'Give our street some attention' say Northampton estate residents hit by fly-tipping, poor maintenance and potholes

Exeter Place residents have taken to mowing council-owned patched of grass and hiring their own contractors to cut back unruly bushes at their own expense.

The street, just off Kettering road, is home to around 300 properties, many of which are owned by Northampton Borough Council and managed by Northampton Partnership Homes.

The bump-strewn road itself has no parking permit scheme in place, meaning workers in Kettering Road often leave their cars there for the day, leaving no room for car-owning residents to park.

A communal bin store regularly overflows, meaning rubbish is often left by the side of the bins to fester.

Flytippers dump items so regularly on cut through to Kettering Road, sometimes it is hard to pass.

Weeds in the children’s play park are above head height and a council-owned car park for residents has been without a working light for weeks, meaning some are scared to leave their vehicles there overnight.

Now residents Krisztian Piko and Rebecca Trusler have issued an urgent plea to the powers that be to give their street a much-needed facelift.

Mr Piko, who works at Burger King, 33, said: “We pay our tax, we pay our rent, what is it going on?

“We don’t mind doing some bits, but it’s not our job really.

“This could be a really nice place in Northampton, but it is being neglected.”

Mr Piko and Miss Trusler, who live in Exeter Place with their dog Rocky, say a few simple measures would make life better for the street’s residents.

They say maintenance needs to be stepped up, more bins need to be installed and a security light needs to be placed over the car park.

Further down the line, a permit scheme for residential parking could be introduced and the road resurfaced.

And there could be further deterrents to stop flytipping - some of which is believed to come from the local businesses as oil drums and large wooden delivery pallets have been found there recently.

“Some of the residents around here are reporting the flytipping and the council say they will clear it away,” said Miss Trusler.

“But it will just continue to happen until there is a long-term solution.”

A spokesman for Northamptonshire County Council said: “The county council has had meetings with the local councillor and Northampton Partnership Homes recently.

“The residents now need to demonstrate the community support in order for the county council to take forward the request for a parking permit scheme.

“This support could be in the form of a petition submitted to the county council.

“Exeter Place is subject to ongoing safety inspections and is being monitored by the Highways maintenance team.

“Our priority is to keep the network safe for all road and footway users, drivers, pedestrians and cyclists alike, and in practice, this is achieved through our systems of regular inspections, as well as investigating reports from members of the public.

“Unfortunately not all defects will be classed as safety defects since they will not be of sufficient severity to warrant action immediately, this doesn’t mean that there are no defects present.

“For potholes on local access roads, our intervention levels start at a depth of 50mm/250mm wide.”

Further to your enquiry about Exeter Place, please find our comment below. Sorry for the delay in getting this to you.

A borough council spokesperson said: “We are aware of issues in Exeter Place and are working together with Northampton Partnership Homes to address those which fall within our remit.

Where there is a problem with fly tipping and litter in future, we would urge residents to notify us using the “Report It” function on the borough council’s website. We can adjust collection schedules accordingly once we are made aware that bins are overflowing.

“Northampton Partnership Homes tenants can also get in touch with their housing officer on 0300 330 7003 for advice and support.”