Our vision

Business hub

North Northamptonshire has long been a thriving hub for logistics and manufacturing jobs due to its central location.

This has continued, with businesses expanding their operations and new businesses bringing high tech and green industry jobs to the area in recent years.

Owned by one organisation – the Council have set out this Vision to spark a response and make a call to action for everyone in North Northamptonshire.

The Council have a convening power to bring the community and partners together to work towards these goals, and this partnership for North Northamptonshire will constructively hold each other to account to make this future real.

This is a long-term Vision, and over time there may be new perspectives and different drivers for change.

These can be added to the growing understanding of the current and future situation of North Northamptonshire and inform the change we all want to create.

Rising costs of public services

Lack of rural transport

Renowned for being an inspiring, safe place for all

In 2050, North Northamptonshire will be a proud place.

Top Line: People are proud to live and work in North Northamptonshire, of their local area and the whole place. North Northamptonshire has a clear identity locally and nationally – while strengthening and valuing the specific characteristics of individual places.

This Vision gives a sense of clear direction for everyone to work towards and common goals to achieve together. It has been refined by working with partners from statutory organisations, voluntary groups and the community – leading by listening and responding to the needs of the people it affects, both at the start of the process and as it develops.

Everyone knows not just what the aim is, but how we want to get there, how they can contribute to it, and how they can discuss emerging changes. People understand the needs and aims of the whole place as well as their immediate location, and as well as the pride they have long felt of their own town or village they now feel a connection to the wider area.

The opportunities and successes of North Northamptonshire are known and felt by our residents, but also further afield. We are looked to across the country as a place which can achieve what it sets its mind to, and which has a clear offer to residents and businesses. We can’t say now exactly what identity North Northamptonshire will have in 2050, because it needs to develop collaboratively as we do this work together.

People are proud not just of their own place, but of the whole place. Because of the excellent transport links, opportunities and developments in one place create benefits which are felt by the whole area and there is no rivalry between our diverse places. People can choose to live in one place for its individual charm, while enjoying all the positives of the wider area.

The community spirit and close partnership working, which has been in place for many years and was strengthened in the early 2020s, has been built on, and organisations in North Northamptonshire talk to each other to share issues and best practice. Everyone knows how to reach out to a wider group to solve problems which are too big to be taken on alone. People see the positive changes, how they benefit from them, and how their hopes and concerns have helped to shape North Northamptonshire.

Everyone feels that they have a stake in society here, and they are safe here – in our clean streets and on our clear roads. By listening to the concerns of our communities we have addressed the root causes of what makes people feel unsafe. Strong education and activities which make sure people know they have part to play in our community reduces crime and anti-social behaviour, while transport innovation and infrastructure for active travel has made people feel safe to use the wide range of ways to travel beyond the car.

A stake in society

We have plenty of activities, which are accessible, for our young people and people who have previously felt left out. We actively reach out to groups which have been underrepresented in the past and incorporate their views into developing North Northamptonshire. Everyone feels valued and a part of society – able to contribute to it and has a sense of being part of a community.

Strong partnerships

All local organisations know what we are working towards, how they contribute to it, and how they can talk about and resolve issues which are bigger than any one partner to create needed change.

Safety

People feel safe in their neighbourhoods, on the roads, using our facilities. Where issues of crime or disorder are identified we use preventative approaches and education to reduce them.

Thriving businesses employing skilled local people

In 2050, North Northamptonshire will be a prosperous place.

Top line: Everyone has a well-paid, fulfilling and secure job. We are a great place to do business – for large industries, emerging sectors and start-ups. We have the infrastructure needed for modern business, and are prepared for changes to our key industries. Our residents are skilled and ready for the workforce here or wherever their ambition takes them – both for the jobs of today and the future.

Our central location and affordable land continues to bring in great businesses and jobs. We continue to attract our traditional manufacturing and logistics jobs, but companies also bring their headquarters and research facilities here to access the skilled workforce and affordable land. These also bring in new industries, with high-tech and green businesses flocking to North Northamptonshire. In the 2020s we looked ahead to the developing automation, robotics and green industries, and our reputation for working with innovative businesses and delivering the skilled workforce for them means that emerging industries of 2050 look to us as the place they can thrive.

Our people of all ages are inspired to work towards these jobs through the varied range of education and skills programmes. Our schools are excellent and we have new further education facilities which prepare people for the modern workplace so they can meet their high ambitions. We have responded to the changing world of work as automation has altered job types and ensured that people are not left behind as industries hire different skills. Our employers, education and skills providers understand the specific needs of people with disabilities and / or special educational needs and can deliver what they require for them to get into and sustain excellent employment.

Our focus on net zero business and living has brought more innovative industries to the area. We are known as a place which not only produces green energy where all businesses are net zero carbon contributors but has supported the rest of the country and beyond to decarbonise and live more sustainably through our environmentally conscious industries.

We are also a great place to start a business – with excellent digital connectivity as well as transport links. We have places which support people to create their new business and grow it alongside peers in ways which help to grow the local economy. 

