The RAC has reported the accident on the roundabout on the A5076 at Danes Camp Way near Hunsbury Hill Avenue and Hunsbury Hill Road.

The alert states there is congestion to A45 / A508 / B526 / Hardingstone Lane (Queen Eleanor Roundabout).

The last update was just before 5pm.

There are no details as to the nature of the accident nor any injuries.

Workers at a mental health charity feel too much responsibility is being handed to ward staff in Northampton after 11 catering staff were made redundant.

St Andrew’s Healthcare’s catering team prepares about 900 meals for its patients every day.

But late last year the charity, which runs the large mental health hospital off Billing Road, put the jobs of 46 people in the team at risk as part of plans to hand some duties over to healthcare assistants.

The largely taxpayer-funded charity has now confirmed 11 staff have been made redundant in the restructure.

A spokeswoman for St Andrew’s said: “Every person has had the opportunity to either move into a newly created housekeeping role, or into another vacancy within the charity.”

A total of 35 employees took the option of redeployment.

However, staff members have contacted the Chronicle & Echo over concerns ward staff were being handed too much responsibility with limited training.

One source told the Chron healthcare assistants were already struggling with workloads in certain wards.

Others queried why a charity that previously paid its chief executive £328,000 a year would need to cut staff in relatively low-paid roles.

St Andrew’s says all but six per cent of direct care staff have now completed their mandatory hygiene training.

A spokeswoman said: "All staff were reminded of the requirement to complete Level 1 Food Hygiene training prior to the introduction of the changes to food service roles as part of the transition plan, and we have seen compliance rise. As of March 2018, the compliance for our direct care staff is 94.63%."

This week the Care Quality Commision (CQC) said St Andrew's still had a way to go to shake the 'inadequate' rating it was given last year.

CQC inspectors had concerns managers were not supervising frontline staff as well as they should in certain wards.

One of six staff asked whether they had "experienced bullying" reported a case where they felt a colleague had.

The five others reported "positive morale", according to the CQC.

Demolition has begun at a Daventry warehouse that was gutted in a major fire this week.

Northamptonshire Fire and Rescue says the fire is fully contained after a third day tackling the blaze in Drayton Fields Industrial Estate.

Emergency services have been on site with local business owners as forensic investigations continue.

Group Manager Warren Ellison from Northamptonshire Fire and Rescue Service, said: “The presence of the emergency services at the site has been scaled down and discussions have taken place today with demolition specialists working on behalf of the building’s owner.

“Demolition of the building has now commenced, which will enable us to carry out a full investigation as well as assist with fighting the fire.

“Our primary aim at present is to support local businesses in their business continuity.”

The fire started shortly before midnight on Sunday, March 11, and at its height, more than 50 firefighters were tackling the blaze.

A man arrested on suspicion of arson in connection with the fire has been released on bail pending further enquiries.

Detectives investigating the fire continue to appeal for anyone with information about it to contact them on 101 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.

Detectives are appealing for witnesses or anyone with information after a burglary in Carlton Road, Northampton where Asian gold was targeted.

The incident happened on Tuesday, March 13, between 8.30pm and 9pm, when a group of masked men entered a house in the area, threatened the occupants inside and used force against them before stealing gold and jewellery.

Detective Inspector Adam Pendlebury, said: “We have seen an increase in Asian gold burglaries in the past week so I would ask people to be vigilant and to report anything they think is suspicious.

"We are continuing to work closely with the Asian community with regards to this series of crimes and anyone with concerns is encouraged to contact their local neighbourhood policing team.

“The incident that happened last night was a horrible experience for the victims of this crime and I would like to reassure them and the wider public that officers are working hard to bring the offenders to justice.

“I want to take this opportunity to appeal to anyone who may have information or saw anything suspicious in the area at the time, to contact us on 101 or alternatively call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555111.

“I would also encourage those with high value gold or jewellery to consider removing it from their homes and placing it in a safety deposit box scheme as this remains the best way to protect it.”

Witnesses or anyone with information about this incident or the wider series of Asian gold burglaries should call 101 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555111.

To contact your local Neighbourhood Policing Team, visit http://www.northants.police.uk/neighbourhoods.

Parents at Northampton primary school that faces closure say they could "lose their community" by next year.

Although Great Creaton Primary School only has 30 pupils, parents say they their children will be left in the lurch if the county council decides to shut the school in June.

