alcohol at their root, including ill health, domestic disturbances and alcohol harm.

“Local decisions should be made by those who are locally accountable and with the wishes of those members of the public who stand to be most affected taken fully into account, so I am extremely pleased to hear that the review will include looking at measures to make it easier for communities to influence licensing decisions” Paul added.

“Loss-leading drinks offers by supermarkets is another area which demands action and one specific area of licensing law where I would like to see reform is with regard to licensing of filling stations. In my opinion the sale of alcohol is incompatible with such a patently ‘motoring’ environment.” 

An orchestra from one of Northampton’s twin towns is to play three concerts at venues across the town this week.

 The Junge Marburger Philharmonie, consisting of musicians aged 20 - 30 years old from Marburg, in Germany, will be playing the first concert at the Guildhall on Tuesday 27th July at 8 pm. The second concert takes place at St. Matthews’s Church, in Kingsley, on Thursday 29th July and the third and final event is at St. Peter’s Church, Black Lion Hill, on Friday 30th July.

Audiences at the Guildhall and St. Matthew’s Church events will be treated to Tschaikovsky’s 5th Symphony, Beethoven’s Fidelio overture and Strauss’ oboe concerto. At St. Peter’s Church there will be a change of style, with chamber music including cello duo, quintet wind music and trio clarinets to enjoy.

Multi-cultural community radio station, Inspiration FM, is back on air with a five year broadcasting licence thanks to the efforts of its dedicated group of community volunteers, supporters and broadcasters.

Mayor of Northampton, Councillor Marianne Taylor, officially opened the station on Saturday July 24th, following a live interview with members of the IFM Kids Show.

Inspiration FM first started broadcasting in 1996 and has received a series of Restricted Service Licences over the intervening years, proving to be a popular station amongst the multi-cultural, diverse, ethnic minorities, disadvantaged and the socially excluded members of the community it serves and a worthwhile addition to the airwaves in the county.

Councillor Paul Varnsverry, who attended the official launch event, said “I am delighted that Inspiration FM is back on air. I have tremndous respect for everyone associated with the station and  its objectives. Inspiration FM has achieved positive recognition, critical acclaim and several ‘firsts’ in its time on air and I wish them continued growth in listener numbers during the next five years - which I hope will be extended still further by the broadcasting authorities.”

Inspiration FM can be found at 107.8 MHz  and broadcasts over the internet at www.inspirationfm.com

Over 200 young footballers from Northampton’s 12 street football projects will compete in a series of three five-a-side round-robin football festivals this summer.

The festivals have been organised by Northampton Borough Council’s sports and play development teams and the Eastfield and Spencer Sport & Physical Activity Project to reward young players’ good attendance and behaviour throughout the year.

Team players selected to play in the festival will be picked by the coaches and volunteers who oversee the weekly football projects.

The first festival, which is part of a National Playday, is at Abington Park on 4 August from 12pm to 4pm for teams aged 13 to 15 years. As well as football, spectators and park visitors will be able to take part in a number of free activities including a rodeo bull, bouncy castle, climbing wall, go karting, a mini half pipe, junk modelling and other arts and crafts.

The second tournament is on Wednesday 11 August from 12pm to 4pm at Unity College for teams aged 14 to 16 years.

On Wednesday 18 August from 12pm to 4pm at Northampton Academy, players aged 10 to 12 years will be competing.

Councillor Paul Varnsverry, Northampton Borough Council cabinet member for leisure, said: “Every player taking part in the Street Football Festivals has demonstrated real ability and deserves their place in their area’s team. The festival is a chance for them to meet other young players, make new friends and experience the spirit of competition. I wish them all the very best of luck.”

The street football project is always looking to get more people involved either as players or volunteers helping to run sessions. For more information call Northampton Borough Council’s street football officer Gavin Lewis on Northampton 838458 or email glewis@northampton.gov.uk

Independent Councillor Tony Clarke has evidently reinvented himself as ‘Northampton’s Mr. Negative’.  

Earlier this month, Councillor Clarke was the lone voice of dissent in the Council chamber on ‘The Pride of Northampton’, the artistic lions that people have taken to their hearts. Yet in a previous letter to the Chronicle & Echo (“A plethora of fools and incompetents”), he announced his “full support” for the paper’s ‘Make us Proud’ campaign, saying: “I am often left perplexed by the latest attacks on our town’s services, facilities and its heritage”. 

In 2001, as the Hon. Tony Clarke MP, it was his eleventh hour intervention to Labour Ministers that paved the way for the transfer of parking powers to Labour Councillors in the Guildhall. Ironically, the move saw Mr Clarke receive a parking fine less than two hours later for failing to stump up the change for his ticket. 

Yet in interviews with and letters to the Chronicle and Echo during the past three years, Councillor Clarke has decried car parking charges. He did so in March this year in respect of evening time car park charges. In July 2008 he labelled parking permits ‘a breach of people’s human rights.’ Does he or does he not support the car parking schemes which he was instrumental in introducing?

From refusing to take responsibility for parking powers as the town’s MP, to refusing to attend Council committees today, Councillor Clarke appears to think democracy means getting what he wants and denying what he doesn’t. 

Councillor Clarke’s politics takes us all for fools. It relies on us forgetting the worst of his flip-flops, his u-turns and his blatantly anti-Northampton blog posts, which appear under the strapline “Because Northampton deserves to know the truth”; a boast which the site fails to deliver. 

What does Councillor Tony Clarke really stand for? No one is sure anymore.

Liberal Democrat Parliamentary Candidate for Northampton South, Paul Varnsverry, has thanked the 7579 members of the Northampton South electorate who voted for him on May 6.

“This was a good result for the Liberal Democrats, significantly increasing our share of the vote. I am extremely grateful to those members of the electorate who voted for me. I also extend my sincere and heartfelt thanks to everyone who assisted the campaign by delivering leaflets and helping out at Northampton Liberal Democrats’ campaign headquarters” Paul said. 

“My election agents, Jane Hollis and Richard Giddings, were there with unstinting support, as was my wife, Pam. Finally, my thanks go to the Liberal Democrat members in Northampron South, who appointed me the PPC for the constituency. With their continued support and endorsement, I am looking forward to fighting the seat again.”