Northampton town centre business slams 'abandoned' Voi e-scooters scattered across pavement outside offices
A Northampton town centre business has had enough of ‘abandoned’ Voi e-scooters scattered across the busy street it trades from.
Nick Pattison, of Jackson Stops Estate Agents, which has been trading from its Bridge Street office for more than a century, has slammed the chaos caused by the controversial e-scooters.
Mr Pattison said he arrived at the office this week only to find no fewer than 37 Voi e-scooters along the pavement in Bridge Street.
He said: “The abandoned scooters were blocking footpaths and the door to offices. I don’t think the riders care where they leave them and unfortunately, reporting to Voi has resulted in no actions. We have to move them for access to our offices, not a great fan to be honest. We can't even walk into the office.”
In May, a West Northants Council (WNC) scrutiny group tasked with assessing the effectiveness of the scheme recommended that the trial continue into 2026, on the condition that a road map of improvements was made.
At a council meeting in July, Labour councillor Muna Cali asked if Conservative councillor Phil Larratt, in charge of highways at WNC, was properly holding Voi to account. Councillor Larratt responded by saying he would have no hesitation in terminating the contract with Voi if the issues were not addressed.
He said: “I still get complaints about the abandonment, and I don’t mean parking, I mean abandonment of these scooters. We’ve made it very clear that unless Voi addresses these issues, we will take action and terminate the arrangement.
"The people of Northampton, to a great extent, have had enough, particularly with the parking issues. I think it’s time we get tough with them [Voi]. And let’s get tough now. PLEASE, give us the evidence."
Three months on, and with the issues of abandoned scooters still plaguing busy pavements, councillor Larratt has been approached for an update on his position.
Responding to this incident, a Voi spokeswoman said: “Inconsiderate parking and anti-social riding is unacceptable. We are sorry for any inconvenience caused to local businesses by inconsiderately parked or ridden scooters. The vast majority of our riders in Northampton, who use our scooters to commute to work and education or to visit the town centre, follow the rules. We take action against riders who break the rules, including issuing bans and fines.
"Anyone who spots inconsiderate parking can report it to us via report.voi.com or email [email protected] so we can investigate and take action quickly. Our team regularly visit Northampton town centre to ensure a tidy fleet.
“We are committed to improving parking in Northampton. We want our scooters to provide a safe, affordable, sustainable and easy way to get around town.
"We agreed a plan to work with the West Northamptonshire Council to make further improvements to the e-scooter trial as a result of the review in April. We are working closely with the council and Northamptonshire Police on over 40 measures to improve a number of areas including parking, tandem and pavement riding and managing complaints. We have issued over 450 fines and bans since we agreed the plan with the council.”