Inclusion at Briar Hill
Briar Hill is a large estate in the west of Northampton with a population of approximately 4,800. It is a mix of social and private housing, including flats, houses and bungalows. There are areas of high deprivation in the area, particularly in the zones where social housing provision, particularly in blocks of flats, is at high levels. The area is bisected by a busy road and underpasses are used to navigate between the zones.
The area benefits from wide, open and grassed areas between clusters of housing and there is a large playing field at one end of the estate, with a small play area, football goals and a small skate park. This area is in some disrepair, with broken posts and part of the skatepark being unusable. There is a MUGA (multi use games area) in a different space in the community which appears to be in good repair.
New social housing is being built on the estate and is expected to be complete by the end of 2024. These new, four-bedroom homes will house larger families.
The area benefits from two Community centres, one managed by Community Spaces Northampton and one by Northamptonshire Partnership Homes. There is a limited number of commercial assets based in the area and residents would need to leave the area for most of their day-to-day needs, including GP access, pharmacy, post office and banking.
Public transport on the area is limited to a single commercial bus service. This service runs four times an hour and allows access to the town centre and to Camp Hill, where the closest GP practice is situated. This service used to run to the nearest large supermarket at Mereway but no longer does so, leaving some residents without the ability to shop independently.
Community assets that can be found in the area include:
- Briar Hill Community Centre
- Community Spaces
- Blackberry Lane Community Hub
- Premier shop
- Briar Hill Chip Shop
- Briar Hill Playing Fields
- Skate Park
- MUGA
- Briar Hill Food Bank at the Community Centre
- Green Spaces – numerous.
The role of Charlene Gautrey
Charlene is Voluntary Impact Northamptonshire’s Neighbourhood Coordinator working within the area of Briar Hill. She runs a weekly coffee morning on a Monday between 10-12 at the Briar Hill community centre to encourage the community to get together and meet new people. She also runs a drop-in session at the community hub at the Briar Hill community centre on Wednesdays. She will be there to help support you with any issues you are struggling with whether its financial, food, fuel, or even just to be a listening ear. She can’t promise to fix everything or know all the answers, but she will try her best to help and signpost you to the support that is available for you.
