Labour’s policies and priorities for Desborough.

(updated January 2024)

Labour Councillors will:

• Work with Labour colleagues on the Unitary Council to ensure that the town gets its fair share of available resources and that the voice of Desborough is heard.
• Seek to ensure that the Parish Precept stays in line with that of other comparable local councils and Desborough residents do not end up paying twice for services and facilities in the town.  Click on for information – (The Parish Precept – Desborough Branch Labour Party (desboroughlabourparty.org)
• Scrutinise any attempt by the new Unitary Council to unfairly impose additional responsibilities and costs on to the Town Council.
• Listen to local people and keep them informed about important matters that affect our community

Health & Well-being:

• The Covid pandemic has shown that the NHS is a vital asset for everyone. The NHS was founded by a Labour Government in 1948 and Labour Councillors will do everything they can to support the NHS and maintain / improve local services.
• We will campaign for investment in our health service and fair pay for health and care workers. They deserve more than a clap in the street and a slap in the face from the government.

Local Industry:

• Our town needs employment opportunities. Labour Councillors will work with potential investors to seek to attract a variety of industries to provide a wider range of jobs. An important objective is to provide more support for start-up businesses locally.

Growth and Development:

• As the town expands, with a further 700 homes on the Grange, it is vital that local services and facilities expand with it and the town receives some benefit from this growth.
• A robust ‘Neighbourhood Plan’ is a key ingredient in ensuring that planning and development proposals meet the needs of the wider community and Labour Councillors will press to get this plan completed, approved and adopted at the earliest opportunity.

Traffic:

• Labour Councillors have supported the proposed one-way system in Gladstone Street and work has now started on this project.
• The £11 million Desborough by-pass has taken most of the heavy traffic out of the town. Labour Councillors will campaign for further improvements to make our town safer for road users and pedestrians.
• Our roads and footpaths need urgent maintenance and Labour Councillors will press for repairs and re-surfacing as a matter of urgency.
• Labour Councillors will press for public charging points for electric vehicles in the town. Some have been installed in Victoria Street and the new Sainsbury Store and we will continue to press for more.
• For safety reasons we need a footpath to the Pipewell Road open space and Labour Councillors will press for this.

Town Centre:

• Post-Covid town centres will change. This is an opportunity to reshape the potential of the town centre to include social as well as retail activities. (£35,000 has been allocated in the 2024 /25 budget for the re -design and  refurbishment of the square at the junction of Station Road and Havelock Street and we await news of the financial contribution from the North Northants Council before work can proceed)
• We will support efforts to boost shopping, commerce and jobs. (The new Sainsbury Store has added choice and variety for local shoppers. Meanwhile the Lawrence’s site has stood derelict and abandoned for far too long. The North Northants Council has withdrawn their proposal for 43 housing units on the site due to cost of the project and has put the site on the market as part of their general asset stripping policy).

Green issues and the Environment:

• Litter is a problem in the town (including discarded masks) and we need more litter bins. Some of these should offer the facility to separate the recyclable material from general litter.
• We need more bins for dog waste in and around the town.
• We will encourage more tree planting wherever possible.
• Labour Councillors will press for more recycling facilities in the town and encourage people to use them.
• Labour Councillors will seek to ensure that any new development in the town is built to the highest environmental standards with sympathetic landscaping.
• We will press for public charging points for electric vehicles in strategic locations in the town.

Youth, Leisure:

• The Braybrooke Road play area has been upgraded with new play equipment and Labour Councillors have been instrumental in getting this project off the ground after many years of delay.
• We were promised a ‘like-for-like’ replacement when the old leisure centre was replaced but it did not happen. Labour Councillors will press for improved leisure provision in the town. The old Leisure Centre site is due to be sold for housing development (in line with the North Northants general policy of asset stripping) and some of that money should be re-invested in leisure facilities in the town.
• Young people are our future and Labour Councillors will listen to young people and work with them and other community groups to promote more activities and services in the town.

Law and Order:

• Many people no longer feel safe on the street or secure in their homes. Labour Councillors will press for more, high profile, community policing. (Sadly the Police Station in Federation Avenue has been closed down and the property sold off)
• Labour Councillors have supported the extension of the CCTV camera system in the town and 12 new cameras have been installed to make our streets safer.

A Vote for Labour is a Vote for Desborough

If you want to comment on the above (or any other) issues in the town please click on the ‘LABOUR LISTENS’  button below.