If passed, families would have just weeks until the summer holidays to find their children a new school in time for the new academic year.

The local authority opened a public consultation on whether Great Creaton Primary should close at a cabinet meeting on Tuesday (March 14).

One parent said: "Although Great Creaton Primary is a small school, it has an enormous kind, friendly, caring and loving heart. The atmosphere that emanates from it is that of a family community.

"The threat of closure to our school has angered parents. They feel betrayed and disappointed as the people that we have entrusted the welfare of our school to have gone behind everyone’s back and done this."

The county council has forecast the school will have only one Year 6 pupil in 2019, but parents have challenged this.

Nearly half of Great Creaton's 30 pupils have special educational needs and currently splits its year groups into two mixed-age classes.

One parent said: "We haven’t felt that our children have been disadvantaged socially and the older children mix easily with the younger ones.

"Personally, our children would have struggled within a bigger school setting.

"If the school closes, how many weeks have you got until the schools shut for the summer to find your child a new school for the academic year? We are angry, to say the least."

The consultation begins on March 22 and end on May 17.

Parents have since launched an online petition to "save Great Creaton Primary School".

On Monday night, opposition members on the borough council labelled North Gate Bus Station “an accident waiting to happen” in a joint-party call to improve safety around the station.

Their motion at full council came after a bus parked in the station reportedly rolled into a barrier after its handbrake had been left off.

Northampton’s Lib Dem and Labour parties said the borough had also overlooked blind spots, air pollution troubles and the issue of buses mounting the pavement in their planning for the site.

The motion was turned down, with all but one Conservative member on the borough - Councillor Sam Kilby-Shaw (Con, Obelisk) - voting against the motion.

But a Conservative colleague on the county council took a different view during a later debate at Tuesday’s cabinet meeting, the first time anyone on the North Gate project team has broken ranks to admit they got the location wrong.

Councillor Andre Gonzalez De Savage admitted: “It is in entirely the wrong place, which wasn’t of [the County Council’s] choosing.

“There is a serious problem with its location, I agree.”

Roads around Sheep Street and The Drapery have been subject to regular snarl-ups since it opened as part of a joint venture between both councils in 2014.

There was further controversy in 2017, when it emerged all the previous year’s air quality figures for The Drapery were not recorded.

But the remark by Councillor Gonzalez De Savage, the cabinet member for economic growth, puts an end to the united front between the county and borough over North Gate.

In an interview with the Chron yesterday, the councillor claimed the borough council was “fixated” on using the former Fish Market land on Sheep Street.

He also maintains the facility should have been built on council land next to the town’s railway station.

“It was against all logic to put it at the Fish Market site. It didn’t make any sense,” he told the Chron.

“I did think it was going to be a bit of a squeeze. When I planted the time capsule [at North Gate] I remember saying to [then council leader] David Mackintosh, ‘this won’t stay as a bus station for too long’.

“I still think it could be a coach station. The congestion in Greyfriars is a mess.”

Councillor Gonzalez De Savage, who also said he would run for the leadership of the county council Conservative group if he had backing, believes both councils can still build a bus terminal next to the railway station.

Councillor Jane Birch, (Lab, Trinity) who proposed the motion for a safety review of North Gate this week, said she was “surprised” by the councillor’s comments.

It was a cold and dry day on the morning March 15, 2015 as the town came together to watch the old iconic Greyfriars Bus Station be demolished.

Following months of planning, Greyfriars was brought down in a matter of seconds in a massive controlled detonation which would change the skyline in Lady's Lane forever.

The Greyfriars building, which was last used by passengers in 2014, collapsed as the town looked on and was followed by a huge cloud of dust that lingered before revealing mountains of newly-blasted concrete.

The demolition, carried out by DSM, involved more than 2,000 explosive charges. The charges were triggered sequentially moving from east, Wellington Road, to west (Sheep Street).

It was the first time the site has lain empty of buildings since 1976.

Now three years on the site remains empty and soulless.

The proposed scheme for its rejuvenation included student accommodation and retirement apartments, residential flats to let, a 110-bed hotel, restaurants, retail kiosks, a gym, a cinema or trampolining facilities and a new coach station.

But in November it emerged the developer is unable to deliver the housing which forms a vital part of the agreed proposal for the residential-led project.

Traffic is queuing on a main road just south of Northampton following a collision.

