Updates on Friday, 10 March 2017
Oundle 'one of the best places to live in the Midlands'
Academy trust hands back control of its 12 schools
Live updates for Northamptonshire have now finished. Thanks for joining us.
We'll be back on Monday from 08:00.
You can read more tributes to John Surtees, who has died at the aged of 83, on the BBC Sport page .
We'll leave you with this picture of Surtees and his world championship-winning Ferrari at Silverstone.
Image source, Getty ImagesRIP.
Have a good weekend.
Julie Reinger
BBC Look East weather
It will be a largely cloudy night with some patchy mist, fog and drizzle. It will also be very mild, with lows of 7C (45F).
Any mist and fog will clear on Saturday morning and, after a mainly cloudy start, we should see some brightness and sunshine developing.
In the best of any sunshine, temperatures could climb as high as 18C (64F).
There'll be a light wind between the south-west and south-east.
Find the latest weather where you live on the BBC Weather website .
Pete Cooper
BBC Local Live
It's been 20 whole years since Buffy The Vampire Slayer first hit our TV screens .
Where's the time gone?!
It still has fans all over the world and made a star of its lead actress Sarah Michelle Gellar.
One of the world's leading experts on Buffy is Dr Lorna Jowett from the University of Northampton, and author of Sex and the Slayer: a Gender Studies Primer For the Buffy Fan.
Image source, PA/SkyIn a piece for Vice, external celebrating the series, Dr Jowett chooses her two favourite episodes - and explains why she feels Buffy is so important.
"Buffy can be a hero – a real hero. There are awful consequences but she is continually stepping up," she said.
Pete Cooper
BBC Local Live
It no surprise that John Surtees, who has died aged 83 , was a regular at Silverstone, both during his career and after it.
Surtees was the only man to win grand prix world championship on both two wheels and four.
He started his career on motorcycles, winning four 500cc motorcycling titles - in 1956, '58, '59 and '60.
Image source, Getty ImagesHe then went on to win the F1 crown with Ferrari in 1964. Here he is in the famous red car at Silverstone in 1966...
Image source, Getty ImagesAfter he stopped racing he came back to Northamptonshire many times, including in 2011 for the opening of the Silverstone Wing...
Image source, Getty ImagesJohn Surtees, Sir Jackie Stewart, Nigel Mansell, Damon Hill and Jenson Button
He was even at the British Grand Prix up until last year.
Here he is in 2015 with the man trying to emulate him and win a world championship for Ferrari, Sebastian Vettel.
Image source, Getty ImagesTributes have continued to come in for motorcycle and Formula 1 world champion John Surtees.
Silverstone-based Force India said he was a "gentleman" and a "true racer"...
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Brackley-based Mercedes driver Valteri Bottas described him as a "legend" and posted a picture of them meeting after Bottas finished second in the 2014 British Grand Prix, while driving for Williams...
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The motor-racing world has been paying tribute to John Surtees.
The former Formula 1 and motorcycling world champion has died at the age of 83, his family has announced .
Surtees is the only man to have won the grand prix world championship on both two wheels and four.
After a successful motorcycling career, at the age of 26 he switched to F1. It was at Silverstone he showed his skill in a car, finishing second in the 1960 British Grand Prix in only his second race.
The Northamptonshire circuit has paid tribute to Surtees and posted a picture of him with multiple motorcycle world champion Valentino Rossi.
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While Brackley-based Mercedes said Surtees was inspirational...
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Pete Cooper
BBC Local Live
Elsewhere in Northamptonshire:
This afternoon will be cloudy but mostly dry. However, we may see a few sunny spells and it will feel quite mild, with highs of 11C (52F).
There are more details on the BBC Weather website .
Stuart Linnell
BBC Radio Northampton
The leader of Northampton Borough Council says he "appreciates" the problems bus users have with delays around the North Gate Bus Station.
Jonathan Nunn (right), who took over the running of the Conservative-led authority in November, told me he was determined to improve the situation, admitting "the traffic is not flowing smoothly" around the station.
The council has introduced a series of measures designed to ease congestion.
However, many people told me the council should not have knocked down Greyfriars. Mr Nunn said "cold hard facts" did not support that view.
He told me : "It was costing £500,000 to maintain [Greyfriars] and it needed a refurbishment that would have cost £30m."
The North Gate Bus Station cost £7m to build, while demolishing Greyfriars cost £4m.
Pete Cooper
BBC Local Live
A series of measures to try and stop congestion around the North Gate Bus Station in Northampton have been announced by the borough council.
The building that replaced the now demolished Greyfriars has been open for three years, but still faces criticism from bus users and opposition parties on the Conservative-led council for being too small and in the wrong location.
On Monday buses again ground to a halt after roadworks shut one lane on Horsemarket.
Image source, Peter ClarkeThe new measure announced by the authority include:
The council says the enforcement will start immediately, while work on roads and signs should be complete by the summer.
