If anyone is interested in knowing more about the role of a Parish Councillor, please speak to any of the existing Parish Councillors or contact the Parish Clerk at clerk@eastfarndon-pc.gov.uk.
Confirm their eligibility for the position of Councillor by signing a copy of the eligibility criteria on the application form (Appendix A – section 2 of the Co-option Procedure).
The closing date for applications is Midday on Wednesday, 10 September 2025. Applications will then be considered at the Parish Council meeting to be held on Wednesday, 17 September 2025.
We would like to offer our heart felt condolences and recognise the passing of three people who have died recently, all of them having strong links with East Farndon.
Jacqueline Dunnill lived at The Limes, East Farndon for several decades and passed away on July 21st 2025. Her funeral will take place at East Farndon church on Monday August 4th 2025 at 12.30pm. This will be a graveside service for family only.
Jonathan Hargreaves was the farmer at the Grange, East Farndon for many years. He died peacefully at Brampton View Care Home on July 8th 2025, aged 90 years.
Despite repeated requests and warnings, the issue of parking on pavements in East Farndon continues to be a problem. Our local Police are now going to keep a close watch and everyone should be aware that they will ticket vehices if they are found to be parking in a manner that obstructs pavements. The Police will follow a 2 step process,
Step 1 – a leaflet / letter will be left on the offending vehicle(s) warning drivers not to obstruct / park on pavement.
Step 2 – if no improvement – Fixed Penalty Notice by post AND removal of the vehicle (not one or the other).
The Parish Council has previously contacted the Police to resolve this issue which obstructs pedestrians, in particular buggies and mobility scooters. The Police advised that streets in East Farndon have no parking restrictions so vehicles can park on the road, but in any event, a space 1 METRE WIDE on the pavement should be left so people can get past safely. In addition, if a vehicle is parked on the road, especially on Main Street / Harborough Road, drivers must ensure that it is not parked on a blind bend so that traffic has good visibility in both directions. Thank you everyone!
Occasionally, the Parish Council needs help with projects in the community and is looking for volunteers. We know there is a lot of knowledge, skill and expertise in the village, and the Parish Council would love to use East Farndon’s talent to improve its work.
Additionally, the Parish Council is updating its Emergency Plan, which covers extreme circumstances that may prevent the emergency services from immediately reaching the scene of an emergency in the parish, e.g. heavy snowfall, flooding, fire, serious road collision. In such cases the initial response may rely on the residents of the Parish. The Emergency Plan sets out how an initial response will be co-ordinated by the Parish Council. As part of this work, West Northamptonshire Council are advising Parish Councils to have a list of people who would be willing to assist in an emergency; whether they have any medical training; and whether they have any vehicles or equipment that could be useful, e.g. tractors, trailers, 4×4 vehicles.
If you are willing to assist the Parish Council, either generally and/or as an emergency volunteer, can you please email the Parish Clerk, Caroline Burton at: clerk@eastfarndon-pc.gov.uk providing the following information:
Name
Address
Contact telephone number
Email address
Confirmation of whether you are willing to be a general volunteer, and if so, whether you have any specific knowledge, skills or interests
Confirmation of whether you are willing to be an emergency volunteer, and if so, whether you have any medical training and/or useful vehicles
Please note that by providing this information, you are consenting for the information provided to be held by East Farndon Parish Council on computer or other relevant filing systems and to be processed for the reason that the information has been provided. A copy of East Farndon Parish Council’s full privacy statement is available here: https://eastfarndon.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/GDPR-Data-Privacy-Notice-General.pdf
David Thake has stepped down as treasurer and Richard Green as trustee of East Farndon Amenities Trust, which manages Marriott Green in East Farndon. Huge thanks go to David and Richard who were part of a small group of villagers who raised funds to buy the land in 2010 and have managed it ever since then. Sonya Fraser, also a founding trustee, remains as a trustee. Following some new appointments, the other trustees are Jess Oakden, Judy Hodgetts, Sharon Weldon, Julia Prew and Melanie Duke. Please click this link to read more about Marriott Green. If you have any questions, can help, or would like to make a donation, then please use this link to email Melanie Duke.
Many thanks to all of the villagers who helped with a late spring tidy up of Marriott Green and the land at the rear which belongs to the Parochial Church Council. In addition, a grateful shout out to Richard West who has kindly offered to mow the grass on a regular basis.
A big thank you also to the Immmediate Justice team. A team of three, led by Aidan Gibson a former police chief inspector, spent a wet morning working very hard on gardening and rubbing down the picnic bench / steps as part of a community service programme. They did a great job and we really appreciate their help. The Immediate Justice scheme is run by the Northamptonshire Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner and works with individuals committing anti-social behaviour on their rehabilitation. If you would like to find out more about the Immediate Justice scheme, please see northants.police.uk/police-forces/northamptonshire-police/areas/northamptonshire-force-content/about-us/about-us/immediate-justice/
There will be another tidy up in the autumn, so watch this space!
As a result of a review by the Local Government Boundary Commission in 2024, East Farndon moved from the Welford Ward, with 3 West Northamptonshire (WNC) Councillors, to a new Rural North East Ward with a single WNC Councillor. Following the elections on 1st May 2025, Cécile Irving-Swift was elected as the WNC Councillor for the next four years for the Rural North East ward, where the electoral turnout was nearly 45%, the highest in West Northamptonshire.
WNC now has 76 councillors in total: 42 Reform, 17 Conservatives, 9 Labour, 6 Liberal Democrat and 2 independents. Therefore, The Reform party is the administration and is responsible for delivering WNC services.
Huge thanks to Phil Cooper and his BRM team for re-laying the path in the East Farndon Churchyard that runs up to the Burial Ground. It looks fantastic and the work is very much appreciated.
Action Fraud are urging the public to look out for phishing emails that relate to extortion as the Suspicious Email Reporting Service (SERS) received over 2,924 reports in March 2025, a staggering increase compared to only 133 reports made in February.
The reported phishing emails received by the National Cyber Security Centre’s SERS relate to a type of extortion referred to as ‘Financially Motivated Sexual Extortion’ (FMSE). Reports suggests the phrasing of the email and subject lines can vary, but the theme remains consistent: the phishing email claims to have installed malware (software intentionally designed to cause disruption) on the recipient’s computer and recorded them visiting adult websites. The sender will then coerce the email recipient to pay a ransom demand by threatening to release the videos.
The ransom is usually demanded in a form of cryptocurrency, such as Bitcoin. In order to make these phishing attacks convincing, emails will often include genuine pieces of personal information relating to the victim, such as a password or home address. It is likely these would have been obtained from historic breaches of personal data.
Analysis shows that many people who received these emails also later reported becoming victims of online account hacking. In 2024, a male victim in his thirties received numerous extortion emails that contained a password he used for one of his online accounts. The emails demanded a ransom of $500. Having correctly identified the emails as a scam, he deleted them. However, shortly afterwards he noticed that he was unable to login to one of his social media accounts. After some checking, he realised that one of his bank accounts and multiple social media accounts had been hacked and he was locked out of them.
What to do if you receive an email like this: As with other phishing emails, do not to engage with the phisher, forward the email to report@phishing.gov.uk, which is the NCSC’s Suspicious Email Reporting Service (SERS), and then delete it. If you are considering paying the Bitcoin ransom, you should be aware that doing so, you will likely become the target of more scams, as the phisher will know they have a ‘willing’ customer. The inclusion of genuine passwords or other personal information in phishing emails is a strong indication that you may have been affected by a historic data breach. You can use this service to check which of your online accounts were affected: https://haveibeenpwned.com If the phishing email includes a password you still use, then change it immediately. Advice on how to create suitable passwords and enable other factors of authentication is available here: https://stopthinkfraud.campaign.gov.uk/protect-yourself-from-fraud/protecting-against-online-fraud/improve-your-password-security/
Also, please ensure that you are not using the same password for different accounts. If the phishing captures one account then of course they they get them all!
If you have been a victim of extortion, or concerned that someone may be in possession of intimate images of you, you should report it to your local police force by calling 101. Find out how to protect yourself from fraud: https://stopthinkfraud.campaign.gov.uk If you’ve lost money or provided financial information as a result of any phishing scam, notify your bank immediately and report it to Action Fraud at https://www.actionfraud.police.uk/report-phishing or by calling 0300 123 2040. In Scotland, call Police Scotland on 101.
During May the whole country hosted events commemorating the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II. This was a shared moment of celebration commemorating two key events – Victory in Europe and Victory in Japan. Many thanks for attending our East Farndon event in the Village Hall on Saturday 10th May 2025. Please click this link to view a few photos from the afternoon. Many people came along and took the opportunity to have a friendly chat over a coffee, tea, scone or cake. Many also had a look at the historical display and the event raised a fantastic total of £264 for the Royal British Legion Poppy Appeal. Huge thanks to the Village Hall Committee for organising such a great event.
The family of Bob Allen, of Spring View, are sad to announce his death at the age of 79. Bob was born in East Farndon and lived in the village all of his life. Bob and his brother James, who survives him, worked for many years at the paper factory on the site of the old Rectory. A quiet man, Bob was particularly fond of animals, such as rabbits and ferrets, which he kept at the smallholding behind Spring View. This had been previously worked by his father Ernest Allen, a butcher, who lived at White Cottage, demolished when Spring View was built in 1984. Bob died at The Willows in Market Harborough. The funeral service will be held at 11.30am on Wednesday April 30th 2025, at St John the Baptist’s Church, East Farndon. All are welcome.
In Memoriam – Bob Allen – February 1st 1946 to April 15th 2025
Photo above shows Bob in the 1950s and the photo below shows Bob (left) and his brother James, also in the 1950s.
