Cosgrove village

Welcome to our village website, where you'll find information about Cosgrove and the community.
Cosgrove village is a rural community located in South Northamptonshire and is served by West Northamptonshire Council.

Use the menu and dropdowns above to find information, news and points of interest for our village, where to eat, drink & stay, local businesses and our country walks. The Events calendar screen has details of what's on in the village for this and coming months, when and where each is held and which waste bins need to be put out for emptying each Wednesday morning. 
Spend some time to meander through our gallery of village views, both present and yesteryear. To help provide more interesting information and photographs, we have our News roundup and Village Events pages. Please take a look and see what's made the news.

For an email notification of important news, select the News tab, where you can add your email address. You will receive an email informing you, whenever items of news are added to the website.

Information for Development and Planning in the Parish is available by clicking the link or selecting from the dropdown menu above. 

If you can't find what you're looking for, please let us know by selecting Contact from the options above.

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Recent updates
Click the blue hyperlink to be directed to the page on the website containing the information. 
3rd April 2025 - Parish Council Meeting Minutes 2025: Draft Minutes of the April Meeting added. AL5 site - Stratford Rd and Furtho Pit: Cosgrove Parish Council's letter sent to WNC, objecting to the development added.
29th March 2025 - Parish Council: Meeting agenda for Wednesday 2nd April. Annual Assembly of the Parish 2025: Minutes, presentations and reports added. Events calendar: events updated
11th March 2025 - Home: Parish Notice of Election 2025 added.
4th March 2025 - Volunteering opportunities: Community responder opportunity poster added.

Parish Council Election 2025

Please consider this key role and how you can represent your community. 
All parish, town, and community council seats will be up for election on Thursday 1 May 2025, which is getting near. All unitary council seats will also be up for election, which means the costs of the elections will be shared between the two tiers of local government in the county.
All councils should aim to have a contested election, i.e. where the number of candidates standing is greater than the number of seats available. Only 1 in 5 councils achieved that in 2021 at the last election, which isn't ideal for a sector that is part of democracy. There are many reasons why councils have uncontested elections, i.e. where the number of candidates standing is the same as or less than the number of seats available. Some of those reasons are outside a council’s control (such as the reduction nationally of people wanting to be formally involved in the running of their communities). Cosgrove Parish Council wants to make everyone aware and encourage those that may be interested to attend meetings before the election and see if joining the council is for them.

1.    “I’m too young.”
If you are eighteen (the age limit dropped from 21 to 18 way back in 2007) you are old enough (and see point 5 below.)

2.    “What’s the point of just joining a talking shop, they don’t do anything.”
Have you ever been to a meeting? Basing your judgement on watching ‘The Vicar of Dibley’ is definitely not valid.

3.    “I haven’t got any planning applications in at the moment.”
Putting in for planning permission has got nothing to do with sitting on the council, whatever may have happened years ago. In fact, if your own application is discussed by the council, you would have to follow the council’s Code of Conduct and national ethical standards, and the restrictions on participating in such circumstances.

4.    “I’m too busy, and couldn’t commit to attending every single meeting”.
Meetings are rarely more frequent than one evening a month, and missing the occasional one is acceptable. Most meetings only take a couple of hours.

5.    “I’m concentrating on finding a job or furthering my career.”
Being a local councillor is a definite plus point to add to a CV – it shows you can make decisions, work in a team, are community minded and proactive. Prospective employers will be impressed.

6.    “I haven’t lived here very long and don’t know the area well.”
If you are a Commonwealth/EU citizen and have lived or worked in the parish for a year or already have your name on the electoral roll, you are eligible.....  Your views as an ‘incomer’ should be welcomed, as you will probably see things more objectively.

7.    “I’m worried that I won’t get many votes, and look silly.”
 Even if you are not voted on this time, you may well be approached if a vacancy occurs in the future and have to opportunity to be co-opted to the council.

8.    “Our parish council is full of old fogeys.”
Join up and change it then.

9.    “I’d look a fool because I won’t know what’s going on.”
You will be eased in gently; there is help, advice and training available. The clerk is the officer of the council, and he or she will be able to explain the rules.

10. “I’ll have to sign that code of conduct thing that the press keep on about.”
The code of conduct is nowhere near as onerous as made out in the press - and is there to protect you – i.e. the code stops situations like the planning one above.

11. “I’ll have to let everyone know all about my business and personal affairs.”
The declaration of interest form completed at the outset asks you to list business interests within the parish area, to guard against bias when parish issues are debated. As for personal affairs, get real, everyone knows about those already!

