Road closures for Wellingborough's Park Farm Way and Niort Way coming up

Road closures are planned in Wellingborough as part of a multi-million pound contract to ‘spruce up’ parts of north Northants.

Park Farm Way will be closed from today (Wednesday) until Friday (January 13) from the Bannatynes roundabout to the Sywell Road roundabout.

It will be closed during the day due to highway, drainage and vegetation maintenance.

This work, which will also include street cleaning, will be followed by Niort Way being closed from January 18 to January 20 between Gleneagles Drive and the Harrowden Road roundabout for the same reason.

Diversions will be signposted.

The work is part of a wider project to spruce up individual areas across the North Northants area.

Last September, North Northamptonshire Council and Kier unveiled details of its ‘Community Enhancement Plan’.

The authority has a seven-year contract with Kier, a highways maintenance provider, to oversee the new highways service across Kettering, Corby, Wellingborough and Rushden.

The contract will include works such as maintaining local roads, footpaths, signage and drainage, while allowing teams to find and fix potholes that would not normally be on the programme of repairs.

Speaking last September, Cllr Graham Lawman, NNC’s executive member for highways, travel and assets, said: “This contract is an exciting new opportunity and we’re looking forward to working with Kier and seeing continued improvements made to the road, footpath and cycling network over the coming months and years.

"The bid from Kier was comfortably the best on quality and price and we must acknowledge the work of our officers and Kier and their attitude to collaboration with us to get the contract over the threshold.

"The contract is very much designed towards modernising the service, including meeting our carbon neutrality targets and achieving value for money for residents through quality performance.

"A fit-for-purpose highways contract is essential in the delivery of so many of our services and vital to every single resident that uses the network, whether for work, leisure or day-to-day journeys.”

This is the first highways contract to be awarded since the council came into existence in April 2021.

Worth approximately £30 million a year, it is one of the highest value contracts awarded by the council.