Parklands, Grand Prix roads and cricket wins

Morning Towcester.

Big local one this week: Towcester Parklands is now in public consultation, with the racecourse site, thousands of homes, schools, open space, roads and the shape of the southern edge of town all in the mix.

There is also Grand Prix traffic to plan around, a Towcestrians cricket clean sweep, adult social care sessions, grant deadlines and a few things for the diary.

Before that, a slightly awkward parish-notice bit. The Waffle has a small but very engaged readership, which is lovely. It also needs to reach more of Towcester and NN12 if it is going to keep earning the time it takes each week. So if you value having one local email that checks the dates, follows the links and nags about the useful stuff, please forward this to two people who should be reading it, and give them a gentle nudge to subscribe.

And if you run a local business, group or organisation and have thoughts on how the Waffle could become more sustainable without becoming ghastly, hit reply. Sponsorship, reader support, partnerships, useful introductions: all ideas welcome. Biscuits also welcome, but legally not a business model.

Right. Into the useful stuff.

Fermor Holdings has started public consultation on Towcester Parklands, an emerging vision for the Towcester Racecourse estate and land on the southern edge of town.

The headline number is big: the scheme could provide up to 2,810 new homes, with employment space, leisure and tourism uses, and a new community parkland around the former racecourse. The consultation material puts the vision at about 82 hectares of open space, restoring the racecourse as publicly accessible parkland for walking and outdoor activity, with possible ground-floor uses such as cafés and restaurants in the Grandstand.

The in-person launch event was at the Empress Suite, Towcester Racecourse on Tuesday 30 June. Feedback closes on Monday 20 July.

This is exactly the sort of proposal that should not drift past as background noise. If it moves forward, it is not a small edge-of-town tweak; it is a town-shaping question about housing, roads, green space, the racecourse site and what Towcester becomes next.

The 2026 Formula 1 British Grand Prix runs at Silverstone from Thursday 2 July to Sunday 5 July, so the local travel week begins almost immediately after this issue goes out.

West Northamptonshire Council's resident information points people to traffic management plans, parking restrictions, local travel information, rights-of-way closures and the full event schedule. Silverstone also has a local residents page for race-weekend updates.

The practical bit for Towcester and NN12 drivers is to check the route before assuming the A43 will behave like a normal weekend. Silverstone's local-residents page says the A43 one-way system is due to operate on Saturday 4 July and Sunday 5 July, roughly 5am to 11pm, with earlier reopening possible if traffic flows allow. Brackley Town Council's road-closure notice adds the route detail: morning traffic flows towards the circuit, then afternoon traffic flows away.

Towcestrians' Saturday cricket card turned into a clean sweep on Play-Cricket.

The 1st XI beat Barby CC 2nd XI by six wickets, chasing 202 and reaching 203 for 4 in 31.2 overs. The 2nd XI beat Geddington CC 3rd XI by 63 runs, making 195 before bowling Geddington out for 132. The 3rd XI completed the set with a 45-run win away to Braunston Paddox CC 2nd XI, defending 126 by bowling the hosts out for 81.

Grand Prix weekend also has Towcestrians cricket pencilled in for Saturday 4 July: the 1st XI at home to Overstone Park CC 3rd XI, the 2nd XI away to Mears Ashby CC 2nd XI, and the 3rd XI at home to Newport Pagnell CC 2nd XI at Greens Norton. All three are listed for 12pm.

Six Northampton Saints players are in England's Nations Championship squad: Alex Coles, Tommy Freeman, George Furbank, Henry Pollock, Alex Mitchell and Fin Smith.

England open away to South Africa at Emirates Airline Park in Johannesburg on Saturday 4 July, so the matchday team sheet is the one for Saints supporters to watch. South Africa v England is a tidy little identity crisis for some households around here; Lee's official position is that he is both, but the biltong may be doing some heavy emotional work.

