Emergency planning exercise taking place next week

08 May 2025

Public bodies across Northamptonshire, including police, fire and rescue service, ambulance service, unitary councils, integrated care board and NHS partners, will be working together in May to test major incident plans.

Other organisations such as the Environment Agency, UK Health Security Agency and the military will also be taking part in the exercise which will take place in St James, Northampton, on Tuesday, 13 May.

Training exercises such as this have been taking place across the UK over the last couple of years in a bid to test joint working and preparedness, should a major incident take place.

Major incident plans exist within each organisation and are regularly tested in tabletop exercises and smaller real-life exercises with limited partners or specific scenarios, but this is the first time in more than ten years that a large scale, real-life test of those plans has taken place in Northamptonshire.

The exercise will allow all partners the opportunity to test their own and joint plans in the field, bringing them off the page and provide vital learning, something recommended following major incidents in other parts of the UK, including Manchester and London.

The exact scenario to be tested won’t be made public until the exercise is underway, however, there will be a lot of activity involving the emergency services on 13 May, in St James. There is also likely to be an increased presence by the emergency services and military in the area on 12 and 14 May.

Planning for the exercise started in late 2023 in a bid to ensure it causes minimal disruption, goes smoothly and as much learning as possible is generated, all with the aim of keeping people safe, should a real major incident take place.

An extensive no-fly zone will be in place throughout 13 May, which means drones must not be flown within the area, which includes all of St James, Edgar Mobbs Way, Northampton Train Station and parts of Far Cotton.

Members of the Northampton Neighbourhood Policing Team will be parked with the Beat Bus in the car park of the Thomas Beckett pub, Weedon Road on 13 May, for any members of the public who would like to speak to someone while the exercise takes place.

The team will also be sharing updates via Northamptonshire Talking before, during and after the exercise. If you would like to receive these updates, but are not already signed-up to Northamptonshire Talking, you can do so via the Northamptonshire Talking website.

Members of the public who have concerns about the exercise in the lead-up to 13 May, can contact the Northampton Neighbourhood Policing Team via [email protected].