The banned right turn from Upton Valley Way East into Banbury Lane is camera enforced from Sunday 1 November. A first offence brings a warning for six months.
The first of Northampton’s ten new traffic enforcement cameras goes live on Sunday 1 November. It watches the banned right turn from Upton Valley Way East into Banbury Lane. West Northamptonshire Council announced the start date on Thursday. (West Northamptonshire Council, 29 October 2026)
A second camera, on the yellow box at Weedon Road and Spencer Bridge Road, is “expected to follow once final testing has been completed”. The council has not given a date for it.
What it means for you
- A first offence brings a warning, not a fine. For six months after each camera goes live, a first contravention at that camera gets a warning notice. A second one gets a penalty.
- The penalty is £70, reduced to £35 if paid within 21 days. It comes by post, with photographs. We set out the charges and the background in our report on the ten camera sites.
- A person reviews every case. The cameras use automatic number plate recognition, and the council says a trained officer checks each recorded contravention before deciding whether to issue a penalty charge notice.
- The restriction itself is not new. The right turn is already banned. What changes on Sunday is that the camera starts recording drivers who make it.
Where the other cameras will go
The council says the remaining sites will start “as the necessary infrastructure, testing and approvals are completed”. Its release lists them as:
Banned turns
- Collingwood Road, at the junction with St Matthew’s Parade
Yellow box junctions
- St Peter’s Way, at the junction with Weston Wharf
- Cliftonville Road, at the entrance to the hospital
- Harborough Road, at the Cock Hotel junction and at the junction with the A5095
- Mere Way, opposite the fire station and at the Wootton Hall Park junction
No entry and one way
- St Giles’ Square, between Wood Hill and Derngate
One location is missing from that list. Abington Square, the right turn towards the Wellingborough Road near the Charles Bradlaugh statue, was one of the ten sites in the council’s release of 8 September, before Cabinet approved them on 15 September. Thursday’s release does not mention it, and the council has not said whether it has been dropped or simply left off.
Why the council says it is doing this
Cllr Richard Butler, Cabinet Member for Highways and Transport, said: “The aim here is simple, we want our roads to be safer, and we want traffic to keep moving.”
He added: “This is not about catching people out. It’s about encouraging people to follow the rules, reducing disruption and helping everyone get where they need to be.”
The council says more than 80 per cent of motorists who received a penalty under earlier enforcement did not offend again. Its own report to Cabinet put it more strongly, measured by vehicle: 91.5 per cent of the 27,976 vehicles fined between February 2024 and June 2026 were fined only once. (Moving Traffic Enforcement Update Report)
Upton Valley Way East was not popular with residents as a camera site. In the council’s consultation, 148 people opposed it and 102 supported it, with 27 unsure.
Have your say