In South Northamptonshire

South Northamptonshire is a beautiful community and one I am honoured to have represented in Parliament since 2010. I am regularly out and about in the community, visiting schools and businesses, campaigning on issues and meeting constituents at my regular advice surgeries. The constituency spans from the southwestern suburbs of Northampton down the A43 to the towns of Towcester and Brackley, and also includes 92 villages and parishes.

You can see my latest visits below:

A core role of an MP is to support residents across a whole range of issues, from policy queries to working alongside those most vulnerable with a wide range of issues including housing, employment and benefits.

As well as casework to resolve the issues faced by individuals, my team and I work on a range of projects – our South Northamptonshire Manifesto – to proactively engage on the biggest issues facing residents locally.

Development has always been a key issue for South Northamptonshire, balancing the real need to provide sustainable homes, employment and infrastructure with the preservation of what makes our area so attractive in the first place: the communities and their character coupled with excellent transport links in the very centre of the country. As the Member of Parliament, I seek to represent the views of constituents with concerns across a range of current and proposed developments, and you can read the latest news here:

The Farthinghoe Bypass remains a key infrastructure project for our local area. I regularly meet with representatives from West Northamptonshire Council and the Parish Council to press for progress on this project. The authority has confirmed that an update paper regarding the Farthinghoe Bypass will be brought to their September 2021 Cabinet meeting, providing the results of the latest consultation and the work proposed to progress this scheme with a view to developing an application for the Levelling Up Fund. The highways team are also considering shorter term options to help alleviate traffic issues in the village.

The Towcester Relief Road is a top priority for local residents and the surrounding villages, and I have been in regular contact with the developer and visited the site to see the work that is progressing with its construction. The Relief Road will help to cut congestion and improve air quality through Towcester, and I continue to press Persimmon and Highways England, with support from West Northamptonshire Council, to push this project forward and speed up approvals for the A5 and A43 roundabouts. I am strongly lobbying the Department for Transport to provide the funding that could bring this project to A road standard, so that the A5 Watling Street through Towcester could be de-trunked. The Relief Road is due to be finished by 2023 and I am hopeful that we will meet this important milestone.

HS2 continues to be an enormous concern for thousands of residents, particularly across the west of the constituency along the proposed line of route. Just before the UK went into lockdown in March, I took a line of route tour with representatives from HS2 where we met with met with residents to discuss their concerns in detail. I continue to take up individual cases with HS2 and the minister responsible, Andrew Stephenson MP. As work on the route continues through South Northants I will continue to hold HS2 to account.

I continue to raise individual constituent problems directly with the HS2 Minister, and I was pleased that one of his very first ‘line of route’ visits post the lifting of lockdown restrictions was to South Northamptonshire. Andrew Stephenson MP visited Radstone and Chipping Warden, hearing directly from constituents about their concerns.

The Chipping Warden bypass has opened after many years of lobbying and construction. This has been a result of many years of hard work by local residents, local Councillors and my own Parliamentary team to make the case at the HS2 select committee hearings as well as to keep the project on track over subsequent years. Whilst there are some concerns about the speed limit and landscaping, it is great to see the road finally open.

HS2 have also rectified issues with dangerous gates and bridleways in our area, removing the gates that posed a safety risk to riders.

I continue to strongly air my concerns and opposition to this project – and will continue to do so on behalf of my constituents who are adversely affected.

Following the approval of plans for a Strategic Rail Freight Interchange north of the A508 at Junction 15 of the M1, I continue to hold regular virtual meetings with SEGRO, developer of the SRFI regarding progress of the development. Under their legal obligation they have also set up a liaison group consisting of local stakeholders and members of the community. 

Healthcare provision continues to be a priority for residents, and I am pleased that the Brackley Medical Centre is open and serving the local community.

Whilst the Salcey Forest Treetop Walk remains closed due to safety concerns. I am pleased to report that Forestry England are currently in the process of securing a contract for the inspection of the steelwork and production of the design for the work on the Treetop Walkway! I am delighted, as I’m sure you will be that this is still planned to be restored.

This will provide a more accurate cost and time estimate of the work needed to make the Walkway safe and get it reopened to the public. The Salcey Forest team will then submit a business case to secure the funds to carry out this work.

The work is likely to begin in spring 2022 due to minimising the impact on local wildlife and protected species.