The A508 Southbound is partially blocked and there is queueing traffic due to a two-car collision at the junction of Courteenhall Road.

Traffic is also backing up on the A45 southbound north of junction 15 for the M1 as a result.

Motorists are being advised to take a different route south of the town if possible.

A Wellingborough boy caught with a knife, ammonia and class A drugs has been put behind bars.

The 16-year-old, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was sentenced to three years’ detention at a young offenders’ institution at Northampton Crown Court on Monday (March 12).

He pleaded guilty to weapons and drugs offences and was convicted of possession of a knife, possession of crack cocaine, possession of a bottle of ammonia and possession with intent to supply heroin and crack cocaine.

The offences were committed in May, August and October 2017.

Det Sgt Keith Morson from Operation Worcester, the Northamptonshire Police response to gang criminality, said: “We are pleased with the sentence passed by the court for these very serious offences.

“We hope this sentence will help to deter any young person from engaging in any criminal gang culture.

“The sentence shows that the criminal justice system will not tolerate this kind of activity, regardless of the age of the perpetrator.

“This is not the first time a teenager from Wellingborough involved in gang activity has been sentenced to imprisonment, and I would urge anyone with concerns about children they think may be involved in this type of crime to contact us on 101 so they can access the relevant support and advice.

“We would also urge anyone who has any information regarding gang related crime and ask them to call Crimestoppers on 0800 555111 anonymously.”

Max Caller, an independent inspector, was called in by local government secretary Sajid Javid after allegations of financial mismanagement. He was also tasked with seeing if the local authority was being run properly by bosses and the cabinet's Conservative councillors.

His report published this morning says all existing councils in the county should be abolished - save for parish councils - and two new ones created, delivering all local authority services. One would cover the south and of the county and the other the north

Mr Caller says: "The Inspection team believe that a new start is required for the residents of Northamptonshire which can deliver confidence and quality in the full range of local government services.

"This can best be achieved by the creation of two new Unitary Councils, one covering the area of Daventry, Northampton and South Northamptonshire and the other encompassing Corby, East Northamptonshire, Kettering and Wellingborough. These should be established following elections to be held in May 2020 and be in operation commencing at their first annual meeting."

In the meantime, Mr Caller says, Mr Javid should "give serious consideration" to whether commissioners should take over the running of all services apart from planning currently provided by Northamptonshire County Council.

His report, published this morning, says the origins of the crisis was the Ofsted inspection into Children's Services in 2013 that caused emergency money to be pumped in, which meant the local authority 'lost tight budgetary control'.

What came next was a poor response to the financial pressures, Mr Caller says, in effect chasing a heavily flawed model championed by departed CEO Paul Blantern.

He said: "Instead of taking steps to regain control, the council was persuaded to adopt a ‘Next Generation’ model structure as the solution.

"There was not then, and has never been, any hard-edged business plan or justification to support these proposals. Yet councillors, who might well have dismissed these proposals for lack of content and justification in their professional lives, adopted them and authorised scarce resources in terms of people, time and money to develop them.

"This did not and could not address the regular budget overspends which were covered by one off non-recurring funding sources."

When the use of capital receipts to fund transformation was introduced by central government, Mr Caller says this was seized on as a way of supporting revenue spend - by classing some expenditure as 'transformative'.

However until this week, there had been no report to full council - or anywhere else - that set out the specific transformation that was to be achieved, on a project-by-project basis. This goes against the terms of use of the money.

Despite his criticism of bosses, Mr Caller makes a point of separating the acts of managers and leaders from frontline staff.

He says: "NCC employs many good, hardworking, dedicated staff who are trying to deliver essential services to residents who need and value what is offered and available. The problems the council faces are not their fault."

Now in its 11th year, the event will take place on June 17 and feature a mixture of rock, pop, opera and classical genres.

Northampton town centre Business Improvement District (BID) will again be one of the lead sponsors.

BID executive director Rob Purdie, said: “It is fantastic to be able to sponsor and support one of the most significant events on the town centre calendar.

“The BID has been crucial in helping develop the festival over recent years and we have already started working closely with Northampton Music 365 to ensure Northampton Music Festival 2018 is even better than ever.

“It promises to be another vibrant occasion which will pull thousands of visitors into the town centre to celebrate the local music scene, raising the profile of the town and its businesses in the most spectacular way. We can’t wait.”

