Daventry Banksie persists in displaying pothole signs to shame West Northamptonshire Council into taking action

The anonymous campaigner, known locally as the Daventry Banksie, continues to display more hand-painted boards across Daventry in an effort to pressure West Northamptonshire Council (WNC) into taking action.

She has placed 26 signs across the town so far, and more are planned to appear in the following days.

The signs are usually up for a few hours or days before being removed—presumably by the council.

In an interview with this newspaper, Daventry Banksie said today (Tuesday): “I will be continuing until we have had an apology from the council and they publish an action plan stating what they will do to rectify the situation, how they are prioritising repairs, what they are doing to hold their contractors accountable, and finally what the specific timelines are.”

The signs criticising WNC over the state of the roads in the county started appearing three weeks ago in and around Northamptonshire.

Daventry Banksie has been working on new signs over the last few days, some of which read "Arfur Job," "Where's our money gone," "I've got potholes, they're multiplying," along with "WNC are losing control."

The signs are usually placed on prominent roundabouts or directional signposts.

“Obviously, I need to keep this vague,” said Daventry Banksie.

The mystery campaigner responsible for the series of pothole placards spoke to several publications and was mentioned on national radio before making an appearance on the popular British breakfast television programme Good Morning Britain today.

“Richard Madeley, jokingly, I presume, said I was needed in his area of London. I have responded that my next sign will say ‘Richard Madeley hates potholes too’,” said Daventry Banksie.

In response to the signs' removal, residents have been volunteering their fence lines for future Daventry Banksie signs and have begun placing their own pothole signs across the town. Even local businesses have been getting involved, with Ben Welch, owner of Baker Benjy, designing a brand-new pastry known as the Pothole Pastry.

“The community support has been fantastic, and I think that is where the real power is. We’re not allowing this to fade away until real action from the WNC is seen. I really believe we allow our government, both at a local and national level, to get away with incompetence and a lack of integrity.

“Going forward, I would urge anyone within the community to do what they can, whether this is putting their own signs up or even just continuing to share posts on social media, so we can keep this top of the agenda,” said Daventry Banksie.

WNC has not yet responded to the questions asked by this newspaper.

Daventry Banksie said: “WNC's silence on this matter does them no favours. This is a mistake. They continue to act with impunity and just come across as very uncaring.”

Councillor Wendy Randall, the Daventry West Labour leader, called on the council to explain how it was going to spend £162 million allocated by the government from HS2 funds for road improvements at the council meeting that took place on March 21, 2024.

During a heated discussion sparked by the motion, Councillor Phil Larratt, the Conservative cabinet member for highways, appeared to suggest potholes were remaining unfilled because the county was spending too much on vulnerable children.

The council approved an amended motion, which was not accepted by Ms Randall.

Click here to view the list of demands and questions for WNC received by this newspaper from Daventry Banksie and pictures of past placards made by her.

Take a look below at some of the new photographs of pothole signs shared by our community: