Town to get no-fly zone for emergency exercise

A no-fly zone is to be implemented for a major incident training exercise.

The restriction will cover residential areas and the railway station in Northampton.

A senior police officer said the exercise on Tuesday would "present a real challenge to our emergency response".

It will involve emergency services, councils and health organisations.

Major incident training exercises have been taking place across the country for several years, to test how well organisations are prepared for emergencies and whether they can work together.

A spokesperson for Northamptonshire Police said: "Plans exist within each organisation and are regularly tested in table top exercises, but this is the first time in more than 10 years a real-life test of those plans has taken place in Northamptonshire."

A scenario centred on the St James area of Northampton will be revealed to participants on Tuesday morning.

The Environment Agency, UK Health Security Agency and the military will be among the other organisations taking part.

Deputy chief constable Ashley Tuckley said: "It will allow all partners the opportunity to test their own and joint plans in the field, bringing them off the page and providing vital learning - something recommended following major incidents in other parts of the UK, including Manchester and London."

A public inquiry after the Manchester Arena bombing in 2017 found there had been a number of failures in the emergency response, and the fire service was criticised for "serious shortcomings" in responding to the Grenfell Tower fire in the same year.

Northamptonshire Police said the no-fly zone would be in place across all of St James, Edgar Mobbs Way, Northampton train station and parts of Far Cotton.

The force added there would be "a lot of activity involving the emergency services" in St James on Tuesday.

Mr Tuckley said: "We'd like to apologise in advance for the minor disruption this activity might cause to local residents and businesses.

"Police colleagues have been out and about alerting those who live or work in the area and have had a very positive response.

"It's incredibly important that we're as prepared as we can be for incidents of this kind, and we're grateful to everyone for their patience and understanding."

Police officers will be available in the Beat Bus throughout the day in the car park of the Thomas Beckett pub for anyone with concerns.

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