164 - 54 = 0

Police in Denial
According to Northamptonshire police, gun crime in the county remains "very stable" despite a 200% increase over the past decade. Statistics released by the Home Office in response to a Parliamentary question showed a three-fold increase in reports of incidents involving firearms over the period. There were 164 firearms incidents in the county between April 2007 and March 2008 compared with 54 a decade earlier. Chief Supt Dean Smith, of the force's protective services command, said it did not mean gun crime was on the rise in the county (I wonder which school he went to?).

Stop the Building
Scores more people from two villages have answered a call to fight controversial developments mooted for rural sites between Northampton and Daventry. At the first meeting of Kislingbury Action Group last night, almost 100 residents from Kislingbury and Harpole met to discuss ways to prevent the expansion going ahead. At the inaugural meeting, protesters were warned not to "breathe a sigh of relief" after thousands of people responded to a consultation and pushed the plans back by several months. Kislingbury resident Andy Clarke, a strategic planner, called for more people to get involved in the fight to "completely torpedo" the proposals. More than 6,000 people have so far responded to a public consultation on the plans. The result has meant the expansion proposals cannot be submitted by the proposed November deadline and are likely to be presented to Government in the new year. Other areas which have already voiced their opposition include Quinton, Great and Little Houghton, Grange Park and Wootton.

New Broom Needs New Bristles
The new leader of Northampton Borough Council has said he is excited about taking the reins at the Guildhall, but admitted the task is "daunting". Councillor Brian Hoare (Lib Dem, Abington) took over the top job at the Guildhall this week following former leader, Councillor Tony Woods' (Lib Dem, St Davids), decision to stand down as leader, although Hoare has put him in his Cabinet. It seems rather ironic that a man who got into local politics after objecting to a large warehouse development close to his home is now one of the people pushing for the destruction of thousands of acres of countryside (probably nowhere near his home). He said: "There are a lot of regeneration schemes we can bring forward, but we need to make sure the town centre is sensitively redeveloped in a way that recognises its heritage."What does that mean, no big plasma TV screens in the Market Square, Real Christmas Trees and not plastic ones that his predecessor spent £33,000 of tax payers money on? Last year, the council had to make savings of £8 million and this year several more millions need to be axed from the council's budget. The council is expected to put together the first draft of its budget in the next few weeks. If Cllr Hoare thinks he is going to get a Honeymoon period at all he is mistaken.