Bins, lorries and a new mayor

Morning Towcester.

This is one of those weeks where the practical stuff does most of the talking: bins, lorries, housing, election results, a new Town Mayor, cricket wins, and a 24-hour race at Silverstone. Not subtle, but very NN12.

There is also plenty that affects actual diaries: Friday rugby, Saturday cycling, Derby night at the racecourse, and a bike-marking session for anyone who has been meaning to get that sorted.

Right. Let's crack on.

Towcester Town Council has appointed Cllr Maggie Clubley as Town Mayor for 2026-27, with Cllr Stewart Tolley named Deputy Mayor at the annual meeting on Tuesday 12 May.

That matters because it sets the town's named mayor for the year, and the first community focus is already clear.

Clubley says she will support the parent and teacher groups at Towcester Primary School, Nichola Hawksmoor and Marie Weller during her year in office. Outgoing mayor Rachel Dando L'Olive also handed over a £2,358 fundraising cheque to Towcester NMPAT, which is a decent way to leave the chain of office.

The three-weekly bins row has moved from "proposal" to "policy". WNC says Cabinet has approved extending three-weekly residual waste collections across West Northamptonshire, with the existing Daventry-area model due to roll out to Northampton and South Northamptonshire from spring 2027.

The practical version: black-bin waste would move to every three weeks, recycling stays fortnightly, and food waste stays weekly. Flats, communal bins and terraced homes using sacks would stay weekly. WNC also says support will be available for larger households, families with babies, and residents with medical needs, and that some former South Northamptonshire households with smaller 180-litre black bins may be able to swap to 240-litre bins if they cannot manage.

That is the council's reassurance. The resident test will be simpler: does this actually work on a warm week, in a busy household, without turning the bin store into a local landmark? WNC says no household will move until after a year of engagement. It will need to use that year well.

The relief road is starting to change the rules in town. Towcester Town Council says National Highways began temporary signage and footpath-clearance works in the week of Monday 4 May, supporting the new link between the A5 and A43.

The important bit for everyday traffic is the Temporary Traffic Regulation Order: a 7.5-tonne weight restriction through Towcester town centre started on Tuesday 5 May, with over-limit drivers directed to the new link road instead.

There may still be some faff while signs, footpaths and overnight works settle in. But this is the point of the whole exercise. If the new road is going to earn its keep, fewer heavy vehicles grinding through the middle of Towcester is where people will actually notice it.

WNC Cabinet has also approved a refreshed Housing Allocations Policy, following consultation on how social housing is prioritised across West Northamptonshire.

The council says the updated policy is meant to be clearer and more consistent, with priority focused on people in urgent housing need. That includes people who are homeless, domestic abuse victims, care leavers, armed forces applicants, and residents with complex health or welfare needs.

This is not the sort of story that changes everyone's Wednesday morning. But it does matter. Housing allocation policies decide who gets pushed up the list when there are more people needing homes than homes available. In a growing area, that is not background admin. It is one of the pressure valves.

Not the derby day anyone in black, green and gold wanted. Premiership Rugby's match centre shows Leicester Tigers beat Northampton Saints 41-17 at Mattioli Woods Welford Road on Saturday 9 May.

The table still looks friendly enough: Saints remain top on 62 points after 15 matches. But a 24-point defeat at Leicester is not one to file under "minor wobble" and forget about before the kettle boils.

Next up is a useful chance to reset quickly. Saints list Bristol Bears at Franklin's Gardens on Friday 15 May at 7.45pm.

Towcestrians cricket had a properly tidy Saturday. Play-Cricket now shows the 1st XI beat Irthlingborough Town 2nd XI by 102 runs, the 2nd XI beat Weekley & Warkton 3rd XI by 151 runs, and the 3rd XI beat North Crawley 3rd XI by 126 runs.

That is about as neat as local cricket weekends get. The next round of fixtures is also on Saturday 16 May, so there is a decent chance the scorebook has something to say again by next week.

The English Greyhound Derby is moving through the rounds at Towcester Racecourse, with Round 3 scheduled for Saturday 16 May.

Dog racing is not everyone's cup of tea, and we do not need to pretend otherwise. But the Derby is a major event happening on Towcester's doorstep, so it is worth knowing about. General admission is listed at £15, with under-16s free.

Towcester Town Council is listing a free bike-marking event with the neighbourhood policing team on Wednesday 27 May, 2pm to 4pm, on Islington Road. It is a practical one: get your bike marked, ask questions about local crime or antisocial behaviour, and make it a little less tempting for someone else to decide your bike is their bike.

File this under deeply unglamorous but useful.

The Towcester Midsummer Music Festival is back from 18 to 21 June, and the organisers are already asking for sponsors, volunteers, photographers, videographers and marketing help.

That is useful now because this is one of those properly Towcester events that only works if local people pile in. The Rotary Club and Town Council say this year's festival is again backing the town's primary schools, so if you want a summer community thing to attach yourself to, that is a fairly easy pitch.

BRSCC 24 Hour -- Fri 15 to Sun 17 May, Silverstone. A full day-and-night club endurance race on the Grand Prix circuit, with Silverstone listing tickets from £18. Expect a bit of extra local motorsport traffic and the distant hum of people having far more stamina than most of us.

Towcester Mill Brewery Sportive -- Sat 16 May, Towcester Mill Brewery. The brewery's seventh annual sportive offers 62km and 96km routes, with entry from £30 via Let's Go Velo. It starts and finishes at the Mill, which feels like fair motivation.

English Greyhound Derby Round 3 -- Sat 16 May, Towcester Racecourse. Practical details if you are going: general admission is £15 and under-16s go free.

Towcester Mill music nights -- Thu 14 and Fri 15 May, Towcester Mill Brewery. The Mill's listings have open mic on Thursday and Craig live on Friday, both from 7pm. Not every plan needs to be a 96km bike ride, thankfully.

HitMix Bingo -- Thu 21 May, Towcester Mill Brewery. Music bingo from 7.30pm. The basic concept is simple: recognise the song, tick the card, pretend this was always your specialist subject.

Free Bike Marking Event -- Wed 27 May, Islington Road, Towcester. The neighbourhood policing team will be marking bikes for free from 2pm to 4pm and speaking to residents about crime and antisocial behaviour concerns.

After the recent warm spell, the week ahead looks more mixed: cooler than last week, with showers around and daytime highs generally in the mid-teens rather than beer-garden smugness territory.

The practical advice is boring but sound: keep a coat close, do not trust a bright morning too much, and if you are heading to Silverstone or the racecourse at the weekend, check the forecast again before leaving.

There is a theme this week, and it is not glamorous: systems only count when they show up in real life.

The relief road was a line on a plan until the lorry restriction started telling heavy vehicles to stop using the middle of town. The bin policy was a consultation until Cabinet signed it off and residents had to start picturing three weeks of black-bin waste in August. A mayoral appointment is a notice on the council website until the person wearing the chain turns attention towards a school, a fundraiser, or a community room that needs bodies in it.

That is why local news can look small from a distance and feel enormous when it lands on your street. It is rarely one dramatic moment. It is signage, routes, calendars, scorecards, committee papers, and whether someone remembered to put a local cause in the room where decisions are made.

If someone in Towcester would find this useful, send it on. Especially if they have a bin, a bike, a cricket score to celebrate, or strong feelings about lorries.

As ever, send local tips, corrections, and things worth knowing by replying to this email.

-- Atlas & Lee, somewhere in NN12