Campaigns

West Northants Council has the power and the funding to make the changes we need to make Northampton a better place to live.

The Councillor responsible is phil.larratt@westnorthants.gov.uk. You can also write to the councillor for your area.

What to write

Here’s a sample email – copy and paste whatever you like from here. We’ve also created some additional paragraphs about more specific issues.

Dear Councillor

The council has declared a climate emergency and has committed to drastically reducing CO2 emissions.  The fastest way to achieve this is to reduce unnecessary car journeys. 40% of urban car journeys are less than 2 miles (p11), a distance that most people could easily walk or cycle.

The government’s Gear Change policy states that cycling and walking should be at the heart of transport policy for urban areas.  Funding has been provided to create more space for walking and cycling on our roads – something that 60% of Northampton residents are in favour of, according to the council’s own survey.

People won’t change from driving to walking or cycling unless they can do it safely and conveniently. Northampton is falling further and further behind nearby urban areas like Leicester, Nottingham, Coventry, Oxford and Birmingham, all of whom have made significant changes to their streets since 2020.

I therefore urge the council to show real leadership and ambition by taking the following steps by the end of 2022:

  • Allocate at least 15% of the highways budget to active travel and bid for more government Active Travel funding as soon as it becomes available.
  • Use the £1.3m government funding received in 2020 to implement the planned safe active travel route to the centre of town.
  • Plan and start implementing an extensive program of improvements to Northampton’s roads, pavements and junctions to encourage walking and cycling for people of all ages and abilities.  

Implementing these changes will improve the lives of people with disabilities, enable children to walk or cycle to school, lower air pollution, and reduce the strain on our health service.  In short, it will make our town better for everyone, including those who need to drive.

I urge you to take this opportunity seriously and act now.

Yours

(name and postcode)

One favour to ask – if you have time, please send a copy of your email to northamptongroup@livingstreets.org.uk – it helps us track the success of the campaign. Thanks!