Northants Telegraph Sunday Extra: £4.8m funding boost, construction courses and a garden club show

We've got so much news these days that we can't always squeeze everything into the working week. So every Sunday we'll bring you updates on recent stories, some news-in-brief and other things you need to know from across Corby, Wellingborough, East Northamptonshire and Kettering.

When a group of cadets were invited to spend a Saturday at a police station, they jumped at the chance.

And with the promise of being able to see a police dog in action and bashing a door down with an ‘enforcer’ – who can blame them!

Members of the 800 NAS Squadron, based in Kettering, visited Leicestershire Police headquarters in Enderby to get a look behind the scenes.

The group got up close with some of the weapons the firearms officers carry, and got to try on some of the body armour routinely worn by those in specialist roles.

Then it was on to the dog section where they got to see Police Dog Steem, a digital dog in action, sniffing out a phone in the long grass.

Second in command of the unit is PC Adam Rowlands, who served in the Royal Navy for ten years before joining Leicestershire Police in 2000.

He said: “There’s no pre-requisite for joining the cadets, and no commitment required to join any armed force or emergency service, but being a cadet gives some insight to what it might be like and if it’s something that might be of interest.

“It teaches a level of discipline – it’s expected that the young people take care of their own uniforms and polish their own boots – and with visits like this to police headquarters, seeing things for themselves, it shows them what it could be like.”

Wellingborough Garden Club is holding an autumn show in St. Andrew's Church Hall on Saturday, September 3.

The show is open to all and schedules are now available.

Classes include flowers, vegetables, flower arranging, culinary and craft.

For more details ring 01933 678545.

Children at a school in Barton Seagrave are learning how to ‘grow their own’ thanks, in part, to housebuilder Persimmon Homes.

The firm, which has the nearby Cranford Chase new homes development, has supported Hayfield Cross Church of England School to create its own vegetable patch.

Dawn Fraser, school business manager, said: “The project will enable students to gain a greater understanding of where food comes from, as well as promoting healthy nutritional choices.

“The children are excited about planting their own favourite vegetables and herbs, so we are very grateful to Persimmon Homes for their help to bring our ideas to fruition.”

North Northamptonshire Council is asking for views on priorities and opportunities relating to £4.8m (across three years from 2022/23) of central Government funding.

The council has been allocated cash from the UK Shared Prosperity Fund, a Government fund set up to provide £2.6bn for local investment. An investment plan will be put together by NNC, which sets out the challenges and opportunities locally across three themes - community and place, local business and people and skills.

Cllr David Brackenbury, the council’s executive member for growth and regeneration, said: “This money is about levelling up across the country, which is why we have launched this survey to ensure our funding allocation reaches the communities and projects most in need across North Northamptonshire.

“We want to hear from you on the challenges in your local area, as well as ways in which we can tackle them, so please do take the time to get involved.”

Anyone wishing to have their say should complete the online survey by midday on June 15.

Gretton House in Gretton played host to some very special guests as part of its 40th anniversary celebrations.

Among them were Valerie Reynolds and her daughter Nicky Eager, who were both welcomed back to Gretton House to mark four decades since it first became a happy home for people with learning disabilities. This was the vision of Valerie’s husband Maurice, and the family lived and worked there until 2006, when they retired and sold their home to Consensus. The Grade II listed manor house and landscaped gardens are now a specialist residential service provided by Consensus Gretton to support 16 adults with the rare genetic condition Prader-Willi Syndrome (PWS).

All of the people living at Gretton House, together with the whole staff team, joined in to make the occasion extra festive, festooning a marquee with hand-made decorations, balloons and flower arrangements.

Free bitesize courses giving people the practical skills and experience needed to work in the construction industry are available from North Northamptonshire Council, thanks to a successful bid for funding from Government’s UK Community Renewal Fund which invests in skills, community and place, local business and supporting people into employment.

The Construction Skills Programme returns to the area following the success of previous training courses launched in 2019 which saw over 400 local learners take up the opportunity to get their construction career off the ground.

Awarded with £88,000 of funding to deliver the programme, the council is working in partnership with local training provider, Evolve Your Future, to run bitesize courses which cover essential skills including health and safety, manual handling and first aid, as well as practical work experience at a local construction site, and CSCS card accreditation, giving learners all they need to work on-site.

Anyone interested in this opportunity should complete an expression of interest form on the council’s website at www.northnorthants.gov.uk/constructionskills.