MP Lucy Rigby joined members of the Kingsley Residents Association and Northamptonshire Police for a walkabout in the Kingsley Front area of Northampton on 6 February 2026. The group inspected several spots where residents say bags of rubbish, mattresses and old furniture have been illegally dumped in streets and back alleys.
The meeting was organised by the Kingsley Residents Association to show the MP the scale of the problem for the local community. A Northampton Chronicle Freedom of Information report found that between 1 January and 30 September 2025 West Northamptonshire Council received 19,094 reports of fly‑tipping, but issued just four fines in that period.
Lucy Rigby said the illegal dumping blights the neighbourhood and wastes public money, and she is working with West Northamptonshire Council as it pilots AI‑powered CCTV towers designed to capture evidence and identify vehicles linked to dumping. The BBC has reported that the council has installed an AI camera tower that will be rotated between hotspots (the pilot running to January 2027) to help gather evidence.
Residents in Kingsley have been asked to share footage from doorbell cameras and other evidence with the police and council to help identify those responsible. The local campaign coverage under the Northampton Chronicle ‘Tidy Our Town’ banner has pushed the council to target the busiest dumping spots with cameras and other enforcement measures.
About this article: This story was put together with the help of AI tools and checked by a real person on our team. We're a small crew trying to cover as much of the UK as we can on a limited budget. We're getting better every day - but we're not perfect yet. If something looks off, let us know. You're part of the process.
