Northampton Chronicle & Echo • 19th April 2024

Tidy Our Town: Look out for the 25 signs across West Northamptonshire urging road users to bin their litter

A positive step forward has been made as 25 electronic road signs across West Northamptonshire will display anti-littering messages until the end of May. Using electronic road signs to display encouraging messages is something the Northants Litter Wombles first brought to the attention of West Northamptonshire Council in March last year.

Northampton Chronicle & Echo • 16th April 2024

Tidy Our Town: Passionate picker encourages dog owners to combine daily walks with clearing litter

A passionate picker of more than three years has spoken out as part of the Tidy Our Town campaign, encouraging fellow dog owners to combine their daily walks with clearing litter – even if it is just one or two pieces each time. Monica De Bokx says she “jumped on the bandwagon” after the Northants Litter Wombles was founded and launched the Daventry Litter Wombles group in March 2021.

Northampton Chronicle & Echo • 3rd April 2024

Tidy Our Town: Council issues guidance on how best to report fly tips to see them resolved swiftly

Following reports from members of the public to the Chronicle & Echo that fly tips were taking longer to be cleared than expected, West Northamptonshire Council has issued guidance on how best to report these issues to see them resolved swiftly. The best way to alert the Council to a fly tip is by reporting it online and the reporter will be prompted to answer a series of questions.

Northampton Chronicle & Echo • 27th March 2024

Tidy Our Town: ‘We want people to have an excuse to get out and about in spring and give back to nature’

The Nene Rivers Trust CIO is playing its part in the national Big Spring Clean initiative, which was kickstarted with a litter pick alongside the Northants Litter Wombles on March 17. With one clean up event already hosted at Riverside Retail Park this month, three more are planned before the end of April as an extension of the national campaign.

Northampton Chronicle & Echo • 26th March 2024

Tidy Our Town: ‘We need to take pride in where we live,’ says dedicated litter picker of seven years

A dedicated litter picker of seven years, who runs a group in her area of Northampton, urges residents to take pride in where they live and take action against the growing issue. Sally Jordan has been the chairperson of the Ecton Brook Residents Group since 2017, which is also when she started regularly litter picking the area.

Northampton Chronicle & Echo • 11th March 2024

Tidy Our Town: Could the ‘Deposit Return Scheme’ help tackle the litter that is blighting Northampton’s streets?

Deposit Return Schemes are used all over the world, with the aim of encouraging more people to recycle bottles and cans. Described as ‘reverse vending machines’, customers can get a small portion of the money they paid back if they return and recycle the bottle or can to a collection point.

Northampton Chronicle & Echo • 8th March 2024

One year on from the launch of Help Our Hospitality: ‘Northampton is very quickly making its mark on the map’

It has been a year since the Chronicle & Echo launched its Help Our Hospitality campaign, to give a platform and voice to businesses across the town to share their unique stories. 47 stories later, the campaign is still going strong with a continued commitment to shouting about the amazing things going on among Northampton’s growing and thriving hospitality scene.

Northampton Chronicle & Echo • 7th March 2024

Tidy Our Town: Litter Womble describes group as ‘lifeline’ as it creates friendships and enhances wellbeing

Not only do the Northants Litter Wombles make a difference to the levels of rubbish we see across the town, but it creates friendships, enhances wellbeing and is a truly inclusive group. In the first part of her interview for the Tidy Our Town campaign, events coordinator Alison McClean shared her journey into litter picking and the importance of educating young people – who she described as “our future”.

Northampton Chronicle & Echo • 5th March 2024

Tidy Our Town: ‘The children are our future and will keep the litter picking momentum going’

In the latest instalment of the Tidy Our Town campaign, the Northants Litter Wombles’ events coordinator wanted to stress the importance of getting young people involved and continuing to educate them. Alison McClean first started litter picking in the summer of 2021, before officially joining the Litter Wombles around three months later in September.

Northampton Chronicle & Echo • 4th March 2024

Tidy Our Town: West Northamptonshire Council has ‘no current plans to introduce additional litter bins in 2024’

The Northants Litter Wombles work collaboratively with West Northamptonshire Council to ensure littering and fly tipping are tackled across the town. An ongoing partnership sees the Wombles’ distinctive purple litter bags collected once they are filled and left at the roadside.

