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KETTERING
ISSUE 67 19 December 2014
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MERRY CHRISTMAS & LOCAL BUSINESSES
A43 ROUTE MARCHES ON Commuter corridor upgrade plan
No genie in the bottle, says ‘Jim Carver’ ELLO, ’ello, ’ello . . . what’s going on ’ere then? Star of stage and screen Mark Wingett was assisting Kettering police last week during their drinkdrive campaign in the town. The teetotal actor – well known for his longrunning TV role as Jim Carver in The Bill – is currently appearing in the panto, Aladdin, at Kettering’s Lighthouse It is expected that a formal planning application for this £18.75million project will be submitted to the Northamptonshire County Council early in January 2015. The initial phase of the proposal is linked to a major housing development scheme between Moulton and Overstone. Phase 2 will extend dualling for a further 2.6km from the Moulton roundabout to the Holcot/Sywell roundabout ¬– at a cost of around £20m – and further phases will extend the dualling from the Holcot/Sywell roundabout through to the A14 at Kettering, costing around £65m. The total length of the full scheme is approximately 9.45miles (15.13km) of dual carriageway construction.
Sale as charity shop closes A SHOP run by the Northamptonshire Association for the Blind (NAB), a countywide independent sight loss charity, is pulling down the shutters on its Kettering premises one last time this month after more than two-and-a-half years of trading in the town centre. The charity shop, behind Greggs on the High Street and at the top of the Wadcoft car park, was opened to raise funds to keep open the charity’s
Sight Centre, which is located directly next door. NAB will close its Charity Shop for good on Tuesday, December 23, at around 3.30pm, but in the meantime they are encouraging locals to pop in for a bargain as they try to clear stock with a half-price sale. John Wood, general secretary of NAB, said: “It is very sad. We are having to move out of the premises we are currently in. The landlord wants more rent than we can af-
ford to pay. We are actively trying to find another shop in Kettering Town Centre and ask anyone who is able to help us with this to contact us on our helpline: 01604 719193. “We thank everyone who has sup-
ported the shop over the years and remind people that our Sight Centre will remain in its current location, open Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays 10am-1pm for sight loss support, information and equipment.”
Was our comic strip artist Frank Bellamy the best illustrator in the world? See page 15
FREE BEE ADVERTISING IN EXTRA LOCAL PAGE 21 MASSIVE FESTIVE CROSSWORD AND PUZZLES PAGES 17 & 18 COMPLETE OUR READER SURVEY AND YOU COULD WIN A £25 WINE VOUCHER PAGE 19 FURNITURE CLEARANCE OUTLET SALE STARS 27TH PAGE 9 EXTRA TIME WHAT’S ON PAGES 11-14
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COMMUTERS between Kettering and Northampton are currently much in the minds of county council planners, who have been further discussing the proposal to improve the A43 between the two towns and relieve bottlenecks and traffic hotspots. About 20,000 vehicles use the A43 each day and significant traffic congestion occurs along the route during the morning peak hour period for traffic heading south towards the county town. As part of the wider scheme for upgrading the busy corridor, a one-mile long dual-carriageway is proposed to link the Round Spinney roundabout, which is currently being enhanced, with the Moulton roundabout.
Theatre, but took time out to talk to motorists in the town. Full story, page 3.
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