12. “I’m too lazy, and not interested in my community.”
An excellent reason for not joining.

13. “I prefer to let others do the work, and then criticize from the sidelines afterwards”.
Also a valid reason for not joining, but do bear in mind, that expounding your views in the pub, rather than the council chamber, will not change a thing in your parish – and if you can’t be bothered, does that mean it’s fair game to criticize those who do make the effort?

Looking after our Village

It's not difficult to appreciate frustration with issues that cause concern in the village. The condition of road surfaces, blocked drains, risk of flooding, quality of playing facilities, overgrown hedges and trees extending into paths and roads, inconsiderate parking, litter and dog mess to name a few. Some issues shouldn't exist, some can be solved if there's the finance to put it right and some are completely out of our control.
If you've read this far you may have an issue that needs adding to the list or an idea on how an issue can be resolved. You may be willing to have a go at solving an issue but don't know if you are allowed, or you may be unsure who to discuss it with. You may need the support of others to make an idea work. 
Volunteering can be very rewarding and can take as much time as you are prepared to give or fit in with what you normally do in your everyday life. Why not give it a go and let others know what you have to offer.
Please share your ideas and thoughts by emailing or speaking to a member of the Parish Council, attend the Parish Council meeting or simply using the Contact option from the dropdown above.

Recycling centres to open 7 days a week as new contracts set to launch

Residents will soon be able to take their waste to recycling centres across West Northants 7 days a week offering a better service and value for money this spring.
Starting from 1 April, West Northamptonshire Council (WNC) will enter a new contract with FCC Waste Services, better known as FCC Environment, to manage all six recycling centres across the area – Sixfields, Ecton Lane, Daventry, Towcester and Brixworth Household Recycling Centres and Farthinghoe Recycling and Reuse Centre.
Feedback from residents helped shape the future of waste and recycling services in West Northants as part of the development of its Resources and Waste Strategy in 2023. Their feedback highlighted that they want to have access to reuse, recycle and dispose of their waste more often and at a time that is convenient for them. Having previously been open on certain days of the week, all centres will open seven days a week from 10am to 4pm from 1 April 2025.
In the near future, other service improvements as a result of the new contract with FCC Environment, will also include a new onsite reuse shop at Sixfields Household Waste Recycling Centre (HWRC) to complement the existing shop at Farthinghoe. The reuse shops will be operated via a charity partner and, residents will be able to visit the recycling centres and shop to donate items suitable for reuse/sale during opening hours of 10am – 4pm.
WNC has also awarded a second contract for the treatment of residual waste, which is the waste that is collected in residents’ black bins or sacks, and which cannot be recycled, to Thalia Waste Management.
Residents will see no changes to their current collection arrangements because of this new contract.
This contract, which will also start on 1 April 2025, will ensure at least 95% of residual waste will be treated, significantly reducing the amount sent to landfill.
The new contract will not limit changes that can be made to kerbside waste collections, meaning the Council can maximise the amount of recycling in West Northamptonshire.
Cllr Rebecca Breese, WNC’s Cabinet Member for Environment, Recycling and Waste said: “The signing of these two new contracts will improve our recycling centres and provide greater convenience to people, which is great news. We’ve listened to people’s feedback, and by opening them seven days a week and introducing a new reuse shop at the Sixfields centre, we are making it easier than ever for people to recycle and dispose of their waste responsibly. Both contracts reflect our commitment to sustainability and delivering value for money to our communities.”
Steve Longdon, Chief Executive Officer of FCC Environment said, “We are delighted to have been appointed to manage the six recycling centres across WNC until 2040. We are focused on providing over 425,000 residents with a welcoming and efficient household waste reuse and recycling service and we are looking forward to helping them reduce, reuse and recycle more than ever before"

The two contracts will be in place until 2040 and the signing of them will be noted at the Council’s Cabinet meeting on 11 February 2025.

West Northamptonshire Council (WNC)

WNC provides support services and advice for the community and holds consultations for the community to have their say.
Access the details on the WNC dedicated screen which can be accessed by clicking here.

Playing Field and Equipment needs of the community

Do you have aspirations to help improve the Village Playing Field?
If you do, gather your thoughts, determine what your children wish for, check out suppliers, potential costs and options to aid funding. Funding is an issue, but you may have the knowledge and skill to access grants.
Please let our Parish clerk, Jenny Evans or a Parish Councillor know if you can help. Contact Jenny by email at [email protected]