There will be stages in the Market Square, All Saints Piazza, Abington Street, the Guildhall Courtyard, NN Contemporary Art’s Courtyard and in George Row.

Festival organiser Graham Roberts from Northampton Music 365 said: “We are delighted to have Northampton town centre BID on board again.

“The festival is set to expand this year to include six performance stages dotted around the town centre.

“The business and arts fair will also be once again located in the Market Square for town centre businesses and charities to promote their services and make the most of the additional festival footfall right in the heart of all the excitement.”

Shops and businesses interested in having a stall can call 07505 759058.

For more details www.northamptonmusicfestival.co.uk.

Government inspector Max Caller's verdict on the county council's ability to manage its own finances was released this morning.

The damning 50-page report points to a series of financial failures, which he claims started when the authority's children's services were branded inadequate in 2013.

Secretary of state for Housing, Communities and Local Government Sajid Javid will now consider whether to send in commissioners to effectively run the council - as recommended by Mr Caller.

In a statement issued to Parliament this morning (March 15) Mr Javid, said: "The inspector has identified that the Council has failed to properly comply with its Best Value duty for some time.

"This is not because of lack of funds: as the report states, the Council’s “Mind the Gap” analysis “does not demonstrate that NCC has been particularly badly treated by the funding formula."

Mr Javid pointed to a line in Mr Caller's report, where he states: "living within budget constraints is not part of the culture of NCC”.

"These findings appear very serious indeed both for the council and its residents," the statement continues.

"The inspector has made recommendations for how improvement can be secured, Mr Javid says.

He said: "He rules out the option of an internally led strategy and suggests that Commissioners should be appointed in the short term to ensure the proper running of the Council and delivery of services for its taxpayers, whilst proposals for restructuring are developed as a longer-term solution.

"I will now consider in detail their report’s findings and proposals for the future.

"I will make another statement to the House setting out my proposals for next steps, including whether or not to exercise my powers of intervention under section 15 of the 1999 Act, in due course."

An inquest has been opened into the death of a man after a nine-hour wait at Northampton General Hospital's A&E.

A brief, initial hearing at County Hall this morning heard that a post-mortem found the cause of death of Mohan Acharya, 85, was bilateral bronchial pneumonia and acute renal failure.

County Coroner Anne Pember said the hospital was conducting its own investigation but she will be examining the circumstances in detail.

The inquest was opened and adjourned to August 22, 2018.

Northamptonshire politicians have reacted to the findings of today’s damning inspection report.

Government inspector Max Caller’s verdict on the county council’s ability to manage its own finances points to a series of failures.

It recommends the creation of two authorities, abolishing the current county model, and sending in commissioners to effectively run the council in the meantime.

MP for Kettering Philip Hollobone said: “The Government Inspector’s report is a damning indictment of local government mismanagement at the county council at the highest level within the council.

“It reveals that the council started to lose control of its finances in 2013 following an adverse report into how it was running children’s social services and that ever since then a series of wrong financial and management decisions by leading cabinet members and senior officers made the problem worse and worse.

“A serious warning about financial problems that lay ahead was effectively ignored by the county council cabinet in October 2015.

“Had action been taken then, the county council may not be in the situation it is today.

“I agree with the inspector’s findings that a new start is required for the residents of Northamptonshire by the replacement of the present county, district and borough councils with two new unitary councils by May 2020, one for north of the county, and one for the west of the county.”

Labour county councillor Mick Scrimshaw (Northall) fears the Government could make an example of Northamptonshire if they send in commissioners.

He said: “I think they [the Government] will come in with a sledgehammer and send a clear message to other councils about finances.

“The only people who would lose out will be the people of Northamptonshire.

“I think it’s good in a way that this long-running saga is seemingly coming to an end but the people who have been hit and will continue to get hurt are local residents.”

He added that he can see both sides of the argument for creating two new councils.

He said: “An awful lot of work needs to be done before we get close to that [new unitary authorities].

“I think it should still be up for debate as I can see the benefits and the drawbacks of it.”

Sally Keeble, Labour’s parliamentary candidate for Northampton North, said: “The priority must be to protect people in the county - and especially the vulnerable who rely on services.

“And to safeguard jobs for the staff who have served the council and people so loyally through such difficult times.

“Just a few months ago the Tory government and council were congratulating each other at the opening of the £53 million Angel Square - now the subject of a fire sale.

“And this week the Tory Chancellor failed to put more money into either local services or the NHS.

