I have been campaigning for improved road signage on Wellingborough Road outside Northampton Academy secondary school, which has been an issue of concern for some time.
The matter first came to my attention when the headteacher of Northampton Academy, Mr Chris Clyne, contacted me outlining his concerns regarding the safety of the road and the need for a lower speed limit and improved signage following an accident in which was a child from the school was struck by a car and injured.
Before my intervention, the speed limit was 40 miles per hour when coming off the roundabout near the school, which I understand led to a number of accidents and incidents involving the children.
I subsequently made contact with West Northamptonshire Council in order to push for the appropriate road works and ensure that they were carried out in order to try to prevent any similar incidents from occurring in the future. This was done by having the appropriate signage indicating to motorists that there is a school nearby and by changing the speed limit from 40 mph to 30 mph on that portion of the road near Northampton Academy.
The Head Teacher said that he was “really warmed” by my support and commented publicly that “without him, we would not have gotten anywhere with the changes”.
You can read more about this in the Chronicle and Echo, which you can view via the following link:
(Photo: Michael Ellis MP discussing matters with students at Northampton Academy)