BREAKING NEWS: Cameras WILL be installed in Northampton town centre to catch cars flouting road rules

Traffic chaos around North Gate has become a regular occurrence.

After mounting pressure from townsfolk this week, Northampton Borough Council has made a set of announcements it hopes will reduce the chaotic traffic around North Gate bus station.

Leader, Councillor Jonathan Nunn (Con, Nene Valley) has today proposed to put traffic enforcement cameras in The Drapery, make Bradshaw Stree one-way and prevent any parking in Sheep Street, among a list of other measures.

The announcement comes after crisis talks between the county and borough councils, alongside bus operator Stagecoach.

The boss of Stagecoach said the reason for the traffic chaos around North Gate was largely down to motorists breaking the rules in The Drapery.

Councillor Nunn, said: "We all want to see a thriving Northampton so we will be moving forward with a number of measures to improve traffic flow. We will continue to monitor the effectiveness of these measures in a bid to avoid these situations in the future.”

The borough says the following will be implemented "as soon as possible".

Increased work with Northamptonshire Police to carry out enforcement activity on the Drapery, where existing regulations mean the street should be used by buses, Hackney carriages, private hire vehicles and emergency services only.

Traffic enforcement cameras will be installed in the Drapery for a "trial period" to ensure the rules are adhered to.

The yellow box junction at the junction of Sheep Street will be extended and repainted, to help stop traffic in Greyfriars from blocking the junction.

Parking bays in Sheep Street will be changed to allow loading and unloading only. Disabled parking bays will not be affected by this change

Signage reminding traffic that there is no left turn from Greyfriars into Sheep Street will be "improved".

Bradshaw Street will become one-way, allowing for dedicated lanes for those turning left and those turning right. Visitors to the Park Inn Hotel are being guided to use the hotel’s St Katherine Street entrance.

Work involving consultations and traffic regulations will begin immediately, with a view to the improvements being in place by the summer.

Councillorr Ian Morris, county council cabinet member for transport, highways and environment, said: “Northampton, like other town centres nationally, is getting busier and busier and as the population grows and car ownership goes up we need to react to changes.

“We’ve worked closely with colleagues to come up with proposals and now we need to focus on how they might be implemented to get the best results.”