WNC claims environmental crime team has engaged with 500 businesses as part of town centre crackdown
West Northamptonshire Council has claimed that its environmental crime team has engaged with more than 500 businesses as part of a crackdown on Northampton town centre.
The local authority is continuing to work closely with businesses and landlords to improve waste storage across the town centre, as part of the Northampton Town Centre Environmental Policy.
Introduced in May 2024, the policy applies to the inner Northampton town centre covering the area within the inner ring road.
It sets clear expectations for how businesses and landlords should store their bins and dispose of waste – with the aim of helping to reduce clutter, improve safety and create a cleaner and more welcoming environment for residents, visitors and businesses alike.
Since May 2024, WNC says its environmental crime team has engaged with more than 500 businesses and worked directly with owners and landlords to explain the requirements, offer guidance and encourage good practice during numerous visits.
Information packs have been issued to support this work and ensure businesses understand their responsibilities. Over the coming months, WNC says it will begin reviewing progress made under the policy alongside taking next steps around enforcement where appropriate.
WNC’s cabinet member for HR, corporate and regulatory services Councillor Andrew Last said: “I would like to thank the many businesses and landlords who have already taken the advice on board and made changes to how they store and manage their waste.
“These early improvements, encouraged by our neighbourhood wardens, are already making a visible difference to the town centre and demonstrate the positive impact that working together can have.
“This policy is about working with businesses, not against them. A cleaner, better-managed town centre benefits everyone, businesses, residents and visitors, and education has been a vital first step in making that happen.
“We understand that change takes time, particularly where existing contracts are in place, and we’re taking a fair and collaborative approach to support businesses to plan ahead.
“Where businesses have not complied after a reasonable period of engagement, we have begun to take enforcement action to ensure the requirements of the policy are met. As we review progress, our focus remains on creating a town centre we can all be proud of, while being clear and consistent about expectations for the future.”
Mark Mullen, operations manager for Northampton Town Centre Business Improvement District (BID), believes “there has been a noticeable visible improvement” in the town centre since the adoption of the policy.
BID has been working closely with businesses to help them comply with the new requirements – and they continue to offer support to ensure they can source appropriate collection services and avoid future financial penalties.
The Northampton Town Centre Environmental Policy forms part of WNC’s “wider commitment to improve public spaces, support local businesses and create places people want to live, work and spend time”.
‘We haven’t noticed a big change or influence’
One of the businesses approached by WNC since May 2024 is foreign exchange company Abington FX on Abington Street, run by Ridvan Bozacigurbuz and Johanna Maccormick since the start of 2017.
Ridvan was contacted by the Chronicle & Echo to share his stance on the Northampton Town Centre Environmental Policy, and if he has seen any improvements over the past year-and-a-half since its enforcement.
Ridvan explained that Abington FX generates little rubbish as a business and at times they would resort to taking it home to dispose of. During a visit from WNC, it was explained that they had to sign up to a rubbish collection service and pay a fee.
The owners are subscribed to the cheapest option offered by Veolia to put the minimum amount of rubbish bags out for collection, which costs around £15 per month.
Ridvan believes everyone on Abington Street complies with the requirements for the storage and disposal of waste, but recalls times when the collection of rubbish bags was slow and they were left for a couple of days at a time.
The business owner was confident in saying he believes Abington Street was among one of the cleanest and tidiest areas of Northampton town centre before the refurbishment works began – and named the Drapery and Dychurch Lane as among the worst.
“From my personal perspective, we haven’t noticed a big change or influence,” said Ridvan. “There was a prime example last week. Fly tipping was left for two-and-a-half days in front of the statue. From what we can see, the problem’s a removal thing.
“We don’t have a lot of people littering as there’s not a lot of food places on Abington Street, not like the Market Square. I walk through there at the end of the day and there’s quite a lot of rubbish. It’s not a good look.”