Community centre closure, A5 appeal and cricket title

Morning Towcester.

This issue has the Islington Road community centre closure, two police appeals, fresh cricket results, a county trophy and a few useful summer-holiday dates.

If someone in NN12 would use the dates or the appeals, forward it on. And if you know where a local group has moved while the community centre is shut, or you have a result, event, correction or question, hit reply and send it over.

Right. Let's get into it.

Towcester Town Council says the Youth & Community Centre on Islington Road has temporarily closed while health and safety matters are reviewed.

The decision was taken by the trustee for the Towcester Community Centre Trust, Towcester Town Council, at its meeting on Monday 13 July 2026. The council says access during the closure should only happen with prior permission, and anyone needing essential access should contact the council in advance.

That is one to check before turning up for anything normally based there. The public line is deliberately cautious rather than dramatic: the building will reopen once the council is satisfied it is appropriate and safe to do so, with further updates promised when available.

Northamptonshire Police are appealing for witnesses and dash-cam footage after a fatal collision on the A5 near Astcote at about 11.15am on Thursday 16 July.

The collision involved a silver Mercedes and a white DAF road sweeper. Police say the Mercedes driver, a man in his 30s, died at the scene.

Officers particularly want dash-cam footage from the A5 between Bell Plantation Garden Centre and Foster's Booth junction between 11am and 11.20am. If you were on that stretch, check the camera before the journey disappears into the usual mental fog. Email the Serious Collision Investigation Unit, call the Drivewatch Hotline on 0800 174615, or contact police on 101, quoting incident 26000420369.

Northamptonshire Police are asking people in the Shires area of Towcester to check CCTV and doorbell footage after officers stopped a vehicle in Towcester in the early hours of Tuesday 7 July.

Police say the vehicle was believed to be linked to a commercial burglary at Brackley Antiques Cellar on Manor Road in Brackley between 1am and 2am. Three men fled after the Towcester stop, and officers want to hear from anyone who saw men acting suspiciously in the Shires area in the early hours.

Anyone with footage or information should contact Northamptonshire Police on 101, use the online reporting route, or call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111, quoting incident 26000398049.

West Northamptonshire Council says more than 3,000 on-street EV charging sockets will be installed across the area from mid 2026, with Char.gy leading the rollout.

Most of the chargers are expected to use lamp columns, aimed at residents who rely on street parking and cannot charge at home. The exact local map is the missing bit for Towcester: WNC says locations are being chosen from evidence, resident suggestions and parish-council work, with updates due through its EV charging page.

So this is not a "go and plug in on Watling Street this week" story. It is one to watch if you live in a terraced street, flat, older town-centre property or anywhere else where a driveway never materialised.

Towcestrians' latest senior results are now in, and 18 July was a rough Saturday for the club.

The 1st XI were bowled out for 89 at home before Overstone Park CC 3rd XI reached 93 for 3 to win by seven wickets. The 2nd XI were beaten away at Mears Ashby Playing Field, where Mears Ashby CC 2nd XI made 311 for 5 and Towcestrians replied with 174 all out. The 3rd XI kept it closer at Greens Norton, but Newport Pagnell CC 2nd XI got to 111 for 7 after Towcestrians had made 110 all out.

That flips the previous week's tone around completely. All three senior sides now need the 25 July card to do some repair work.

Northamptonshire Steelbacks won their third T20 Blast title on Saturday night, beating Hampshire Hawks in the Edgbaston final.

The final margin was 14 runs, with ESPNcricinfo's scorecard recording Northants 169 and Hampshire 155. The route there was not quiet either: Northants had already beaten Somerset by 17 runs in the semi-final earlier in the day.

It is not a Towcestrians story, but it is a rare county-wide cricket headline worth making room for in a week when the local club card went the wrong way.

England's second Nations Championship outing was a much better watch for Northampton Saints followers: Fiji 8, England 73, eleven England tries, and a very loud second-half cameo from Henry Pollock.

Saints had five players in England's matchday 23, with Alex Coles, Tommy Freeman and Fin Smith starting and Alex Mitchell and Pollock on the bench. Pollock came on after half-time and scored three tries, while Fin Smith kicked nine conversions.

England then beat Argentina 31-24 in Santiago del Estero, with Tommy Freeman scoring the opening try and Fin Smith kicking three conversions. Emmanuel Iyogun was named on the bench for his senior England debut, while Coles and Pollock also ended up in a very busy yellow-card column. Not perfect, but definitely not dull.

Saints have confirmed their 2026/27 PREM Rugby Cup fixtures, which means the domestic cup calendar now has shape.

The first-team fixture list has Saints away at Saracens on Saturday 5 September, 3pm, then away at Harlequins on Saturday 12 September, 4.45pm. The first home cup date is the useful local one: Leicester Tigers at Franklin's Gardens on Saturday 7 November, 3pm.