“What we need is a change of direction that will put people first.”

Away from the county, Andrew Gwynne MP, Labour’s shadow communities and local government secretary, said: “This report is a damning verdict on the running of Tory controlled Northamptonshire County Council.

“Despite repeated warnings over the council’s catastrophic mismanagement of services and finances this Tory Government turned a blind eye, something for which they must be held accountable.

“Not long ago, the Government was attacking councils for ‘pleading poverty’ and urging them to spend their reserves - and the mess at Northamptonshire bears testament to how much of a mistake this was.

“The Government can no longer ignore this crisis and need to finally act on the recommendation of inspectors and heed Labour’s calls to send in commissioners.

“After almost eight years of Tory austerity, we know it is not working.

“It’s not working for Northamptonshire and it’s not working for England.

“We need to elect as many Labour councillors as possible on May 3 to stand up to the Conservatives’ cuts.”

More to follow.

Police are appealing for the public’s help to trace a man wanted on recall to prison.

Gary Woods, 33, from Kettering, was originally jailed for burglary offences and is wanted on a recall to prison for failing to meet the conditions of his release.

It is believed Woods may be in the Kettering area.

Anyone with information can contact Northamptonshire Police on 101. Alternatively, they can call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.

The appeal is part of Operation Crooked, a force-wide operation to tackle serious acquisitive crime.

The under-fire leader of Northamptonshire County Council Heather Smith has resigned.

Councillor Heather Smith - who had already stepped down as leader of the Tories at County Hall - has now also quit her post heading up the political leadership of the authority.

In a gloves-off press conference this afternoon, she hit back at county MPs who had relentlessly criticised her handling of Northamptonshire’s finances over recent months - which she said was at odds with independent reports into council finances generally.

And she dramatically claimed there had been a concerted Government campaign against her.

Visibly emotional, she said: “It is for the public to judge for themselves who is telling them the truth, the National Audit Office or the local MPs who requested the inspection report.

“The personal pressure of vicious public attacks by four Northamptonshire MPs, seeking to make me the scapegoat, has not been pleasant for anyone to witness.

“I have continued to fight for fairer funding for Northamptonshire residents in spite of the personal attacks.

“But as I was told a few days ago, if the machinery of Government is turned against you, you cannot win.”

Councillor Smith continued to insist today’s inspection report was wrong in its conclusion that the Government had funded the council adequately - and said the inspector’s proposed model of two unitary authorities would not work.

She said: “The country is watching what is happening to us.

“Although I’m aware that significant changes need to be made, I do not believe they will amount to the additional £50m a year that is genuinely needed in our budget to deal with our statutory obligations.”

She thanked people including members and the officers “who remained loyal” for their messages of support that “helped me survive the last few weeks” then walked from the council chamber.

The council has been under intense national scrutiny after it issued a section 114 notice as it was unlikely to be able to meet its financial obligations.

You can watch the press call live on Facebook here

Community-minded volunteers from Northampton have given a popular town meeting place a fresh lick of paint.

Members from the Prince’s Trust Team Northampton South selected The Doddridge Centre as one of their projects to support.

The volunteers spent three weeks at the centre in St James, which is used by more than 22,000 people a year, giving the facility a face lift.

Princes Trust Volunteers chose the project as part of their programme, which included getting sponsorship for the paint they used at the centre.

Elaine Huison–Milford, Centre Manager, said: “It’s been wonderful to see the teams of young people working so hard to brighten up our Centre.”

To celebrate the success of the project at The Doddridge Centre, Siobhan Peters , the Princes Trust Team leader, held a celebration party at The Doddridge Centre the Staff, Trustees and Volunteers of The Doddridge Centre to personally thank the Princes Trust Team of Volunteers and present certificates.

Carol Bunyard, Chief Executive Officer of The Doddridge Centre, said: “We are delighted to have been selected by the Princes Trust Team and it has been of great help to our charity and all users of our Centre to have our makeover.

“The Team of Prince’s Trust Volunteers have been a pleasure to work with and we were delighted to be celebrating with them their achievements.”

For further information go to www.princes-trust.org.uk or www.doddridgecentre.org.uk

Sunday’s Crazy Hats Walk is still on – for now.

With much colder weather for the weekend forecast, including the possibility of snow, organisers say they are hopeful the fundraising walk at Wicksteed Park in Kettering will still go ahead.