We are known nationally as a transport innovation hub which has hugely reduced its use of private vehicles. The towns and villages are connected by excellent greenway links to enable active travel between them, with a range of sustainable personal travel options. Rural areas are served by affordable, reliable, accessible, and green public transport which ensures that all residents can reach jobs, shopping, socialisation and support when they need it. Through this, we have reduced the use of private cars substantially, and where vehicles are used they are electric or other low-polluting technology.

We have grown our tourism industry and are known as a great countryside getaway, with a range of hotels and accommodation options. People from across the major cities nearby know that the Nene Valley is a great place for a break and regularly visit for a day or longer getaway.

We have the right homes where people want them – developments have been designed with what people want in mind: whether it’s a family home within reach of their work or a downsized home to retire to. These homes are built to fit into the existing places and people can become part of the community, with all the infrastructure that this growth requires. Older housing stock has been maintained well to ensure it is excellent quality for residents, with good insulation and green heating options to minimise their environmental impact.

All children get the best start

Children who have additional needs are given the appropriate support to meet them, including help to get and sustain employment in adulthood. This includes children with Special Educational Needs, children with physical disabilities, children in care and at-risk children.

Housing

We build enough homes to meet the needs of our growing population and the housing waiting lists, to ensure that people who want to remain in their local area have affordable options to do so. We ensure that older housing stock is kept in excellent condition and limit the environmental impact of our homes through excellent insulation and green energy generation.

Entrepreneurs

There is a supportive environment for small businesses and social enterprises to star, thrive and scale up – while ensuring their work is environmentally sustainable.

Holistic Development

We work with developers who care about the needs of the area and build the right infrastructure to support growth, as well as the right homes in the right places.

Infrastructure

Because we anticipate growth, we ensure there is the physical, digital and social infrastructure needed to support population and business expansion. However, we also ensure that doing this respects our natural environment and green spaces.

Acting early in an informed way to give the best life to all

In 2050, North Northamptonshire will be a proactive place.

Top line: In the 2020s we identified causes of issues in people’s lives and moved from treating the symptoms to addressing the problems at the heart of them.

We know what the issues are which cause people to need support and proactively work to address them early, no longer waiting for people to hit crisis. Instead of intensive statutory services, people receive lighter support at the start of issues such as debt. We know the signs to look for and use data and local knowledge to reach out to the people more likely to experience issues when they are a smaller worry to stop them spiralling and combining with other problems.

We recognise the importance of good mental health as well as physical health. Our pro-active drug and alcohol services and range of positive activities for young people not only help to keep people well but help to reduce crime and antisocial behaviour. There are places for residents to come together and socialise with their neighbours, to build a sense of community and end social isolation – from leisure activities and community spaces to cafes and the village pub.

Our organisations talk to each other to understand the problems residents and communities face and how they can address them together. When changes in society happen which affect people, we respond fast as a partnership to identify what problems this might create and proactively design solutions to mitigate them before they happen. We are not firefighting problems as they arise but carefully considering what problems are occurring and how we can address them across our systems, in ways which lead to better lives for the people of North Northamptonshire.

In the 2020s we looked carefully at the places and people which most needed support – both places experiencing deprivation and those at risk of it – and created plans to address their needs. We designed solutions across our whole system which responded to the needs of those places and people. These solutions are designed to meet these needs, not around traditional structures of our organisations, to make sure they work for the people who need them.

We have worked hard to understand what holds people back from achieving their best life, whether this is the area they live or any characteristics which are more likely to experience structural barriers to thriving. We have removed these barriers to ensure that wherever or however someone is born in North Northamptonshire they have every opportunity to live out their high ambitions.

Organisations are able to think long term due to clear strategic direction and suitable long term funding settlements as much as possible. This enables them to plan for the future and delivering the best for North Northamptonshire rather than worrying about current funding pressures.

Joined up services and data

Organisations connect to share their understanding of current and emerging need, in formal meetings but also through a wider network of collaboration as part of their regular work. Datasets are appropriately shared to help build the best picture of life in North Northamptonshire at an overall, local and household level. This means we all collaborate to deliver what people need based on the needs of our residents rather than organisational structures.

Data and local knowledge

We utilise data and local knowledge to spot people who are at risk of issues developing or worsening and support them to stay on track.

Equality

There is equality of access to public services, including schools and healthcare. Data and engagement with communities is used to identify where there are postcode lotteries and structural inequalities and these are addressed to ensure that everyone has access to the best life.

Connected communities

Services are connected to the community, who are actively engaged to co-design where appropriate.

Now we are working to convene the Big 50 Conference more regularly to set out the actions which are needed to deliver the Vision, ensure we are working towards them and check our ambitions are still the right ones. This will set out the actions and outcomes we need to make this future happen, including work over the coming months, years and decades.

No one organisation or person can create this future.

We all must make it a reality by working together, not just in meetings or workshops but in how we communicate, share ideas and trust each other every day to be doing the right things for our community.

The first Big 50 conference helped to show us the power of bringing people together – with partners telling us about the connections they have been making through this which will help them to collaborate on work towards these ambitions.

Targets

It is clear that that our community want to see actions committed to and taken. We are now using the feedback given at the Big 50 conference to develop specific areas for action and what we can do to begin working towards them. We will all work in partnership to set clear targets and share data on how we are performing against them and identify the issues we need to address.