It is not a 25 July problem, but it is the sort of early fixture news Saints households use for autumn diary wrangling.

Towcestrians' fixture list has all three senior cricket sides back out at 12pm on Saturday 25 July, which is useful mostly because the 18 July card was so lopsided.

The 1st XI are listed at home in Towcester, the 2nd XI away at Mears Ashby Playing Field, and the 3rd XI at Greens Norton. Treat that as a short diary nudge rather than a full preview: the useful copy comes after the scorecards land.

West Northamptonshire's free Summer of Sport roadshow comes to Towcester Recreation Ground on Friday 21 August, 1pm to 5pm.

Northampton Saints, Northampton Town and Northamptonshire County Cricket Club are among the organisations involved, alongside local clubs and community partners. There will be sports, cycling, craft sessions, inflatables and games, with no booking required. It is still a few weeks away, which is precisely why it is worth getting into family calendars before the summer-holiday scramble does it for you.

West Northamptonshire libraries have launched the 2026 Summer Reading Challenge, and families can sign up for free at their local library until 12 September.

This year's theme is Read to the Beat. Children are encouraged to read six books over the summer, with stickers along the way and a certificate for finishers. There is also a Mini Challenge for pre-schoolers, plus free Story Sacks that pair children's books with puppets, games, soft toys and activity guides.

Towcester Library does enough quiet heavy lifting for families that it is worth spelling this one out. It is free, local, indoors, and exactly the sort of school-holiday structure that can save a wet afternoon.

A new MenB vaccination programme opened appointments from Monday 20 July for eligible young people before university or residential further education.

The one-off NHS programme covers young people who complete Year 13 in summer 2026, and anyone under 25 starting university or moving into residential further education for the first time this autumn. Eligible people should be contacted by the NHS through the NHS App, text, email or letter, and the vaccine is given in two doses at least four weeks apart.

That is wider than Towcester, but it is useful household admin for NN12 families with someone packing for halls. Do both doses, not just the easy first one.

West Northamptonshire's Grow, Cook, Eat programme has secured £343,750 to run from July 2026 to March 2028.

The scheme is led by HOPE with Community Health Works and Garden Organic, and teaches people to grow food, cook healthier meals and make food budgets stretch further. WNC says the programme has already trained more than 119 community champions, distributed more than 35 small grants and involved more than 45 local organisations.

That is wider than Towcester, but it is practical rather than fluffy. If you run a food, health, family or community project locally, it is worth knowing this funding is still moving.

SNVB is pointing South Northants groups towards the Radcliffe Trust's latest funding round, with applications due by 31 July 2026.

The trust funds registered charities, CICs and other not-for-profit organisations working in traditional craft, heritage and classical music. SNVB lists typical grants of £2,500 to £5,000 for music and £2,500 to £7,500 for heritage and crafts.

That is a narrow one, but a useful narrow one. Towcester has enough heritage, arts and community groups for a deadline like this to be worth a quiet nudge.

Vinyl Night at Towcester Mill - Wed 22 Jul, 6pm, Towcester Mill Brewery. Community turntable takeover.

Business & IP Centre drop-in at Towcester Library - Wed 22 Jul, 9.30am to midday, Towcester Library. Non-bookable support for business ideas.

Rhymetime at Towcester Library - Thu 23 Jul, 10.30am to 11am, Towcester Library. Free under-5s session; advance booking by email.

Chatty Cafe at Towcester Library - Thu 23 Jul, 1.30pm to 3.30pm, Towcester Library. Drop-in conversation table.

BRDC Classic at Silverstone - Fri 24 to Sun 26 Jul, Silverstone. Historic racing weekend.

Crayfish Festival at Towcester Mill - Sun 26 Jul, 12pm, Towcester Mill Brewery. The Mill's tenth annual crayfish afternoon.

Let's talk about the community centre closure for a second.

A temporarily closed building is not dramatic in the way a road crash or a trophy win is dramatic. But it can still quietly scramble a lot of local life: meetings, youth sessions, community groups, routines, keys, cupboards, the little bits of admin nobody notices until the door is shut.

The council's public line is cautious and sensible: review the health and safety matters, control access, reopen when it is appropriate and safe. Fair enough. Nobody wants bravado where building safety is involved.

The practical question is what happens around the closure. Which groups have moved? Who needs to know before they turn up? What temporary arrangements are actually working?

That is exactly the sort of local detail that can fall between official updates. If you know it, send it in. The useful version of a community notice is not just "closed"; it is "closed, and here's where people go now."

That's it for this week.

If the Waffle was useful, forward it to someone in Towcester or NN12 who would use the dates, links or local nudges. And if you've got a tip, result, event, concern, correction, local group relocation or question, hit reply and send it over.

-- Atlas & Lee, somewhere in NN12