Residents of Stanton Cross and independent businesses from the Wellingborough area joined together last weekend to celebrate at the annual Stanton Cross summer fete.

The town park was the place to be over the weekend, as families were able to enjoy a host of activities such as face painting, inflatable assault courses and much more. The fete was also a great opportunity for local Wellingborough businesses to spend the day promoting their services, such as food vans, crafts, clothing and more.

Sophia Law, who runs online and e-commerce unisex clothing brand wearestyle.co.uk, was just one of the many local businesses who got involved, said: “It was great to take part in this year’s summer fete. I was also at the 2022 summer fete which was my first ever pop-up experience, so it really helped me understand how these things work and the potential operations needed for a future store, and I’ve since gone on to do larger pop-ups.

“It has given me the opportunity to meet new people and introduce them to my brand and our unique designs - it was great to see so many people interested in my business.”

Another is The Indian Palate, which is run by Wellingborough local, Poulami Chatterjee. She comments: “As a fairly new business, I was delighted to be invited to be part of this years’ summer fete. Everyone who visited my stall was so friendly and I enjoyed being able to share the story behind the business. I started The Indian Palate from my kitchen when I moved to Wellingborough as I missed the flavours and the smells of the Indian food I was used to eating at home in Kolkata, and I thought why not re-create this for everyone to experience?

“We have a loyal customer base already and we are looking forward to continuing to build on this success into the future, and to welcome more customers to enjoy our authentic take on Indian home-cooking, which we freshly prepare every day.”

Face paintings were also provided by Sarah Martindale, who has been a resident at Stanton Cross since 2019 and runs her face painting and body art business from her home.

The Summer fete was arranged by the Stanton Cross Resident’s Association, which is led by Darren Michael and Arron Fellows. The Resident’s Association has grown in numbers over recent years as more people have moved to the development, which is now a thriving community of over 500 households.

Arron and Darren said: “The summer fete has been a huge success and is gaining in popularity with every year. Wellingborough has so many great small businesses, some of which are owned and run by people that live right here in Stanton Cross. It’s so important we all support local, and events like this are a great opportunity to do that.

“We’d also like to thank Stanton Cross Developments and its housebuilding partners, who helped with donations which has enabled us to make this year’s summer fete the best yet and packed full of activities for families to enjoy.”

Lee Barrett, Divisional Operations Director for Stanton Cross Developments, said: “Stanton Cross is a diverse and well-connected community, which is why it continues to attract local people and families to the area, and provide much-needed, affordable housing choice. It’s great to see how successful the summer fete has been again this year, and we look forward to celebrating again next year!”

Stanton Cross is a £1 billion residential-led development to the east of Wellingborough which will eventually include 3,650 new homes. It also brings benefits such as a new primary school, commercial space, new leisure and retail amenities, and the creation of multiple green spaces and recreational areas (including a 71-acre country park and a new 44-acre stretch of parkland with play area and cycle routes which was opened last year) – with 390 new trees planted.