Queens Road, Bite Street’s last weekend, and a note from Lee

Hello Towcester & NN12.

You shouldn't need to dig through council portals, club sites and scattered tips just to stay one step ahead of the week. That's what we're for: a short local guide that does the legwork and puts the useful bits in your inbox.

We are on Instagram and Facebook now, @towcesterwaffle on both. Follow along, and pass those posts to other NN12 people: instagram.com/towcesterwaffle and facebook.com/towcesterwaffle.

This week that means Queens Road closed Monday to Friday, a Delivery Office decision on Watling Street East, weekend sport results plus Saints at home on Friday, Bite Street’s last dates of the season, and a look at the weather. Reply with a tip if we've missed something on your street, then invite a neighbour, friend, family member or colleague to subscribe to The Towcester Waffle. The more of NN12 that reads, the better connected our town becomes.

Right. Let's get into it.

WNC's live roadworks list has Queens Road closed Monday 14 to Friday 18 September. Diversions are via Brackley Road and Richmond Road.

If that is your school run or the way into town, allow extra time and check the live map before you set off. Wednesday is still inside the closure.

WNC has granted planning permission for works at the Towcester Delivery Office, 90 Watling Street East (NN12 6BT). Decision issued 4 September 2026 (application 2026/1725/FULL). The scheme covers staff toilets in a timber outbuilding, some internal wall removal, and store-room modernisation for retail.

Quiet bit of High Street infrastructure, but it is a real decision on a building people use every week. Staff get proper facilities; the store gets a tidy-up. That is how a town keeps working when nobody is making a fuss about it.

Beech House Veterinary Practice is now Taylor Vets Towcester, the Chronicle reported on 8 September. Same team, same place at Bell Plantation on the A5 (NN12 6GX). The Chronicle names Polly Smith, John Taylor, David Moore and Katy Julien after an April ownership change, and notes an extra consult room, air conditioning and extended hours.

New name on the door. Same practice if that is where you already take the dog.

Heritage Open Days run until Sunday 20 September. The festival is still on this week.

If you have not been yet, this is the last stretch. Check the listings for what is still open before you go.

Harlequins beat Northampton Saints 29–14 at the Stoop on Saturday 12 September in Round 2 of the PREM Rugby Cup. A hard afternoon on the road.

Next up at home: Black Lion at Franklin’s Gardens on Friday 18 September at 7.30pm — club friendly.

Men's 1sts beat Stratford 4–1 at home on Saturday 12 September in a friendly. Proper home win.

They drew 4–4 at home with Milton Keynes 1 on Sunday 13 September. Another four-all afternoon.

Next up: Leicester Westleigh 1 at home at 1.30pm on Saturday 19 September at Towcestrians Sports Club.

Ladies 1sts drew 4–4 on Sunday 13 September in a club-listed friendly. Four apiece.

Towcester Town Council is asking for local policing priorities. The Northamptonshire Talking survey is still open. No hard deadline on the page — if you have a view, put it in.

Northamptonshire Carers’ Parent Carer Wellbeing Hub is at Towcester Family Hub on Friday 18 September, 10.30am–12.30pm. For parent carers who want a local drop-in that week — put it in the diary if that is you or someone you support.

Applications are open for school places from September 2027. Year 7 secondary closes midnight 31 October. Reception and junior closes midnight 15 January. County-wide, but every NN12 parent with a child moving up hits these dates — do not leave it to the last week.

Towcester Farm Vets TB meeting — Mon 28 Sep, Towcestrians Sports Club, NN12 8AW. Refreshments 7pm, talk 7.30pm. Sarah Tomlinson and Lindsay Heasman. Free. Book on 01327 350239 (option 3) or [email protected].

SNVB Networking Lunch — Wed 23 Sep, 11.30am–1.30pm, Riverside Centre, Islington Road, Towcester, NN12 6AU. For the volunteer sector. Refreshments and light lunch; register with [email protected].

Bite Street — Fri 25–Sun 27 Sep, Bell Plantation, Watling Street (NN12 6GX). Last of the season. The weekend just gone (11–13 Sep) was a belter; this is the final three days. Ticketed; children under 10 free. Hours: Fri 5.30–9.30pm; Sat 1–9.30pm; Sun noon–4.30pm.

Pattishall Parish Hall charity quiz — Sat 19 Sep. Quiz entry £13.50. Book via the parish hall SumUp page.

Saturday Craft Club — Sat 19 Sep, 10.30am–12.00pm, Towcester Library. Free craft session if you want a quieter Saturday morning in town.

Poppy Appeal Quiz — Tue 22 Sep, 8pm, Towcester Mill Brewery. Book free; £3 on the door (£2 Poppy Appeal / £1 prizes); max six per team.

🎶 MAE CLWB ROTARI TOWCESTER YN CROESAWU CÔR MEIBION CWMBACH 🎶

📅 Dydd Sadwrn, 24 Hydref
📍 Eglwys St Lawrence, Towcester
🕖 7yh

Côr meibion byd-enwog o Dde Cymru — croeso cynnes i bawb!

Tickets: John Sidwick on 01327 352851 or Footworks, 136 Watling Street. £15 including interval refreshments. Doors 6.15pm.

The Met Office Towcester forecast for the rest of the week: Wednesday about 18°C / 12°C with sunny intervals; Thursday 18°C / 9°C with rain in the morning; Friday 19°C / 14°C; Saturday 21°C / 15°C; Sunday 21°C / 14°C. Useful version: Thursday is the damp one; the weekend looks the better outdoor stretch.

I started The Towcester Waffle because I'd moved to Towcester around 3.5 years prior and still hadn't really got to know too many people in town, and I wanted to. And I wanted that for others too - for the town to be more of a community.

Six months on, the job of the Waffle is still the same: a helpful local guide so you don't have to chase roads, fixtures, planning notices, opportunities to connect and Saturday plans across half a dozen sites. What hasn't kept up is the subscriber list. Not enough of NN12 reads this yet. That is the next problem that I need to solve.

The theory is that the town feels different when more of us are in on the same week. It is paying attention together — Queens Road before it ruins the school run, the Welsh choir on a Towcester Saturday, the quiet High Street decision that would otherwise sit on a register nobody opens.

If this has ever saved you a wrong turn or pointed you at something worth doing, help fix the growth gap this week in one concrete way:

Small town. Small asks. That is how this gets bigger.

Tips and corrections welcome — reply to this email.

— Atlas & Lee, somewhere in NN12