Saints, Midsummer Music and council watch

Morning Towcester 👋

This is a very Towcester sort of week: Midsummer Music is about to fill the town, Saints are heading back to Twickenham, and WNC has managed to make transport plans, capital spending and an adult-care consultation all worth keeping an eye on.

There are also a few practical nudges in here: a SEND survey deadline, Warm Homes grant checks, cricket results, and the council app's recycling scanner. Forward this to one NN12 person who would actually use it, and send over any tips, events, results, corrections or local worries for a future issue.

Let's get into it.

West Northamptonshire Council has approved three transport documents: an Active Travel Strategy, Rail Action Plan and Mobility Hub Action Plan.

No named Towcester scheme sits in this announcement, so don't read it as a new cycle lane appearing on Watling Street immediately. The useful bit is the direction of travel: the plans put more weight on walking, cycling, rail access, bus-and-rail connections, mobility hubs and rural connections after public feedback.

That's worth keeping in the civic notes pile. Towcester's transport problems are rarely solved by one announcement, but the language councils adopt now is usually the language future funding bids and local schemes have to use.

WNC says it is reviewing how it forecasts capital spending, after provisional 2025/26 figures showed it spent £109.6m against an originally anticipated £173.2m across more than 200 projects.

Capital money is the pot for physical projects: school expansions, town-centre regeneration, upgraded facilities and similar long-term work. It is not the same as the day-to-day revenue budget, which is the one that pays for everyday services.

For readers, the important bit is delay and delivery. When capital spending slides, it can mean projects move into another financial year rather than vanish. But it also means residents should keep asking which schemes are slipping, why, and what that does to the places they actually use.

Saints beat Leicester Tigers 45-31 at Franklin's Gardens on Friday 12 June, which means Northampton are back in a major final for the third season running.

The match report gives the shape of it. Tom Litchfield scored a first-half hat-trick, Tommy Freeman added to his season tally, and George Furbank scored twice in what Saints described as his final home game for the club. Archie McParland also crossed after the break.

The local calendar point is now set: Saints play Exeter Chiefs at Allianz Stadium, Twickenham on Saturday 20 June, with kick-off at 3pm.

The final is now listed as Exeter Chiefs v Northampton Saints, so the build-up is no longer vague.

Supporters heading down need to keep an eye on the practical bits. Saints said on Tuesday 16 June that an additional 700 final tickets and 400 coach spaces had been released, after the club's initial allocation sold out over the weekend.

That is not the rugby story, obviously. The rugby story is Saints trying to turn another deep season into silverware. But for anyone making the pilgrimage from NN12 and Northamptonshire, the detail is now moving from "wait and see" to "sort your Saturday".

Towcestrians CC's senior sides all won on Saturday 13 June, which is a much better local-sport line than another vague fixture watch.

The 13 June results have the 1st XI beating Yelvertoft 1st XI by 58 runs, the 2nd XI edging Woodford Halse 1st XI by 4 runs, and the 3rd XI beating Woodford Halse 2nd XI by 9 wickets.

There is also a useful diary hook. On Saturday 20 June, the 1st XI are at home to St Crispin & Harlestone 2nd XI, the 2nd XI are away at Bold Dragoon 2nd XI, and the 3rd XI host MK Air 3rd XI at Greens Norton. All three are listed for 12pm.

Towcester Midsummer Music Festival runs from Thursday 18 to Sunday 21 June, with four days of music around town and proceeds supporting the PTAs of Towcester's primary schools.

The community frame matters too: this is the 24th festival, organised by local volunteers including Towcester Rotary Club and the Town Council, with performances from young musicians, schools, choirs, orchestras, brass bands and local performers.

So yes, it is a diary item. But it is also a reminder that one of Towcester's better weekends depends on people buying tickets, turning up, volunteering, sponsoring and making the thing feel properly town-sized.

WNC's SEND surveys stay open until Wednesday 17 June.

That makes this an issue-day deadline, not background council wallpaper. Parents, carers, young people, school staff and local professionals who have lived experience of SEND should use the survey route if they cannot get to a session.

The next step after the June and July conversations is a draft SEND and Inclusion Strategy for 2027 to 2030, expected for wider consultation in September.

WNC's review of council-run adult social care services matters locally because the service list includes day services at Towcester Forum.

Cabinet has now approved the start of a formal public consultation on the future of those internal adult social care services. The consultation is expected to look at service remodelling, alternative delivery models and potential changes to buildings or facilities.

The missing bit is the direct response route. The Cabinet decision confirms consultation can begin; WNC has not yet published how people can respond.

WNC is asking residents to check whether they qualify for Warm Homes: Local Grant energy-saving improvements.

The scheme is for eligible low-income households, some people receiving means-tested benefits, and residents in specified priority postcode areas. The council says possible upgrades include insulation, draught proofing, smart heating controls and low-carbon heating systems for on-grid and off-grid homes.

The practical angle is simple: if your home is expensive to heat, check the eligibility route before assuming the grant is only for somewhere else.

WNC has launched a refreshed council app with a new recycling scanner, mobile recycling-centre booking, dark mode and quicker access to common services.

Not thrilling, granted. But if it makes bin checks, reporting and recycling-centre booking less annoying, it may earn its space on the phone. The recycling scanner is the bit to test first: it is meant to tell residents how to dispose of everyday items by scanning them.

Towcester Midsummer Music Festival - Thu 18 to Sun 21 Jun, venues around Towcester town centre. Tickets and festival information are live, with proceeds supporting the Friends of Towcester CE Primary, Nicholas Hawksmoor and Marie Weller Primary Schools.

Hitmix Bingo at Towcester Mill - Thu 18 Jun, Towcester Mill Brewery. Part of the Mill's June what's-on list.

Midsummer Music at Towcester Mill - Fri 19 and Sat 20 Jun, Towcester Mill Brewery. The Mill has ticketed festival sessions on both days, plus a Sunday vinyl session on 21 Jun with no tickets required.

Live Comedy Night at Towcester Mill - Thu 25 Jun, Towcester Mill Brewery. The June line-up has it as the last comedy night before the summer break, headlined by Silky and Addy Van Der Borgh.

Formula 1 British Grand Prix at Silverstone - Thu 2 to Sun 5 Jul, Silverstone. The circuit's official events page lists the 2026 British Grand Prix as on sale, so this is the point to sort tickets, shifts, travel plans or a tactical weekend away from the A43.

Let's talk about Midsummer Music for a second.

It is very easy for town events to look as if they simply appear: a few posters, a few stages, a few people wandering between venues with that cheerful "which bit are we going to next?" look. But the whole thing sits on a much less glamorous base of volunteers, sponsors, school PTAs, venue staff, musicians, ticket buyers and people doing the boring-but-vital jobs that make a weekend feel effortless.

That is why this one is worth more than a diary listing. A festival in the middle of town is not just entertainment. It is a small test of whether Towcester can still make shared things feel normal: people out, money staying local, schools benefiting, musicians getting heard, and the town centre having a reason to be busy for something nicer than traffic.

So yes, buy a ticket if you can. Turn up for a free bit if that is what works. Say thanks to someone in a hi-vis. It all counts.

And if the weather behaves, we shall pretend that was organised too.

Forward this to someone who needs the SEND deadline, the Saints travel details, or a reason to get into town between 18 and 21 June. Got a tip, event, result, correction or question for a future issue? Just reply.

-- Atlas & Lee, somewhere in NN12