Northampton Chronicle & Echo • 1st March 2024

Tidy Our Town: Admirable nine-year-old hosted litter pick in her area to mark ‘World Thinking Day’

An admirable nine-year-old hosted a litter pick in her area to mark ‘World Thinking Day’ on February 22. Amelie Mills, who is a year five pupil in the town, was inspired to host her own pick after she celebrated World Thinking Day at school.

Northampton Chronicle & Echo • 29th February 2024

Tidy Our Town: ‘We don’t make a big thing of the Great British Spring Clean as we do it all the time’

Litter picking is a hot topic of conversation at the moment, with the national Great British Spring Clean set to take place from March 15 to 31. In the second instalment of her interview with the Chronicle & Echo for the Tidy Our Town campaign, Northants Litter Wombles founder Nicola Elliott shared the effort put in at this time of year is something they do all year round.

Northampton Chronicle & Echo • 28th February 2024

Tidy Our Town: Northants Litter Wombles founder celebrates the 84,000 bags collected over three years

The founder of the Northants Litter Wombles wants to celebrate the more than 84,000 purple bags that volunteers have filled over the past three years, in the third Tidy Our Town campaign story. Nicola Elliott’s litter picking journey began a year before the ‘purple army’ was formed, when she set up her own village group where she lives in West Haddon.

Northampton Chronicle & Echo • 26th February 2024

Help Our Hospitality: ‘We’re not just a pub, we’re a community,’ says proud owner of iconic town centre venue

The proud owner of an iconic town centre venue has shared a poignant message – that it is not just a pub but a community – in her latest Help Our Hospitality interview. Rachel Nash founded Violet Taverns in November 2022, ahead of taking on the temporary lease of The King Billy, in Commercial Street, at the start of the following year.

Northampton Chronicle & Echo • 22nd February 2024

Help Our Hospitality: Owner of pop-up food and drink venue says ‘constant variety is what we’re all about’

The owner of an innovative pop-up food and drink venue in Northamptonshire says “constant variety is what they’re all about” – and it is what visitors have come to expect from their unique venture. The Pop Up Place, located in High Street, Long Buckby, has now been open for more than a year and has continued to be well-received among the community.

Northampton Chronicle & Echo • 21st February 2024

Tidy Our Town: ‘We need a complete change of culture and mindset among people who litter’

The Tidy Our Town campaign launched yesterday (February 20), which will see the Northants Litter Wombles and Chronicle & Echo fight to combat persistent littering and fly tipping. Each week a new interview will be published with a volunteer or member of the community who feels passionate about the problem and shining a light on the positive work of the Litter Wombles.

Northampton Chronicle & Echo • 20th February 2024

Tidy Our Town: Chronicle & Echo launch campaign with Northants Litter Wombles to ‘break the cycle’

The Chronicle & Echo has today (February 20) launched a new campaign in collaboration with the Northants Litter Wombles, to “break the cycle” that has seen littering and fly tipping take a hold on our town. The Northants Litter Wombles group was founded in the midst of the pandemic in early 2021, when dedicated members of the community came together with founder Nicola Elliott to fight an issue they were fed up with seeing.

Northampton Chronicle & Echo • 16th February 2024

Help Our Hospitality: Owner shares his secrets to running successful fish and chip shop for 20 years

The owner of a fish and chip shop, which recently celebrated two decades open in Northampton, has shared the new addition he plans to make to keep business thriving. Nick Panayis, the owner of Nick’s Plaice in Kingsley Park Terrace, founded the business more than 20 years ago – and reached the milestone in November last year.

Northampton Chronicle & Echo • 16th January 2024

Help Our Hospitality: Well-renowned chef shares how he broke into ‘bespoke fire cooking’ market

A well-renowned chef has shared how he managed to break into the “bespoke fire cooking” market in 2023 and his hopes for the next year. In the first Help Our Hospitality interview of the year, AJ Foodi reflected on how far he has come since he last spoke to the Chronicle & Echo in June last year.

Northampton Chronicle & Echo • 12th January 2024

Help Our Hospitality returns for 2024: ‘We’ve taken a look back, now it’s time to move forward’

Help Our Hospitality is back with a new aim for 2024, while continuing to bring you the inside stories from Northampton’s growing and thriving hospitality scene. Since the launch of the campaign 10 months ago, tens of stories have been published by the Chronicle & Echo to give a platform and voice to the individuals and venues doing great things across the town and county.