Archive for category: News

With the festive season fast approaching, West Northamptonshire Council is advising residents of the arrangements for waste and recycling collections over the Christmas and New Year period.

Collection changes

The public holidays will affect households on a Thursday or Friday bin collection this year, as follows:

Daventry area

• Collections due Thursday 25 December will take place on Saturday 27 December
• Collections due Friday 26 December will take place on Sunday 28 December
• Collections due Thursday 1 January will take place on Saturday 3 January.

South Northants area

• Collections due Thursday 25 December will take place on Saturday 27 December
• Collections due Friday 26 December will take place on Monday 29 December
• Collections due Thursday 1 January will take place on Saturday 3 January.

Northampton area

• Collections due Thursday 25 December will take place on Saturday 27 December
• Collections due Thursday 1 January will take place on Saturday 3 January.

Garden waste

Subscribers are advised there will be a short break in the garden waste collection service, which will be suspended from Monday 22 December through to Sunday 4 January. It will resume its usual schedule from the week beginning Monday 5 January.

Household Waste Recycling Centres

Recycling centres will be closed on Christmas Day, Boxing Day, and New Year’s Day, and will close early on Christmas Eve, at 2pm.

With those exceptions they will be open from 10am to 4pm as usual, offering a great way to dispose of a range of materials, from excess household waste, to recycling and larger items that can’t be collected as part of your kerbside collection service.

Please remember if you are visiting any of our sites on or after 3 November 2025, you must book a slot in advance. Find out more information about the booking system

Additional recycling 

If you have more recycling than your bin can handle, you can put it in clear plastic bags or boxes and present it alongside your recycling bins or boxes. You can also take this to your nearest Household Waste Recycling Centre

Real tree collections 

Crews will collect real Christmas trees from Monday 5 January through to Friday 16 January. You do not need a garden waste subscription to take advantage of this.

Residents in the Daventry and South Northants areas should put real Christmas trees out on the day garden waste is due to be collected in their area.

In the Northampton area trees should be put out next to recycling bins, while those on sack collections can present trees beside their recycling boxes.

Please ensure trees over 6ft tall are cut in half so they fit in the lorries safely. They can also be taken to your nearest Household Waste Recycling Centre

Food waste

Food waste bins will continue to be collected on their usual weekly schedule. Please remember you can recycle leftover raw and cooked foods, including veg peelings, egg shells, out-of-date food, plate scrapings, solid fats, meat and fish bones.

Do not put in any liquids and don’t forget that when it comes to lining your caddy – any bag will do! Find out how to make the most of your food waste collection service

Keep on top of collections 

Downloadable bin calendars with information about waste and recycling arrangements for your area will be available from the Bins, Recycling and Waste pages of West Northamptonshire Council’s website in November.

You can check your collection day and set up alerts on your mobile by downloading the free West Northamptonshire Council app from the Apple or Google Play stores

Find more information about collections together with top tips for reducing your waste and recycling more this Christmas on the Council’s waste and recycling pages

Do you tend to avoid motorways, feel less confident driving on them than you would like, don’t like joining them, or have a general issue, then this free event is for you.

Each session (of around 2 hours) starts with a short classroom session about motorway driving delivered by Northamptonshire Police’s Driver Training Unit. Following that you will go out in a marked police car, from Police HQ to the M1, where an officer from the Roads Policing Unit will demonstrate how to join and leave the motorway safely, how to change lane and judge speed.

Once you have returned, you can practice what you have just learnt by having a free motorway taster drive in your own vehicle with a qualified Observer from Northampton Advanced Motorists.

The event is free and will take place at Police Headquarters, Wootton Hall, Northampton NN4 0JQ. There are a number of sessions throughout the day. Booking is essential https://orlo.uk/MiUne

A partnership event between Northampton Advanced Motorists and Northamptonshire Police’s Roads Policing Unit, Safer Roads Team and Driver Training Unit.

West Northamptonshire Council is introducing a booking system for its Recycling Centres.

It launches on 3 November this year, with the aim of reducing queues and easing pressure on local roads.

You’ll be able to book a slot online, or over the phone if you prefer. Bookings can be made up to two weeks in advance or on the day at least 30 minutes before arrival. Find out more at https://www.westnorthants.gov.uk/household-waste-recycling-centres-hwrcs

If you’re planning to visit any of West Northamptonshire’s Recycling Centres on or after 3 November, you must book a slot first.

The booking system opens on 20 October, allowing you to reserve a slot online. You can also book by phone if you prefer. More: https://www.westnorthants.gov.uk/household-waste-recycling-centres-hwrcs

Are you ready for the new booking system being introduced at Recycling Centres across West Northants?

It launches on 3 November, with the aim of reducing queues at centres and easing pressure on local roads. Find out more on their website at https://www.westnorthants.gov.uk/household-waste-recycling-centres-hwrcs

What a wonderful show we had this year. The standard is always high, but this year it was amazing. We broke the records for the number of entries, and despite the difficult growing conditions this year, the produce and flower section did their growers proud.

The handicraft and cookery side had more classes this year, and that resulted in a very high number of entries and an equally high standard. The judges were very hard pressed in many of the classes to select the winners.

A full list of all the cups won can be found in the Kilsby Kronickle (together with some more show photos), but we must mention the Best in Show : Kath McBirnie whose jacket earned a lot of praise from the two judges, and the winner of the Banksian Medal : Jan Odell. Huge congratulations to you both.

Our next event is the AGM to be held in November, so look out for more details and join us for another enjoyable evening (not just the AGM bit, but the speaker and the nibbles!)

We hope that the autumn planting is going well, and that all those bulbs are going in for another wonderful flower display in the Spring.

Happy Gardening to you all.

Please find attached the latest newsletter from Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner Danielle Stone. You can also access it via this link to their website – Newsletter – August 2025 – Northamptonshire Police & Fire Commissioner

This month’s newsletter is packed with updates on how Northamptonshire is tackling road safety, and how speed safety signs and new safety initiatives are making a real difference.

There’s details on how community groups can apply for up to £5,000 in funding from the Commissioner’s office to improve road safety in their local area.

And find out how they are making railways safer for women and girls and improving emergency access for fire crews.