Across West Northamptonshire, voters will elect 76 councillors in 35 different wards. More than 350 candidates are standing from ten political parties, as well as a number of independents. Find a full list of candidates here.
Chronicle & Echo has reached out the leaders of the parties to ask them about four topics that matter most to our readers.
Over the next few days we will be publishing a series of articles, detailing the responses we have received from some of the political parties competing for your votes on polling day on Thursday May 1.
First up is the hot topic of potholes and the state of our roads. We asked the leaders what their party intends to do to address the issue if they are elected.
We received responses from the Conservatives, the Green Party, the Heritage Party (which has one candidate standing in Dallington and Spencer), an Independent candidate, Labour, the Liberal Democrats, Reform UK and the Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition.
Below are the responses from those parties regarding the issue of potholes and roads, in alphabetical order of party name.
Chronicle & Echo also contacted The Social Democratic Party and The Labour and Co-operative Party - who have candidates standing in West Northamptonshire - but we did not receive a response.
If any independent candidates would like to offer their response to this issue, please email [email protected].
Responses about fly-tipping and littering can be found here. Click here for the management of HMOs and here for mass infrastructure.
1. Leaders of political parties in West Northamptonshire have their say ahead of polling day
Here's what leaders have said about potholes and the state of our roads... Photo: Various
2. Conservatives
Leader of the West Northamptonshire Conservatives, Cllr Adam Brown, said: "Improving the condition of the roads will be an ongoing process and an absolute priority for the Conservatives, with targeted investments in key areas of the network and in new technology that will allow us to continue increasing our efficiency in highways repairs. Those investments are only possible if the rest of the council’s finances are carefully managed, and there are no easy answers on that front, but our record is there for all to see - balanced budgets over four years, and debt stabilised. From those solid foundations come the choices to invest more in our roads, and as we continue to drive efficiencies in all council departments extra money for highways will always be a priority. We’ve already demonstrated that we can deliver on that front by investing an extra £10 million in Highways last year, on top of the additional £3 million the year before. To bring the road network up to a perfect condition would cost £250 million - money the council simply doesn’t have. So anyone promising to fix all the potholes either doesn’t understand the issue, or isn’t being honest about the issue. For example, Reform are saying they would duplicate the council’s existing external audit process that includes value for money assessments, at a cost of at least £800,000 - or enough money to fix about 14,000 potholes - all to tell us what we already know!" Photo: WNC
3. The Green Party
Emmie Willliamson is Chair of West Northamptonshire Green Party. The party said: "Here are six reasons why the West Northants Green Party cares about potholes: 1. Because residents do 2. Because they make our roads dangerous 3. Because they cost us money twice – through vehicle damage and taxes 4. Because they cause stress and inconvenience 5. Because they make pollution worse 6. Because we take pride in our neighbourhoods and environment. There are three things we want to do: 1. Make Kier Highways work for their money. We want to re-examine the contract that is due to either conclude in 2029 or renew for a further seven years. Long contracts don’t incentivise providers to innovate or make improvements. What targets are in this contract to make sure things get better? What evidence is being collected that Kier is providing good value for taxpayer’s money? We need to hold them to account and make sure that we see results. 2. Innovate. We’ve been talking with a tech company that has piloted a new approach to scheduling and managing road maintenance. They ran a pilot in the Northeast that saw a council go from repairing 37,000 potholes in one year to an expected 60,000. West Northants Council needs to insist that companies like Kier are trialling and adopting these technologies. 3. A proper plan for resurfacing. There’s plenty of evidence that just fixing potholes is a false economy. One 2023 study estimates that it ends up 20 times more expensive per square meter than planned resurfacing. The reasons for this include: -Pothole fixes don’t last: our climate is wet with big temperature variation between winter and summer. This means patches break up quickly and soon need a repeat visit. -Bigger jobs are more efficient: Doing lots of smaller, manual, on-demand repairs takes up more time and admin overall. -Potholes appear when there are bigger issues: just filling holes doesn’t solve the problem of a road surface that can’t cope with increased amounts of traffic, wetter winters or both." Photo: The Green Party
4. Heritage Party
Kim Fuller, who is standing for the Heritage Party in Dallington and Spencer, said: "Potholes must be repaired immediately with pitch lining to ensure that any repairs are long lasting and do not re-occur within a few months as they do if they are repaired poorly. An example of this are potholes in Baring Road and Vicarage Road that were “repaired” four times in 2024, but now, only a few months later, there are signs of the same potholes returning. We will implement a FULL audit of potholes on our roads and the effectiveness of outsourcing contracts to fix them to private companies. Where they are found to be inefficient, we will move the work to fix potholes back in house and re-interview ALL employees for the post. As you are reading this, not many people are aware of the Planning and Infrastructure Bill that is currently proceeding through Parliament. Imagine returning home from a trip abroad to find a road built through your land. This bill is a major land grab from all property owners, including farmers. If it is passed, there will be NO right to appeal planning decisions and powers to place Compulsory Purchase Orders will be extended. We completely oppose the removal of the right to oppose planning decisions that may lead to the wholesale destruction of the environment including the construction of new roads to access new housing developments, huge solar panel grids or wind turbines for example. We must protect our parks and wildlife including bats, birds, bees and butterflies and ensure that protected trees are not sawn down to make way for new roads." Photo: Kim Fuller