Partners gather for first step in developing One West Northamptonshire as the beating heart of England

Organisations from across West Northamptonshire gathered this week for the first step towards creating a new partnership vision for improving outcomes for residents and businesses across the area by 2030.

More than 70 representatives from partners across the public, private, community and voluntary sectors joined in the launch of One West Northamptonshire – a new joint Plan to be shaped around how organisations can work together over the next five years to make a real difference to people's lives.

The event, which took place at the Catesby Innovation Centre, the world-famous aerodynamic testing facility near Daventry, focused on the theme 'Strength in Partnership', and the importance of combining everyone's ambitions to make West Northamptonshire a beating heart for inclusive growth and investment.

Inspiring talks from a range of speakers focused on how innovation is transforming lives, such as elderly residents kayaking and mountain biking with the help of virtual reality, how young people with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities are helping to build the excitement around next year's Rugby World Cup, support for women in business through female founders and ground-breaking work to support those leaving prison to end the cycle of homelessness and reoffending. Alongside panel discussions there was also an opportunity for organisations to make their pledges on how they will support the work to create a thriving place and people by 2030.

It was also an opportunity to share and discuss the beginnings of the One West Northamptonshire Plan, which will be developed with the involvement of both stakeholders and the public in the months ahead and finalised in the spring.

Councillor Adam Brown, Leader of West Northamptonshire Council said: "It was great to see so many partners join us for the recent One West Northamptonshire launch as we embark on the next stage of our partnership journey to create a single, shared vision for our area. I would also like to say a huge thank you to all our speakers who brought real depth and insight to partnership working at its very best and the real benefits it delivers to our residents.

"The desire among partners to work together on improving outcomes for our communities has never been stronger, and we're keen to harness this collective energy and combine our ambitions. This week's event is only the start of the journey and in the coming months we will be inviting all stakeholders and community members to get involved in shaping the Plan so please watch this space."

Among the speakers were Rebecca Gill of VR Therapies, Matthew Sentance from Northgate School Academy Trust, and Lucienne Shakir, who each shared powerful perspectives on health, education, and business resilience. Darryn Frost of Own Merit CIC and Prince Caesar from Bak UP addressed crucial issues around homelessness and community resilience with passion and expertise. Partners were also given the opportunity to put forward questions to a discussion panel comprising WNC's Chief Executive Anna Earnshaw, Jason Longhurst from Prologis, Rachel McGrath from Northamptonshire Community Foundation, Dr Cathy Smith of University of Northampton, and Toby Sanders from NHS Northamptonshire Integrated Care Board.