Pete Cooper
BBC Local Live
The Education Fellowship Trust, external , which is based in Islip, is the first academy trust to give up all of its schools.
The Islip-based trust is responsible for the education of about 6,500 students in Northamptonshire, Wiltshire and Maidenhead in Berkshire.
The trust said in a statement they stopped running the schools "following a review of financial constraints facing the education sector and the misalignment of values with the DfE".
The DfE said they have agreed to the move after "ongoing concerns regarding the educational performance of the majority of the trust's schools" and that all the schools will now be transferred to new sponsors.
Image source, Risdene Academy, RushdenThe following five out of the Education Fellowship Trust's 12 schools were rated inadequate by Ofsted.
Martin Heath
BBC Radio Northampton
Yesterday we brought news about how an accessible house for a man with motor neurone disease was likely to be denied planning permission .
South Northamptonshire councillors did indeed refuse permission for Paul Robinson to create the five-bedroom home next to his listed cottage in Rothersthorpe.
However, his family says they'll appeal.
Image source, Robinson familyCouncillors decided yesterday it would be "visually intrusive" in an historic village.
Mr Robinson's son, Duncan Greenaway, said he was "puzzled" by the decision.
He said the house was needed so it could be "truly accessible", while being big enough for the whole family.
Pete Cooper
BBC Local Live
Oundle has been named one of the 12 best places to live in the Midlands by The Sunday Times.
The lists combines data and statistics such as crime rates, house prices and school performance, with the opinions of local residents and Sunday Times writers.
The other 11 places are: Bishop's Castle (Shropshire), Moseley (Birmingham), Leamington Spa (Warwickshire), Ledbury (Herefordshire), Leek (Staffordshire), Leominster (Herefordshire), Oakham (Rutland), Shipston-on-Stour (Warwickshire), Southwell (Nottinghamshire), Tideswell (Derbyshire) and Upton-upon-Severn (Worcestershire).
Martin Borley
BBC Radio Northampton
Northampton's gold medal-winning Paralympic swimmer Ellie Robinson has officially opened the refurbished gym at Corby's swimming pool complex.
The 15-year-old trains at the 50-metre pool in Corby every Thursday morning.
Robinson, who won the BBC's Young Sports Personality of the Year last December, told me facilities like the Corby pool "encourage participation and get people into sport".
Pete Cooper
BBC Local Live
It looks as though funding of £10m has been secured for the long-awaited Isham bypass.
As reported in the Northamptonshire Telegraph, external , the county council put in a bid to the government for the money last year and it's understood it'll receive the full amount.
The project has already been awarded £15m, but the overall cost is thought to be at least £40m.
The council says it "anticipates" getting the rest of the money from developers building housing nearby, but no dates as to when this will happen have been confirmed.
Resident Graham Rait, who has been campaigning for changes to the road between Kettering and Wellingborough, said he is "more positive", but until it starts being built he is not "100%" sure the plans will go ahead.
Today is the last day of F1 pre-season testing at the Circuit de Catalunya in Barcelona.
The season starts at the Australian Grand Prix in two weeks' time and it'll be the final chance for many to see how the cars size up to opposition.
There in Spain, in the sunshine, is Brackley-based Mercedes and Silverstone-based Force India.
You can follow the action on the BBC Sport website .
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Georgina Burnett
BBC Weather
It'll be a chilly start to the day but during the morning, milder air will push in and cloud will thicken. For many it will stay dry today but there is a chance of a spot of rain at times with a high of 11C (52F).
Here's my full forecast...
There are more details on the BBC Weather website .
Pete Cooper
BBC Local Live
Good morning. It's Friday! But before we kick up our feet for the weekend we've got news to bring you.
There is some good news if you are in Oundle, or Isham or Corby.
Plus we'll take a look at Northampton's North Gate Bus Station, with BBC Radio Northampton's Breakfast Show coming live from the site which is now three years old.
Plus there will be formula 1, rugby and football.
But first up, the weather.
Pete Cooper
BBC Local Live
Live updates from Northamptonshire have now finished.
We'll be back tomorrow from 08:00, when we'll be taking a look at Northampton's bus station, three years on from it opening.
Plus we'll be building up to both football and rugby this weekend and taking in the last day of pre-season testing before the start of the 2017 Formula 1 season.
Any breaking news will appear on this page through the evening and overnight. We'll see you tomorrow.
Martin Borley
BBC Radio Northampton
Kettering General Hospital is trying to raise £200,000 to turn a courtyard into a dementia-friendly garden, where patients can safely be active.
The courtyard adjacent to the Lamport and Twywell wards is currently just concrete slabs with a bench in the middle, but it's hoped it will eventually look like this...
Image source, KGHThe garden would be part of the hospital's long-term plan to turn Lamport and Twywell wards themselves into a purpose-built dementia unit.
They currently care for older people, which does include some dementia patients.
The hospital is hoping to not only raise money but also receive donations of planet and garden equipment.