West Northamptonshire Council's adult social care review has a Towcester route this week: the Big Conversation session for Towcester Rural South and East is at SNVB's Riverside Centre, Islington Road, NN12 6AU, on Thursday 2 July from 2pm to 4pm.

This is connected to the wider 12-week consultation on adult social care services, including day services such as Towcester Forum. If you use services, support someone who does, work in care, or have family who rely on local provision, this is the more human route than only filling in a survey.

If the Towcester session does not work, WNC says unpaid carers can join a dedicated online adult social care session on Saturday 4 July from 10am to noon.

The same update says the wider online survey stays open until 30 July 2026. That matters because the review is not just abstract policy language; it is about how people who draw on care and support, plus families and carers, feed into the next Adult Social Care Strategy.

SNVB has flagged that Benefact Group's Movement for Good special draw is open for nominations, with 20 charities set to receive £5,000 grants.

The special draw is aimed at charities delivering activities, services or projects that strengthen communities. If there is a Towcester, village or wider NN12 group doing useful work quietly, this is the kind of low-effort nomination route that is worth five minutes before everyone says "someone should have put them forward".

West Northamptonshire Council has opened a new round of Discretionary Community Funding Grants, with locally based charities, not-for-profits and VCFSE groups able to apply for up to £15,000.

Applicants need to show how their project meets a local need and fits council priorities. Applications close at 5pm on Tuesday 28 July 2026, with details on the community funding grants page and applications requested through [email protected]. If you run a Towcester or NN12 group, this is the fresher funding route to look at first.

West Northamptonshire Council says Anti-Social Behaviour Awareness Week runs from Monday 29 June to Sunday 5 July, with councils, police, fire, housing and community partners pushing reporting routes and support.

It is not glamorous, but it is useful: if nuisance, noise, intimidation or repeat low-level disorder is happening on your street, reporting it is what gives agencies something firmer than "everyone knows it happens".

Business & IP Centre Northamptonshire drop-in - Wed 1 Jul, 9.30am to midday, Towcester Library. A non-bookable business-support session for talking through an idea with the BIPC Northamptonshire team.

Adult social care Big Conversation - Thu 2 Jul, 2pm to 4pm, SNVB Riverside Centre, Islington Road, Towcester, NN12 6AU. For service users, carers, families, staff and residents who want to feed into WNC's adult social care review.

Formula 1 British Grand Prix - Thu 2 Jul to Sun 5 Jul, Silverstone. Check WNC's resident information and Silverstone's local residents page before moving around the A43, parking near the circuit or planning race-weekend shifts.

Live Comedy Night at Towcester Mill - Thu 2 Jul, 8pm, Towcester Mill Brewery. Rescheduled comedy night with Marcel Lucont, Addy Van Der Borgh and support; tickets are listed at £16 and the event is over-18s only.

Saturday Craft Club at Towcester Library - Sat 4 Jul, 10.30am to midday, Towcester Library. Drop-in children's craft session; no booking needed.

Let's talk about Towcester Parklands for a second.

The easy reaction is to see 2,810 homes and immediately pick a side. Too much. About time. Roads first. Schools first. What about the racecourse? What about the town centre? What about all the people who already cannot find a home near family, work or school?

All of those reactions are allowed, because a proposal this big is not just a planning story. It is a "what kind of town are we building?" story.

The useful bit now is not to mutter in the Co-op queue and hope someone official hears it by magic. The useful bit is to get specific. Which junctions worry you? Where should the walking routes go? What would make the parkland actually used, not just drawn nicely? What services would have to be in place before the first keys are handed over?

Big plans get shaped by boring, specific feedback. Towcester has until 20 July to give some.

That's it for this week.

If the Waffle is useful to you, please help it reach the next few hundred people who would value it too. Forward this issue to two Towcester or NN12 people, nudge them to subscribe, and hit reply if you have ideas for making the whole thing more sustainable without making it awful. Local tips, events, results and corrections are still very welcome too.

-- Atlas & Lee, somewhere in NN12