The £3million renovation of a town centre jewellery store has ‘brought a little bit of Bond Street to Northampton’ – with a range of ultra-premium watches and gems from leading designer brands including a £150,000 limited edition Faberge egg.VIP guests and former members of staff were on hand to see the official unveiling of Michael Jones Jeweller’s upgraded flagship town centre store.With the expansion and refit of its One Gold Street home, the company has created a luxurious new high-end destination for customers seeking coveted brands such as Rolex.The independent jeweller, which is run as a co-operative, has traded in...

06 August, 2024

West Northamptonshire Council (WNC) has awarded £1.4 million in grant funding to a wide range of projects, including 24 community organisations to support initiatives focused on enhancing local skills, addressing critical needs, and fostering positive change within the community.Funded by the UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF), the People and Skills Grant funding is designed to empower individuals and grassroots organisations by providing the resources needed to cultivate essential skills and foster a resilient workforce equipped to meet evolving needs and drive economic growth.The largest part of the skills programme is an initiative called “Skills for Communities”, providing community organisations with...

06 August, 2024

An award-winning manufacturer of sustainable and eco-friendly vodka based in Northamptonshire is celebrating its first national supermarket contract by hand-delivering the stock by bike to drive down its carbon footprint.Jelley’s Vodka is launching its elderflower and honey-flavoured spirit into 14 Morrisons stores across Devon and Cornwall. Brand founder Benjamin Jelley will be cycling a 250km route between August 12-16 to personally deliver a total of 250 bottles, saving the equivalent of 0.25 tonnes of carbon dioxide.Each bottle contains a QR code link to receive a pack of elderflower seeds, with drinkers urged to sow them to encourage the future growth...

06 August, 2024

Northamptonshire membership organisation, NNBN, is backing Northamptonshire Manufacturing Week taking place at the end of September.The week will see a number of initiatives taking place across Northamptonshire and includes National Manufacturing Day which takes place on 26th September and is a national celebration of UK manufacturing, raising the profile of the sector.Leading the week’s events is Cassandra Campbell, Marketing Manager Paradise Computing – manufacturing and logistics business software specialists based in Althorp, Northampton and supported by a number of key stakeholders such as Sage UK, The Manufacturer, the Northamptonshire Manufacturing Forum, Made In Northamptonshire, the Northamptonshire Chamber of Commerce, the...

06 August, 2024

Residents and communities across West Northamptonshire are invited to come together to celebrate the official grand opening of the revitalised Northampton Market Square this October, as West Northamptonshire Council (WNC) and Northampton Forward celebrate the transformation of this beloved community space ensuring it can be enjoyed by future generations to come.Taking place across Saturday 19 and Sunday 20 October 2024, WNC will host a community celebration filled with a whole host of fun activities for all the family, including creative musical and cultural performances, historic and heritage exhibitions, and an array of amazing food and drink from a variety of...

05 August, 2024

The British Independent Retailers Association, has expressed concern over the announcement that dozens of high street banks will be shutting down this month, emphasising the vital service these branches provide to the high street.A total of 44 bank branches are scheduled to close in August, including 22 NatWest, eight Halifax, five Lloyds, four Bank of Scotland, and five Barclays locations.Several towns will be left without any nearby branches, raising alarm about access to essential banking services.Andrew Goodacre, CEO of Bira, said: "We are saddened by this wave of closures. Banks play a crucial role in supporting local businesses and maintaining...

02 August, 2024

A group of entrepreneurs from Northamptonshire have graduated from the first cohort of an incubation programme facilitated by the team at Vulcan Works.The inaugural Vulcan Creatives, a six-month programme funded by West Northamptonshire Council and the UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF), commenced in January and saw 10 businesses work with business growth manager Darren Smith to either turn an idea into a viable business or grow their fledgling enterprise.The entrepreneurs who took part in the programme were selected from tens of applications with a preference given to those working in the creative or digital sector – emerging industries in the...

02 August, 2024

Northampton born TikTok sensation and Instagram influencer Cami Sophia is running two Pilates workouts in her hometown.The 22-year-old, who studied business management and marketing at the University of Northampton, works with a host of UK brands and has more than 603,000 TikTok followers and over 17million likes. Her day of Pilates events is taking place on Saturday, August 31st in Irthlingborough.Cami, famed internationally for her passion for Pilates, said: “I started Pilates on a limb, doing a few workouts on YouTube and fell in love with the movement and how it made my body feel. I posted a video a...

02 August, 2024

Do you want to do your bit to support local hospice care and services? Then look no further, as Cransley Hospice Trust have just launched an exciting new campaign that will run this October.GO GREEN for Cransley Hospice Trust during this year’s Hospice Care Week – from the 7th – 13th October 2024.Hospice Care Week is the opportunity to celebrate the importance of Hospice Care nationwide – and the best way to do this is by showing support for Cransley Hospice Trust, who work to enable a better end of life experience for those with a life-limiting illness in the...

01 August, 2024

People are being encouraged to share their views on plans to support the increase in electric vehicles (EVs) across West Northants, through developing and expanding the current charging infrastructure.One of the barriers to converting to an electric vehicle is being able to charge at home as well as when out and about. At some stage in the future petrol and diesel cars will no longer be produced so we want to ensure that we have infrastructure in place that works for as many people as possible.West Northamptonshire Council (WNC) is committed to working with partners to achieve net zero across...

01 August, 2024

An independent IT consultancy has launched a free initiative for local schools to help drive education and awareness amongst pupils when it comes to using the internet and social media apps.Based in Wellingborough, 3RS IT Solutions has introduced their new 30 minute training sessions for school children in Years 6-11, with a key focus on the do’s and don’ts and best practice when using the internet, to help guide and inform children.“Educating children on internet safety is crucial in helping to protect them from online threats such as cyber bullying and privacy breaches, which is why we’ve launched our free...

01 August, 2024