Glennis Hooper, founder of the Wellingborough breast cancer care charity, said: “With the forecasters all telling us different stories about the possibility of snow, wind and freezing temperatures on Sunday we are in the process of putting together contingency plans.

“At the moment, everything is ready to go!

“Please turn up as planned unless you hear otherwise.

“One change is that the cake stall, tombola and the sales will now be housed in The Pavilion, as will late entries.

“Outside will be our entertainment on stage, balloon release, burger bar, goody bags and T-shirts.

“Wicksteed Park will be offering 20 per cent discount on all drinks from their outlets – not the burger bar.”

It is recommended that walkers check the Crazy Hats Facebook page regularly for updates.

Max Caller, an independent inspector, was called in by local government secretary Sajid Javid after allegations of financial mismanagement. He was also tasked with seeing if the local authority was being run properly by bosses and the cabinet's Conservative councillors.

His report published this morning says all existing councils in the county should be abolished - save for parish councils - and two new ones created, delivering all local authority services. One would cover the south and of the county and the other the north.

But this afternoon the council has welcomed the recommendation within the report to move to unitary governance in the county and is now committed to working alongside partners to achieve this in the timescale outlined.

The leader of the council Councillor Heather Smith this afternoon announced that she would be resigning and the process to find a new leader will now take place.

Councillor Matthew Golby said: “While I am pleased the report recognises the hard work and dedication of the staff and recognises recent progress in financial management it is clear that the inspector has found what he believes to be significant failings at the council.

“We accept the findings and we will now be acting accordingly and responding directly to the secretary of state.

“While the report accepts the figures we use in arguing our case for fairer funding, it states we are in no worse position than other councils. We would argue that the sector as a whole does face significant financial challenges and we will continue to work with our local government partners to present our case.

“While we will make these points in our response, we should in no way hide away from the general thrust of this report.

“We will now be reviewing the report is far further detail and respond directly to the secretary of state.”

Two high-flying county execs who were sunning themselves in exotic, sun-soaked destinations while their council was facing serious financial scrutiny have been criticised in a government report.

The inspector called in to scrutinise the running of Northamptonshire County Council after the authority’s recent financial crisis was scathing in his condemnation of both the former chief executive Paul Blantern, who resigned in October 2017, and the now interim chief executive Damon Lawrenson, who was formerly the authority’s finance boss.

Jet-setter Dr Blantern was 7,764 miles away in Bali in 2015 when there was a critical Local Government Association Peer Review at the council.

In the Northamptonshire County Council Best Value report issued today (March 15), lead inspector Max Caller CBE said: “Even when the LGA was invited to undertake a peer review of the financial situation, at a time convenient to the authority, the Chief Executive did not think it important enough to be in the country for the whole of the review period or the feedback session. Even now not much has changed at NCC.”

And when the most recent financial crisis peaked last month and officers were forced to issue a section 114 notice, the first of its kind in two decades, the new chief executive Damon Lawrenson was on a plane to Dubai, 3,447 miles from Northamptonshire.

Of sun-seeker Mr Lawrenson, the report said: “During the period of this inspection the interim chief executive was abroad for a time during a period which also coincided with the issue of a Section 114 report late on Friday, 2nd February, by the newly in-post Section 151 Officer, a report that had been signalled to the inspection team and the external auditors (and presumably the other statutory officers) before he left the country. This left the leadership of the organisation in something of a limbo during the first crucial days following imposition of expenditure controls. It would have been expected that councillors and staff would have wanted explanation and reassurance about the implications for themselves their jobs and services.”

In this lunchtime’s press conference, BBC news producer Matt Precey asked whether new council leader Cllr Matt Golby was aware that this chief executive was in Bali during the peer review, and if he knew that Mr Lawrenson was in Dubai when the S114 notice, banning anything other than statutory spending, was issued in February.

In response to criticism of his trip to Dubai, Mr Lawrenson said when he left to go on holiday, the authority had been managing through the 2017-18 financial year and that he was due to discuss it on his return. But further discussions while he was in the air resulted in the S114 notice being suddenly issued. He added: “There was a capital receipt we were hoping to land and it came to light it wasn’t going to happen in this financial year and the S151 officer had to make a judgement call and in conversation with the external auditor he had to allow that (to happen).”

Cllr Golby said: “I know at that time the former chief executive had made comments clear to the peer review team and that formed a part of their judgement.”